Rebecca Adlington has joined the BBC's star-studded line-up of presenters fronting the coverage of the 2024 Olympics live from Paris this summer. The four-time Olympic gold medalist has swapped the swimming pool for the studio as she, along with Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and various Olympic stars, bring viewers all the action from the world's biggest sporting event.
But while we know all about Rebecca's impressive swimming career, how much do you know about her home life? Keep reading for all you need to know, from her marriage to husband Andy Parsons and adorable two children.
Rebecca's husband Andy Parsons and their fairytale wedding
It's coming up to three years since Rebecca said 'I do' to facilities manager Andy Parsons. The couple, who met via the dating app Bumble, tied the knot in a stunning summer ceremony held at the private country estate, at Cheshire's Scarlet Hall, on 21 August 2021.
© Rebecca Adlington/HELLO!Opening up about their big day, which they shared exclusively with HELLO!, Rebecca revealed that she kept her processional song, Tom Odell's 'Grow Old With Me', a secret from her groom as to surprise him when she walked down the aisle. "We chose all the other music together, but I wanted one little thing that was a surprise for him. He kept trying to get it out of me, but I wouldn't break," she explained.
Her daughter Summer, who she shares with ex-husband Harry Needs, and son Albie, her first child with Andy, also had big roles to fill at the ceremony. The youngsters joined their mum's friends, fellow swimmers Joanne (Jo) Jackson and Tom Haffield, in the bridal party.
Andy struggled to contain his emotions as he saw the two kids make their way down the aisle. "Then I saw Summer coming down the aisle with Jo and then Albie being carried by Tom and that really got me," he told us. "So when Becky started walking toward me with her dad, I just lost it. She had the most beautiful smile on her face. She looked incredible."
Rebecca's adorable two children
Rebecca is a doting mum to her two adorable children, Summer, nine, and Albie, three.
Sporting talent clearly runs in the family as both youngsters love to swim and play football. "Summer is part of a swimming club, and she's got really into football recently," Rebecca wrote in her Olympic Games Column for HELLO!.
© Instagram"She's so active, she never stops running, swimming or jumping. Whether she would want to go into that full competitive environment, I don't know, but she absolutely loves it," penned the star.
Meanwhile, Albie is "obsessed" with cycling, swimming and football and is "so competitive", according to his mum. "He's so competitive that I can't imagine him not doing something in sport, to be honest, but it does make me worry, I don't want him to grow up being such a terrible loser! And you don't win everything in sport," she revealed.
Rebecca's pregnancy journey and miscarriages
Just over a year after welcoming Albie, Rebecca sadly suffered a miscarriage and had to undergo emergency surgery.
Opening up about the loss, she previously told HELLO!: "It was so hard because you're dealing with this heartbreak of losing a child as well as being really, really ill and we really struggled to process and understand it all."
© Instagram"Andy was ridiculously sad, as he should be, but everyone just kept asking him, 'How's Becky' – and I do get it from an illness perspective, why people were asking if I was ok – but Andy was really upset," she continued, adding that her husband "really struggled".
"As a couple, you both deal with things very differently," she explained. "We are blessed with two healthy children, but it doesn't diminish the fact that we are sad that it happened."
Then in October 2023, Rebecca announced that she'd suffered another miscarriage having discovered the news during a routine scan at 20 weeks.
Taking to social media at the time, Rebecca shared her devastation after losing her baby girl, Harper. "I don't really have the words right now but unfortunately we went for our 20-week scan this week and they found no heartbeat," she penned. "I gave birth to our angel, Harper on Friday at 7pm. We held her, and had time with her. We will forever love her and remember her always."
Rebecca's previous marriage
Before finding love with Andy, Rebecca was married to fellow swimmer Harry Needs.
On how she navigates co-parenting Summer with her ex-husband, Rebecca explained that it's "constantly evolving" as their daughter grows.
"Everything's just had to evolve because now she's got older, she understands a lot more," said the swimmer. "Her dad doesn't live locally any more, so he's moved and it's one of those [things] where it just works. We communicate well. Summer looks forward to seeing her dad. She's going on holiday with him in the summer, which will be so good for her."
Rebecca went on to say that the former couple have their daughter's "best interests at heart" and make it work. "Honestly, I think adults have things to learn from kids because she adapts to change so well. And Andy's brilliant with her," she said.
