Freddie Flintoff’s biggest supporter: Top Gear host’s model wife Rachael was ‘charmed’ by her husband 21 years ago despite him ‘not being her type’ before fancy London wedding WITHOUT a honeymoon (and she’ll only call him Andrew at home!)
- READ MORE: PR experts say Top Gear will struggle to get stars insured as its future hangs in the balance amid concerns over show’s health and safety protocols after Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff’s horror crash
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff was seen in public last Friday for the first time since his horror car crash while filming Top Gear last year.
The former England cricket star, 45, was no doubt supported throughout his ordeal by his family, including his wife of 18 years, Rachael, 42, who is a model and business entrepreneur.
Freddie, who has returned to work with the England cricket team, keeps his family life mostly private – but the couple have previously shared some details about their romance.
The pair wed in 2005 at the glitzy Pavilion Road Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, on March 5, but because of Freddie’s work commitments, they were unable to enjoy a honeymoon shortly after their special day.
They now share four children, Holly, 17, Corey, 16, Rocky, 13, and Preston, two, who was named after the Lancashire city where Freddie grew up.
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff (pictured with his wife in 2018 in London) was seen in public last Friday for the first time since his horror car crash while filming Top Gear last year
Rachael, originally from Hayward’s Heath, West Sussex, set up her business Strawberry Promotions aged 19, with the firm supplying promotional staff for upmarket events.
It was through her work in events that she met her husband at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in 2002.
She admitted to The Daily Mail in 2007: ‘He really wasn’t my type physically, because I always go for dark men, but I thought he was the funniest guy I had ever met.
‘He got hold of my mobile number and texted me a couple of times, and we met up for a drink, and I was pretty much bowled over by his charm.’
The couple welcomed their first child Holly in 2004, followed by Corey shortly after and Rocky in 2008.
Freddie was convinced that he and Rachael wouldn’t have anymore children after the arrival of their son Rocky.
In 2016 he said: ‘We thought about it. I originally wanted five but you have three and that felt like enough. I couldn’t go back to the nappy stage now.’
But in April 2020, the pair revealed that they had secretly welcomed their fourth child over Christmas 2019 and shared their youngest son’s name.
The former England cricket star, 45, was no doubt supported throughout his ordeal by his family, including his wife of 18 years, Rachael, 42, who is a model and business entrepreneur. Pictured, Freddie, Rachael and their children Holly, Corey and Rocky in 2014
Freddie, who has returned to work with the England cricket team, keeps his family life mostly private – but the couple (pictured) have previously shared some details about their romance
Speaking on talkSPORT, Freddie said: ‘Little Preston was born at Christmas – it is the first time I’ve actually spoken about it.’
They paid tribute to Freddie’s birthplace, Preston, by naming the youngster after the Lancashire city.
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He continued: ‘But yeah, we have got another baby and it has been nice spending time with him.’
Rachael – who lives with her family in a £2.5 million home in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, according to The Sun – always refers to her husband as Andrew, never Freddie. She tried it once, she previously admitted, but he reacted like a scalded cat.
‘Freddie is a work name, as well as a bit of a joky name, and although loads of his mates call him Freddie, to me he’s Andrew, a husband and a father, rather than a sportsman and a celebrity.’
In 2015, while on the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here Australia, Freddie opened up about his battle with depression and Rachael’s reaction to him deciding to undergo therapy.
‘I think in some ways she was quite relieved,’ he said. ‘I think it’s because she saw me vulnerable as well.
‘I spent a lot of time putting up a barrier playing sport and you tend to play up to that character all of the time and in the end it got exhausting. I couldn’t do it any longer.’Rachael, meanwhile, was previously signed to Storm model agency, which launched the careers of Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne, and was pictured in various magazines.
‘The modelling work I did as a teenager was good fun, but I gave it up after a few years to concentrate on my schoolwork,’ Rachael told the Daily Mail.
‘I got good A-levels and, because I’d never really intended to go to university, I was toying with the idea of returning to modelling – that was until someone accused me of being a bimbo!
The pair wed in 2005 at the glitzy Pavilion Road Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, on March 5, but because of Freddie’s work commitments, they were unable to enjoy a honeymoon shortly after their special day
They now share four children, Holly, 17, Corey, 16, Rocky, 13, and Preston, two, who was named after the Lancashire city where Freddie grew up. Pictured, Freddie and Rachael on their wedding day
Rachael (pictured with her husband in 2013), originally from Hayward’s Heath, West Sussex, set up her business Strawberry Promotions aged 19, with the firm supplying promotional staff for upmarket events
‘I was so incensed that I applied to do a law degree with French at Sheffield University.’
READ MORE Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff is seen for the first time since near-fatal Top Gear crash nine months ago – as he makes return to sport working with England cricket team
She didn’t finish her law course and instead landed a job at Capital Radio before starting her own business aged 19.
The mother-of-four also discussed Freddie’s busy life in 2007, explaining how the former cricket star missed his family.
‘Holly is a complete daddy’s girl, and when Andrew’s around, I never get a look-in,’ Rachael revealed at the time.
‘She misses him when he’s away, but she makes up for it by carrying around a photograph of him – when she has a tea party for her dolls, she puts the picture on a chair, so Daddy can be there too.
‘Fortunately, Andrew is brilliant on the telephone and we talk four or five times a day, so he knows what’s happening in our lives.
‘I use the time when he’s away as productively as I can, so I’m not just rattling around the house. As soon as he goes away, I take out the calendar and book in social and family events.
‘It’s much harder for him. He misses the children a lot, and foreign tours aren’t nearly as exotic as they sound – you can’t play cricket 24 hours a day, and there are only so many DVDs you can watch.
‘But neither of us would ever complain, we are both so lucky that his career has been going well and we appreciate all the financial security it has given us.’
Meanwhile, former Top Gear host Angela Rippon, who presented the programme from 1977 to 1979, previously claimed Freddie’s family were insisting he should take as much time out as he needs after his horror crash.
Angela said she sent Freddie a message which read: ‘Next time you want to go around the course a bit slower, just give me a call.’
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff helps coach England at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton on September 10, 2023
She added to The Sun: ‘I was just so sorry as they [Freddie and his co-presenters] are not professional drivers and are asked to do things that even professional drivers very often would find difficult.
‘I think Freddie and his family decided this was an ask and a task too far and his life is more important than a television programme.’
Freddie has returned to work with the England cricket team and was pictured last Friday with cuts on his face while joining the coaching staff at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens for the one-day international series against New Zealand as a mentor.
The 45-year-old was airlifted to hospital after breaking a rib and suffering facial injuries nine months ago in a high-speed smash while shooting an episode of the BBC TV motoring series at Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in Surrey.
Flintoff – who also narrowly cheated death following a 125mph crash in 2019 – quit his Top Gear job after the accident and the BBC cancelled the latest series of the show – with its future remaining in doubt.
It is unclear whether the father-of-four, who is one of the great all-rounders of the English game and the hero of the 2005 Ashes triumph, will ever return to TV screens.
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