In their new book,Old School Love: And Why It Works, the Run-DMC rapper and his longtime love share how they healed from their grief and, within a year, were able to adopt their daughter Miley Justine, now 12.
“I had carried Victoria Anne full-term; she was in me, a part of me. I could feel her every single day in me,” writes Justine, 54, while reflecting on the days following her daughter’s death. “Joey found comfort in God and being with me. I found comfort going under the covers. For the most part, on most days, I was trying to heal my body, heal my sadness, heal my sorrow, and heal my heart … I was lonely for my child.”
Rev Run and Justine were already parents to five children when they conceived Victoria Anne. They have two sons Daniel (Diggy) and Russell II (Russy) together and Rev Run has three older children, Vanessa, Angela and Joseph Jr., from a previous relationship. Midway through the pregnancy, the couple learned that their daughter had serious complications, but they decided to move ahead with the pregnancy anyway.
On Sept. 26, 2006, Victoria Anne was born and died shortly after because she had omphalocele, a birth defect that caused her organs to grow outside her body, PEOPLE later reported.
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Joseph “Rev Run” and Justine Simmons.Joseph “Rev Run” and Justine Simmons
JoJo, Diggy, Justine, Rev Run, Vanessa and Angela Simmons.Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Justine, Miley and Rev Run.Johnny Nunez/WireImage
RELATED VIDEO: Rev Run Opens Up About the Moment He Learned Run-DMC Will Be Honored With Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Despite the pain, both Justine and Rev Run never questioned God’s plan for them. “We know Victoria is with God in a wonderful place looking down on us, and that’s probably why we have a lot of blessings going on now,” Justine told PEOPLE in March 2007.
“When he said those words, all my pain melted. That was what I really wanted to do,” Justine writes. “Thatwas God’s plan from the beginning; I knew it, I felt it, deep in my soul and in my heart.”
Old School Love: And Why It Worksbook cover.Dey Street Books
Old School Loveis on sale now onAmazon.
source: people.com
