Freddie Flintoff is a doting dad behind the scenes of his past cricket career and Top Gear presenting job. The sports star, who suffered horrific facial injuries following a near-fatal car crash while filming the beloved motorsports show in 2022, is a doting dad to three children with his wife Rachael Wools Flintoff - Holly, 19, Corey, 18, Rocky, 16, and Preston, four.
The family of six live in Hale, Greater Manchester in a £5.25 million mansion. The former athlete purchased the property in July 2021 from friend and fellow sports star Phil Neville upon his move to the US to become manager for David Beckham’s Inter Miami team.
© GettyNow that Freddie is back on our screens in his new four-part BBC One series, Field of Dreams On Tour, which sees him take the local cricket team he created in his hometown of Preston to compete in India, join HELLO! in getting to know the TV star's family…
Freddie Flintoff's wife
Freddie, 46, and his wife Rachael Wools married in March 2005 and have been the picture of marital bliss since. Rachael, 43, is a former model and ran her own successful events company Strawberry Promotions from the age of 19 up until 2006.
© GettyThe happy couple met in 2002 at a cricket ground in Birmingham while Rachael was promoting her business. Three years later, the pair tied the knot and the rest, they say, is history!
The TV star has been open in recent years about his battle with depression, and even revealed his wife's reaction to his diagnosis. During his appearance on the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me out of Here! in 2015, the former cricketer said: "I think in some ways she was quite relieved.
© Getty"I think it's because she saw me as 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."
Freddie Flintoff's children
Freddie and Rachael have four children together. Their first baby was a daughter, Holly, born in 2004. Shortly after they welcomed Corey, and then another son, Rocky, in 2008.
In April 2020, the pair then announced that they had welcomed their fourth child, another boy, the previous Christmas. Freddie even revealed that they named their youngest Preston in tribute to the Lancashire city that Freddie grew up in.
© InstagramAt the time he told talkSPORT: "Little Preston was born at Christmas - it is the first time I've actually spoken about it. But yeah, we have got another baby and it has been nice spending time with him." Freddie first announced his wife's pregnancy in October after Rachael revealed her bump at the Attitude Awards.
The couple's baby may have come as a welcomed surprise after the Top Gear host previously admitted that he didn't think he and Rachael would have any more children after welcoming Rocky. In 2016, he told The Sun: "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."
Meanwhile, Freddie's sons Corey and Rocky are following in his sporty footsteps. The 18-year-old is a cricketer who has overtaken his dad as the record-holder for Lancashire seconds, while Rocky is the youngest player to score a century for the England Under-19s team.
© ShutterstockWhile the star typically tends to keep his family out of the spotlight, he did pose for this sweet family photo with his wife Rachael and their three children during the Brisbane Heat Big Bash League event back in December 2016.
© GettyWhat has Freddie Flintoff said about his family in the past?
Freddie usually likes to keep his family life away from the spotlight, however the former England Cricketer did reveal that becoming a father made him a better sportsman. Just one year after his daughter Holly was born in 2004, Freddie made history with the 2005 Ashes victory over Australia.
"My career at the time, I started doing really well," he told the First Time Dads podcast. "Everyone said that couldn't happen, but it put everything into perspective. I actually got better."
© GettyDISCOVER: Top Gear star Freddie Flintoff is unrecognisable in throwback snaps – See photos
He added: "You start thinking, 'You know what? I'm dressed in whites, we're chucking a ball around and trying to hit it.' Although it WAS the most important thing, it now isn't. It frees you up, especially with batting. I started scoring a lot of runs because I wasn't bothered about getting out."
