Mike and Zara Tindall’s love story is one for the ages, but the former rugby player admits that he didn’t even notice his now-wife when they first met!
The pair, married for 15 years and proud parents of Mia, Lena and Lucas, have taken a trip down memory lane.
Speaking on the Talk Horse podcast, Mike admitted he was rather “grumpy” when they first crossed paths in Sydney in 2003.
At the time, he had just been dropped from the England team during the Rugby World Cup, while Zara was Down Under as part of her gap year.
When co-host Pippa Funnell asked the former rugby player if it was love at first sight, he admitted that it wasn’t.
“You didn’t even notice me,” Zara told her husband.
During his time in Australia, Mike was briefly dropped from the national team for the semi-final. However, he did end up competing in the final, helping England take home the trophy.
“I probably was… wouldn’t say I really paid attention the first time,” he admitted about their first meeting. But he did remember Zara’s “very loud” girlfriends, whom she was enjoying a long lunch with.
“It was the first time I’d ever been dropped, I think at that point, and it was the semi-final of the World Cup final, so it’s quite annoying one because if they lose the semi-final, that’s it,” he added.
They originally met at Manly Wharf in Sydney, but Mike didn’t speak much.
Looking back on the time fondly, he said it was a “sliding doors moment”.
Following their chance meeting, his friend Austin Healey gave him the royal’s number, saying she wanted him to reach out to her.
They then started communicating frequently.
Zara then invited him to the North Cotswold Ball as her date, before they eventually decided to become an official couple on April 27, 2004.
“First date, actual date, just went out for lunch locally. And ended up being quite a boozy one. Then we figured out that we both quite like getting smashed. It was a good start,” Mike jokingly admitted during his stint on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! in 2022.
“We were friends first, and then William and Harry were massive England fans at the time, so we’d met them numerous times,” Mike also shared on the series.
“Met more of the family than you’d normally meet of the woman you start dating.”
