Rio Ferdinand has candidly admitted he would have called it quits with his wife Kate if his children didn’t approve of their relationship.
Footy star Rio, 46, tied the knot to second wife Kate, 34, back in 2019. The pair are parents to Cree, four, and Shae, who turns two later this month.
Before Kate, Rio was married to Rebecca, the mother of his three other kids, Lorenz, 18, Tate, 16, and Tia, 13. However, sadly Rebecca died in 2015 aged 34 following a breast cancer battle.
And now, Rio has opened up about how he dealt with introducing Kate to his kids, following Rebecca’s death.
Rio Ferdinand nearly didn’t marry wife Kate
Rio recently appeared on Kate’s podcast, Blended, and discussed introducing his relationship with her to his children.
He said: “I do think it’s important in the way that you introduce this new person into the house. We very much were on the basis, we talked a lot before we even broached the idea with the kids.
“We brought Kate in as a friend first, they started seeing her around at different things that we go into friends’ houses, et cetera. Kate will be there. And Ronnie, the dog, which is a great softener as well.”
Rio added: “But those moments of familiarity and: ‘Oh, it’s only Kate,’ soften that next move where you go: ‘Right, guys,’ and you bring that. I just think we were really much about bringing them into the conversation, make them feel, have some ownership over the whole situation. ‘Listen, guys, you remember Kate?’ ‘Let’s see where we go then, Dad.'”
Rio Ferdinand on almost dumping Kate
Rio went on to note how the “ramifications’ of doing it “wrong” can be “hard”.
He shared with his wife: “I think if you do it wrong, I’ve been in a situation, my own family recently, where it’s done wrong. And I’ve been part of the ramifications of that and the repercussions. It’s hard. You don’t really get over it if you do it wrong, if it’s done abruptly without conversations and done the wrong way.”
He then revealed he would have considered ending things with Kate, if his kids didn’t approve.
“But if people are saying no, the kids are saying no I don’t know, man. I’m just lucky, fortunately we didn’t get to that point. But if my kids have said no, we’re probably not here right now. Because we don’t get the chance to get to where we are, where we’re like madly in love,” he said.
‘The kids ain’t happy’
The Celebrity Gogglebox star went on: “Because as soon as the kids say no – we were in love at that time, but it was still early enough to think where you go. But on both sides, you go: ‘The kids ain’t accepting me. I can’t get into this. It’s too much stress.’
“And I’m going: ‘The kids ain’t happy. They’re going to have to be number one.’ And I think there’s a lot of relationships that would end up because of that.
“I don’t know how you push on after you’ve just found someone, you fell in love with them, you two together, and the kids aren’t involved in that. And then when they get involved and not happy, I don’t know how you still move forward together like that unless you separate it.”
Read more: Rio and Kate Ferdinand’s son suffers bone break as he’s rushed to hospital
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