Mike Tindall is here to dispel common misconceptions about marrying into the Royal Family.
In 2011, the 44-year-old former rugby player and I’m A Celebrity finalist married Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter Zara Tindall, 42.
Mike and Zara have three young children, Mia, nine, Lena, five, and Lucas, two, and in a new documentary, Mike is revealing what life is like behind closed doors.
Grand Slammers, which airs on ITV, follows nine members of England’s 2003 rugby World Cup squad as they face a radically different task.
Viewers will see Mike like they’ve never seen him before – well, he did go into the jungle, so maybe that’s not quite true.
Instead of eating kangaroo testicles, he and his friends will teach a group of men’s jail convicts to compete against a team of Australian expat rugby players.
In the episodes, Mike opens up about his relationship with Zara, whose mother, Princess Anne, elected not to bestow royal titles on her or her brother.
‘Everyone thinks that just by marrying Zara, that means it’s all fine and dandy,’ Mike began, as per Hello.
‘But that doesn’t stop the fact that you need a job.’
He continues: ‘And it’s not that easy, you know. You get quite institutionalised into rugby, it’s a way of life and you leave the game and that’s not there.
‘I don’t think you can ever sort of describe when you’re so used to being around that many people, and understanding, because of it being ingrained in you, where you fit in to then not being that person.
‘Zara would say if she was honest it was probably a year it took me to figure out what I was, who I was going to be.
‘You’ve got to then go carve where the next path is — you can never replace going to work with 35 of your best friends every day.’
This isn’t the first time Mike has talked about his family life or won hearts by being down to earth.
Indeed, he recently recounted his and Zara’s shenanigans following King Charles III’s Coronation.
Mike and Zara, not wanting to conclude the festivities too soon, went to The Arts Club, a prestigious private members club next door to The Ritz.
He said: ‘It was quite nice to have a little date night. You know, sometimes when you’ve got three children, it’s not always the easiest to get out and just have a drink together.
‘So it was quite nice to have a little bit of time where we could just go out and have a drink and have a chat and it was quite nice. So I definitely don’t regret that.’
Mike, who retired from rugby after 17 years in 2014 and now lives in Gloucestershire with Zara, appears in the upcoming ITV documentary alongside Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Phil Vickery, Jason Robinson, Will Greenwood, Ben Cohen, and Matt Dawson.
The two-part documentary aims to demonstrate how sports may have a beneficial influence on convicts and their lives, perhaps decreasing their probability of reoffending after release.
Grand Slammers airs tonight at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
