While Gordon Ramsey is known for his “no nonense” (and sometimes aggressive) demeanor on television, he recently spoke about his personal life and how he and his wife Tana Ramsey suffered a great loss in 2016. Seven years ago, the Ramsey's loss their son Rocky at 20 weeks pregnant. According to a new interview with PEOPLE, Rocky had a “strong heartbeat but too little to survive.”

Three years later, Tana and Ramsay had their fifth child Oscar who is now four. They also share daughter Megan, 25, twins Jack and Holly, 23, and daughter Matilda (“Tilly”), 21.

“We wouldn’t have had Oscar had we not lost Rocky,” says Ramsay. “There was no substitute — far from it — but it brought us a bond that you’d never experience in a normal situation.”

Reflecting back on Rocky, the culinary master says that the loss of his son was “really tough” and that there was no way to prepare for that moment.

“There’s no book that guides you through that loss, and so losing Rocky was really tough,” says Ramsay in this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. “Watching the trauma unfold, it’s this life-changing moment.”

The family also keeps Rocky's memory alive as each family member has a piece of jewelry with his name on it.

Back in June, Tana posted a throwback photo of the family celebrating Meghan's birthday. The photo was taken shortly before Rocky's passing. “A happy picture taken of us celebrating Meghan's 18th, I was just under 20 weeks pregnant. Although it's 7 years today, it still feels like yesterday,” she continued. “We all miss you everyday. We love you Rocky, forever in our hearts. I couldn't do this without my family, you are all everything to me [baby angel emoji] [black heart] xxxxxxxx.”

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Tana and Gordon tied the knot in 1996. She is a culinary author and television broadcaster. Gordon spoke about Tana and her resilience in the highest regard.

“That’s the power of Tana,” the chef said. “Just watching the way that she dealt with it – and opened up with other friends and women in close proximity that could give advice – she was incredible straight after that.”

Their kids “get a lot of strength from their mom,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that Tana’s done, that we wouldn’t be here today without that strength.”

Gordon Ramsey has hosted of several competition based culinary television shows including Kitchen Nightmares, Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef, MasterChef Jr., Next Level Chef, Hell’s Kitchen: The American Dream, and Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars.