💔 “Behind Jai Arrow and Berina’s emotional interview lies one heartbreaking family conversation they say they can no longer avoid…” The couple fought back tears while opening up about MND, their future, and whether they still dare dream of having more children

Jai Arrow and his fiancee Berina have opened up on the retired NRL star’s MND battle in an emotional interview about his outlook and their future as a family.

Arrow has been in the thoughts of the entire rugby league community since revealing he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

The announcement came with confirmation that he had been medically retired but the sudden end of his career is a footnote compared to the 30-year-old’s health, and his desire to be around for his partner and their one-year-old daughter Ayla.

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The couple opened up on radio on Friday morning.

Arrow said symptoms began some time ago, first noticing his shoulder was “twitching” and had “a lot of weakness”.

“I noticed a lot of things leading up to that. That was a major sign for me, and playing, I felt weak, I felt not myself,” he told KIIS FM.

“And then when I noticed my speech started to go, that’s when I was like ‘alright buddy, what is going on here’.”

Berina conceded she “was in a bit of denial” leading up to the formal diagnosis.

“It spiralled into him losing a bit of his voice and that being very visible,” the Canadian said.

“He’s 30, right? We have a little one at home, she’s just turned one. So for me it was very, very hard.”

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The conversation turned suddenly to the impact of Arrow’s diagnosis on their future plans.

“I would love Ayla to have a brother or sister,” Berina said.

“But even with stuff like that, those are big discussions given the disease and lifespan.

“Those are probably big personal milestones — but to be honest, I’m happy to go wherever he wants to go.”

They were then asked if they have received a prognosis.

“We don’t want to know,” Berina declared.

The average life expectancy is 2-3 years from diagnosis, according to MND Australia, but the disease and its progression is individual.

AFL icon Neale Daniher’s extended 13-year fight, which sadly ended this week, defied expectations and allowed the 2025 Australian of the Year to become the face of MND awareness, raising more than $100 million in the process.

Arrow is vowing to battle on for his family.

“(The prognosis) for me, it’s be around for my daughter and Berina for as long as I can,” he said.

“And she knows I’ll do that.

“I’ll fight, and I’ll beat it — I will.”

Arrow did not play a game this season before being forced into retirement.

The circumstances behind his MND diagnosis at just 30 years of age remain a mystery.

“I don’t know. It’s one of those weird ones where it is what it is for me at the moment,” Arrow said.

He said the support from within and beyond the NRL community had been extraordinary.

“The whole of Australia, it’s been surreal,” he said.

“From the bottom of my heart I am truly, truly grateful.”

Arrow joined the Queensland squad in camp for the State of Origin opener on Wednesday night.

The former Maroons star watched on in team colours while his name and jersey were also put up in the sheds alongside the current team.

“The boys get a kick out of seeing their mate … and he’s still the same Jai,” Maroons coach Billy Slater said on Tuesday.

“He’s obviously going through a bit, and his speech is failing him a little bit, but he’s still got the same sense of humour. I can tell he still loves being a Queenslander.”

Slater said inviting Arrow was not to use his fight as inspiration but to support their mate and pay tribute to his contributions following the premature end of his career.