LazyTown's Stefán Karl Stefánsson has paid a sweet tribute to his wife Steinunn on her 48th birthday. The terminally ill actor, who is best known for playing Robbie Rotten on the CBeebies show, was pictured cuddling up to his wife from his hospital bed. He sweetly wrote that "love" was in the air as he uploaded the black-and-white selfie.
Stefán also shared a photo collage of the couple through the years, and praised his wife, a mother of four, for her "sincerity, openness, unconditional love, determination". He paid tribute to her sense of adventure, writing: "Steinunn is this adventurous princess and has led me through life exactly so I have not been bored one day or one hour. I'm living the dream and have lived it since I first met her."
He continued: "I watch her enjoy the role of mother more and more every day and her care for the children is inexhaustible, not to mention me in the position I am today," he wrote. The actor concluded the lengthy post: "I love you more than anything in this solar system, and I look forward to spending the next few years with you with laughter and joy as the past 14 years have been with us."
Stefán, 41, is suffering from terminal cancer
Last week, his wife made the heartbreaking revelation that Stefán, 41, has terminal cancer. In a post on Facebook, the Icelandic actress revealed that Stefan's "candle burns rapidly" and that the actor has been in hospital for just over two weeks. "On June 7, three liver tumours were removed," she wrote. "After the operation Stefan suffered an infection which lasted a week and afterwards, he received an infection that lasted for a week in hospital. Stephen has bile-duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma), a rare and little-researched disease. The disease is now advanced to stage four, and therefore, his life expectancy is unfortunately significantly reduced."
The actor paid tribute to his wife on her 48th birthday
She went on to say that it was "unbearable to tell our children that their dad would not live be an old man". She concluded the post: "We know that time is precious as never before and we have promised to enjoy it as well as we can. Death is strange – life is nothing but magnificent!"
Support has flooded in for Stefán, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2016. He thanked fans for their well wishes, taking to Instagram to share a photo of a rainbow with the words: "At the end of every storm there is a rainbow of hope." Stefán captioned the post: "From the bottom of my heart I thank you for the support you provide me. You give me hope and you all move me."