The day after the attack, Saffie made headlines worldwide, especially when the news broke that her mum, Lisa, didn't know her daughter had died, as she was in a coma fighting for her life.
Thankfully, Lisa survived the blast and has now woken up, but the mother of three's first words are heartbreaking.
When she regained consciousness, Lisa turned to her husband, Andrew, and immediately said: “Saffie’s gone, isn’t she?”.
Andrew simply nodded.
“That’s all that was said really,” the grieving father told the BBC.
"She was just everything you could wish for in a little girl," Andrew said of Saffie, who would have turned nine yesterday.
"She loved dancing, music, gymnastics. If she wanted something, she would do it."
He says that when he arrived to pick his two daughters and wife up from Ariana Grande's concert, he found Saffie's older sister but couldn't find Saffie or Lisa.
Eventually, Andrew was told that Lisa had been rushed to hospital, but it was hours before he was delivered the news about Saffie.
"I couldn't take it in. I just sat there looking at him," he recalls.
"It's just your worst nightmare. I didn't know what to say, I didn't know what to think."
If you or someone you know needs help, you can speak confidentially to a trained counsellor 24 hours a day at headspace.org.au or Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire.