Facebook<\/a> that her ‘heart is broken’ following Spicer’s passing.<\/p>\n ![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/105608521-15474681-Spicer_s_partner_Ky_ya_Nicholson_Ward_pictured_urged_others_to_g-a-2_176873368346.jpeg\")
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The partner of North Melbourne forward Phoenix Spicer, who tragically passed away earlier this month, has revealed that the 23-year-old died as a result of a sudden brain aneurysm<\/p>\n
![\"Spicer's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/105608113-15474681-image-a-33_1768729817253.jpg\")
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Spicer’s partner Ky-ya Nicholson Ward (pictured) urged others to ‘get checked and listen to your body’\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I’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.<\/p>\n
‘Phoenix took his last breath on Friday, January 2, but he DID NOT take his own life.<\/p>\n
‘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.<\/p>\n
‘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.<\/p>\n
‘Please, if you can, get checked and listen to your body. This can happen to anyone, at any time.<\/p>\n
‘My heart is broken.’<\/p>\n
Her comments come after Spicer’s family were previously forced to speak out against misinformation surrounding the half-forward’s passing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tributes have poured in for Spicer, with North Melbourne president Sonja Hood stating: \u2018Phoenix was only at the club for a short time but he was a popular and well-liked member of the playing group.<\/p>\n
![\"Spicer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/105293477-15474681-Spicer_played_for_the_Kangaroos_in_12_AFL_games_and_kicked_two_g-a-35_17687298833.jpeg\")
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Spicer played 12 AFL games for North Melbourne before being delisted at the end of the 2023 season<\/p>\n
![\"Spicer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/105293475-15474681-Spicer_was_born_in_Numbulwar_a_remote_community_in_east_Arnhem_L-a-36_17687300083.jpeg\")
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Spicer was born in Numbulwar, a remote community in east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory<\/p>\n
‘On behalf of the club, I would like to pass on my condolences to Phoenix’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Bulldogs also paid tribute to the young half-forward.<\/p>\n
‘The club extends its deepest condolences to Spicer’s friends, family and loved ones at this difficult time and asks that their privacy be respected,’ the statement read.<\/p>\n
Spicer hailed from Numbulwar, a remote community in east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. He was a proud Nunggubuyu man.<\/p>\n
In 2023, Spicer had assisted artist Emma Bamblett to design North Melbourne\u2019s Sir Doug Nicholls Round guernsey.<\/p>\n
The design had featured each of the team\u2019s First Nations players\u2019 totems.<\/p>\n
Spicer had been represented by his totem, the barramundi fish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Help is available: Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Suicide Call Back Service provides 24\/7 support. Call 1300 659 467.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\n Partner of Phoenix Spicer reveals what caused former North Melbourne star’s death, age 23: ‘Heart is broken’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Help is available: Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36\u00a0 By ED CARRUTHERS,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,100,588,85],"class_list":["post-421512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-dailymail","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}