The relationship between Traianos Dellas and Gogo Mastrokosta moved thousands of people following a post by Patmos mayor Nikitas Tsampalakis, who described a personal moment he witnessed a few months ago at Evangelismos Hospital. Hours after news broke of the former gymnast and model’s death at age 56, the mayor published a moving text on Facebook, describing how he saw the former footballer supporting his wife during one of the most difficult moments of their lives. The image of Traianos Dellas looking at Gogo Mastrokosta “as if she was his entire world,” as he characteristically wrote, and helping her stand upright because she couldn’t manage it herself, was what made him break down emotionally, as he admitted.
Patmos mayor on Dellas and Mastrokosta and the scene at Evangelismos that shocked him
Nikitas Tsampalakis described how he was at Evangelismos Hospital to visit a fellow citizen from Patmos when he noticed a woman alone in a wheelchair, visibly distressed. As he wrote in his post: “A few months ago, I was at Evangelismos Hospital to visit a fellow Patmos citizen who was hospitalized. While waiting for the elevator on the ground floor, I saw a woman alone in a wheelchair. Very weak, exhausted, with that look of people who fight silently with pain.”
He then described the moment when a black car stopped at the hospital entrance and Traianos Dellas got out. The Patmos mayor noted that at that moment, there were neither the stadiums nor the glory of the former international defender’s football career. “There was only a man looking at his wife as if she was his entire world,” he wrote characteristically.
Dellas and Mastrokosta: “That’s when I broke down”
In the same post, Nikitas Tsampalakis described in particularly moving terms the moment when Traianos Dellas approached his wife and helped her get into the car. As he mentioned: “He approached quietly, took her in his arms with an indescribable tenderness and helped her into the car, because she couldn’t even stand upright. That’s when I broke down.”
The Patmos mayor emphasized that at that moment he understood what, in his opinion, is the true strength of a person. “Because I realized that a man’s true strength is neither titles nor glory. It’s leaving the lights behind and staying next to your person when darkness begins. Becoming their legs when they can’t walk. Their breath when they break down. The hand that never lets go.”
He also noted that what he saw was not simply a love relationship but a “life oath,” as he characteristically wrote. The Patmos mayor’s post concluded with a personal message to Traianos Dellas: “Traianos Dellas… Men like you are rare. Because when life’s lights went out, you stayed there. Until the end. And that’s worth more than any trophy, any applause, any glory. Respect. From the heart.”
Final farewell to Gogo Mastrokosta
Gogo Mastrokosta passed away at age 56, after two weeks of hospitalization on the 10th floor of Evangelismos Hospital. The news was announced by her 17-year-old daughter, Victoria Dellas, who through her post informed about the funeral service and the family’s wish for donations to the “Floga” Foundation instead of wreaths.
In her announcement she stated: “On behalf of the family, the funeral service will take place on Wednesday at 12:00, at the Holy Trinity Church in Elliniko. Then the burial will follow at the chapel of Saint George in Evinochorl Messolonghi, at my mother’s place of origin, for those who wish to attend. Instead of wreaths, the family wishes donations to be made to the Floga Foundation. There will be a box at the church for any contribution.”
