Mike Tindall’s friend made a brutal five-word joke about the early stages of his relationship with now-wife, Zara Tindall.
The former rugby professional revealed that he may never have met his future wife had he not been dropped from the England rugby team during his stint on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity in 2022, as reported by the Mirror.
Mike met Zara in 2003, eight years before the pair tied the knot in July 2011.
Opening up about the early days of their romance, the former professional rugby player told campmates Babatundd Aléshé and Owen Warner: “I was at the World Cup, she [Zara] was out watching. I got dropped from the semi-final.
“I was p****d off and so I went for a beer with another guy who got dropped and a guy who was over [in Sydney]. They’d met her before and they introduced us and then got chatting.”
Actor Owen replied: “So if you never got dropped you never would have met her?”
Mike jokingly said: “Best decision of Clive Woodward’s life”, to which Owen added: “Thank god he dropped you.”
The 45-year-old went on to discuss his and Zara’s first date, stating that the pair had “lunch locally”.
He said: “[It] ended up being quite a boozy one. Then we figured out that we both quite like getting smashed. It was a good start.”
Zara and Mike are set to celebrate 13 years of marriage later this year, with the couple also now parents of three children.
The couple welcomed their first child, Mia – now aged 10 – in January 2014. The pair later went on to welcome Lena, five, and Lucas, who celebrated his third birthday earlier this week.
