49ers' Marquise Goodwin opens up about wife's miscarriages in YouTube video

Out of respect for Marquise Goodwin's privacy, the 49ers never explained exactly why the wide receiver missed two games during middle of the season. They simply said he had a “personal matter” to address, and left it at that.

On Jan. 16, Goodwin and his wife, Morgan, posted a video on their YouTube channel explaining what their personal matter was: Morgan had a miscarriage - her second in a 12-month span. And this time, she lost twin boys.

“I finally had the courage to open up and talk about it, because I really didn't want to,” Morgan Goodwin-Snow said in the video as Marquise leaned over and kissed her twice on the cheek.

“This year was definitely a rough one for me personally,” Goodwin said. “November obviously was tough because we lost our kid last year (in November) during the season, the week of the Giants game. It was tough for us this November dealing with that. But, we had a lot of strength and made it through that week, and then another thing happened. This November, we experienced another traumatic event in our life we had to overcome. I'll let Morgan go into detail about it.”

Goodwin-Snow said she learned she was pregnant in August while Goodwin was in training camp. “We were keeping it a secret because we were afraid of another loss,” she said. “I was going to hold out until I reached a certain point where I couldn't hide it anymore and wanted to share with our family.”

But, only 19 weeks into Goodwin-Snow's pregnancy, she had complications. “In November, I experienced pre-term labor and was having contractions,” she said. “I was in and out of the hospital and was placed on bed rest.”

The 49ers had their bye week from Nov. 12 to Nov. 19, at which time Goodwin could be with his wife in the Bay Area. But, on Nov. 23, Goodwin had to fly to Tampa, Florida, with the rest of the 49ers for a game against the Buccaneers.

“That's when I got hospitalized again,” Goodwin-Snow said. “Woke up at 3:00 a.m. with some contractions that were really bad. I rushed to the hospital. The contractions were so bad that my water broke, and there was no way the baby could survive all the way until birth if the water is gone.”

A surgical procedure to save at least one of the babies did not work, and the couple lost the twins.

Goodwin immediately flew home to be with his wife that night, and missed the 49ers' next two games. He returned for the Dec. 9 game against Denver, but made just six catches for 56 yards the rest of the season. He finished with 23 receptions for 395 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

Signed as a free agent in 2017, Goodwin was honored as the team's Ed Block Courage Award recipient after what he and his wife went through that November.

Early in the morning of Nov. 12, 2017, Goodwin-Snow had her first miscarriage - she gave birth to a stillborn baby boy. Later that day, Goodwin played against the New York Giants and caught an 83-yard touchdown pass. When he crossed the goal line, he dropped to one knee and looked up at the sky, then bowed his head and cried.

“We're finding our way,” Goodwin said. “A lot of people reached out, and that was cool. It helped to know how much we're loved by people we have come in contact with. And people we haven't physically met, just to see how much you guys love and support us, we definitely appreciate that.”

Goodwin and his wife met on the track team at the University of Texas. Goodwin was a two-time NCAA champion in the long jump, and Goodwin-Snow was a nine-time All-American 100-meter hurdler. In 2012, Goodwin competed in the Olympics and finished 10th in the long jump. In 2016, Goodwin-Snow tried out for the United States Olympics team as a hurdler, but she didn't make the final cut.

These days, Morgan and Marquise search for peace of mind. They traveled to Thailand and the Maldives last year during the 49ers' offseason, and this year they will travel to Africa.

“Taking it day to day and comforting each other,” Marquise said. “Doing different things to keep our minds busy and keep each other busy. The dogs definitely keep our hands full, and traveling. We have lots of news to tell you about that. We appreciate you for supporting us so much through this time.”