"Find someone else." Why Johnathan Thurston's wife Samantha once begged him to leave her.

After being in a relationship for a few years, Samantha Thurston told her NRL player partner she wanted to start thinking about kids.

She was 36 years old at the time and believed her chances of falling pregnant were only decreasing with age.

And so, though Johnathan was initially reluctant to start a family, the two began trying for a baby.

But despite their efforts, they felt defeated.

Within a short time, Samantha had two miscarriages, and tried three unsuccessful rounds of IVF, so with a heavy heart, she uttered words to her partner that broke them both.

“I will never be able to give you kids,’’ Samantha recalled telling her now-husband in an interview with The Daily Telegraph.

“Just go. Find someone else,” she told him.

“You need to be with someone that can give you what you want… Give you a family.”

Oh what a night ✨Thanks North Queensland members & fans for making my final home game so memorable; I’ll miss you all! Thanks to my team mates; I couldn’t think of a better group of blokes to share the occasion with. Thanks to the @nqcowboys I will be forever grateful! Thank you @slynchpin & my beautiful girls…..what a journey!

A post shared by Johnathan Thurston (@jthurston06) on Aug 25, 2018 at 5:48pm PDT

“My heart broke for her,’’ said Johnathan, remembering the moment his wife had lost hope.

“Never say that again,’’ he told Samantha.

“I am in love with you. No matter how much I want children, I want to spend my life with you more.’’

With that, Johnathan convinced Samantha to continue persisting and try IVF again.

Nine months after the heart wrenching ordeal, Samantha gave birth to their first child Frankie, who is now five years old.

The two have three children – five-year-old Frankie, three-year-old Charlie, one-year-old Lillie – and are now expecting their fourth in February of 2019.

Our little surprise package ???? joining us Feb 2019! #4

A post shared by Samantha Thurston (@slynchpin) on Aug 28, 2018 at 11:37pm PDT

Johnathan’s NRL career was highly regarded as one of the best, but just last week, he officially retired after more than 15 years as a rugby league player.