Gary Lineker has insisted he is ‘done’ with romance after two divorces.
The football pundit, 65, split from his second wife Danielle Bux in 2016 after seven years of marriage. He tied the knot with model and actress Michelle Cockayne in 1986 and they have four sons together.
Gary has been enjoying bachelorhood for ten years and has no plans to change his single status.
‘I like being on my own. I’ve got so accustomed to it now and being slightly selfish, but unanswerable to anyone,’ he admitted during a conversation on Louis Theroux‘s podcast.
When asked if he is ‘just alone in a big house’ Gary added, it’s ‘me and a dog. But my boys are always around… I’m absolutely happy on my own.’
When asked about romance, Gary was adamant, insisting: ‘No, I think I’m done. I don’t know, you never know, but I just can’t imagine actually living with someone again.’
The ex England striker was then asked about ‘physical needs’ but joked ‘you get to a certain age where it’s so much effort,’ before quipping about ‘a big blue pill.’
Gary Lineker has insisted he is ‘done’ with romance after two divorces, admitting: ‘I like being on my own. I’ve got so accustomed to it now and being slightly selfish’
Gary married Danielle Bux at a ceremony in Italy in 2009. After seven years together they announced they were going their separate ways due to Gary not wanting any more children
‘It might change, but you know, I love women’s company. I’ve got a lot of friends that I go out to dinner with.’
Gary’s first wife Michelle, with whom he shares his four sons, George, 34, Harry, 32, Tobias, 30, and Angus, 28, filed for divorce in 2006.
The former couple met when he was an 18-year-old rising star for Leicester City.
During their union, Gary and Michelle enjoyed huge highs, as the footballer became one of the world’s top strikers – earning a pay packet to match, but also faced deep lows, including when the couple’s firstborn son, George, battled leukaemia at just eight weeks’ old and was given a survival rate of just ’10 to 20 per cent’.
George spent the next seven months receiving chemotherapy treatment. It saved his life but it was several years before he was given the all clear.
Reflecting on the ‘really, really brutal’ time, Gary, who was playing for Tottenham at the time, admitted: ‘It was so tough. Michelle spent seven months in the hospital. Didn’t leave it, except when we popped out for dinner some nights.’
‘I was there all in the daytime. There wasn’t enough space for us both to sleep there anyway. I didn’t play for about three or four weeks, but actually when I went back to training, football was so helpful for me then.’
‘It was in the middle of the season. They gave a leave of absence… I didn’t play for a few weeks and then I went back to training. And actually, do you know what, football at that point was the only time that I didn’t think about it.’
‘And I could switch off a little bit and I got back playing again a few weeks later. But, you know, back to the hospital all day and it was incredibly tough.’
‘But whilst there was always a little bit of hope, you sort of clung to that. You know, Georgie’s now 34, incredibly healthy and well, amazing… He’s in good health. He’s a fitness machine. Works out every day. He’s doing really well. And he’s got a lovely sense of humour about the whole thing.’
Gary’s first wife Michelle, with whom he shares his four sons, George, 34, Harry, 32, Tobias, 30, and Angus, 28, filed for divorce in 2006
After his first divorce Gary went on to marry Welsh actress and model Danielle at a ceremony in Italy in 2009.
After seven years together they announced they were going their separate ways due to the former not wanting any more children but they remain on friendly terms and are regularly seen on dinner dates and holidays together.
Danielle subsequently relocated to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and went on to find love with Nate Greenwald, an Ivy League educated lawyer with CAA.
The model, already a parent to teenage daughter Ella, 17, from a former relationship, welcomed her second daughter, Romy Wren, in August 2017.
The Louis Theroux Podcast is available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
