Mike Tindall has revealed he once considered a move to France during his rugby career but decided to remain in the UK with his wife Zara.
Speaking during an interview with Scottish rugby union player Greig Laidlaw on his podcast series, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, Mike said: "I looked at it in 2011, Toulon [rugby club] sort of said they were interested.
"I was a bit worried of the fact that it was a World Cup year and I didn't really want to be going back there straight after the World Cup because I wouldn't know any of the boys and obviously the language."
READ: Zara and Mike Tindall's baby name struggle revealed – and parents will relate
WATCH: Mike Tindall reveals he once considered a move to France
He added: "I did look at going to Aix-en-Provence just for a lifestyle-type-thing but unfortunately when your wife's got 11 horses, it makes it a bit more complicated, and I didn't fancy commuting, so I ended up staying in Gloucester.
"It would have been great. I think if it had been a different time, in terms of where I was family-wise. It just wouldn't have worked for the family."
Mike and Zara, who have just welcomed their third child, Lucas, married at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh in July 2011. They are also parents to seven-year-old Mia and two-year-old Lena.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesMike and Zara on their wedding day in 2011
Zara is an accomplished equestrian like her mother, Princess Anne, and won a silver medal as part of Great Britain's eventing team at the London 2012 Olympics.
The couple first met during the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, when Mike was part of the victorious England squad. He formally announced his retirement from professional rugby in 2014.
Mike also revealed during the interview that New Zealand rugby union coach, John Kirwin, once asked if he wanted to play for the Auckland Blues.
The father-of-three said: "I literally wanted to do it, but I just couldn't do it, the family can't move over there, Zara can't run her sport from over there."
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