WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains an image of a deceased person.
Ky-ya Nicholson Ward — the partner of the late Phoenix Spicer — has urged the community to “get checked and listen to your body” after confirming the cause of the former AFL footballer’s shock death earlier this month.
Spicer, who spent three seasons with North Melbourne earlier this decade, died in early January aged 23.
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In a Facebook post, Nicholson Ward said her “heart is broken” as she announced Spicer had passed away due to a “sudden brain aneurysm”.
“I’ve decided to share what happened to my darling Phoenix, not because I have to, but because I want to raise awareness,” Nicholson Ward wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
“Phoenix took his last breath on Friday the 2nd of January but he DID NOT take his own life.
“I found him… we tried with everything we could to save him but we didn’t know he was already gone. It was the most traumatic experience of my life.
“Days later we found out that Phoenix passed into the Dreaming from a sudden brain aneurysm. He never complained of headaches or showed any signs that something was wrong.
“Please, if you can, get checked and listen to your body. This can happen to anyone, at any time.
“My heart is broken.”
Two private memorials for family and friends to honour Spicer’s life will be held in Melbourne and Adelaide this week.
Spicer played 12 games for the Kangaroos after being drafted with Pick 42 in the 2020 national draft. He was delisted at the end of 2023, before playing 18 games across two seasons for the Footscray Bulldogs in the VFL.
The South Adelaide product had signed with Hoppers Crossing in the Western Region Football League ahead of the 2026 season.
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