They’ve never been ones to hold back when it comes to talking about their personal lives, and now Abbey Clancy has candidly admitted that she and husband Peter Crouch are ‘living separate lives’ after almost14 years of marriage.
Discussing the situation in a recent episode of their hit podcast The Therapy Crouch, Abbey admitted, ‘We live separate lives now. He goes to golf and I go horse riding, and then we meet at the end.’ Former footballer Pete responded, ‘I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Like, not every day, because we need to do stuff together, as well.’
But while he went on to say that he thinks they have ‘a totally healthy relationship’, an insider reveals that Abbey is desperate to get their spark back. ‘She wants to work at putting the romance back into her marriage. Both she and Pete admit that it can fall down their list of priorities, thanks to the kids and work,’ says a source. ‘Abbey said they need to have more date nights, as well as weekends away – especially as next year is their 20th anniversary.
The couple have daughters Sophia, 14, and Liberty, nine, and sons Johnny, seven, and Jack, five. Abbey has previously spoken about how having children affected their sex life. Speaking on the podcast, she said, ‘I think it’s so important to state the obvious. To go, “If all these crying kids weren’t here now, we would be having sex because I want to have sex with you, but we physically can’t.”
'I remember at one stage, I had a cot next to the bed and a new baby in my bed, and then my three year old at the time would just keep running in in the middle of the night.’
Appearing on Loose Women last year, Abbey also revealed she and Pete rarely sleep in the same bed due to their kids climbing in. ‘I haven’t had a full night’s sleep, because the two boys creep in the bed. It’s like musical beds in our house. Like, I don’t know who I’m going to wake up with, but it’s definitely not Peter,’ she confessed.
But as their kids get older, we’re told Abbey feels Pete needs to take control and step it up in their love life. Our source says, ‘She’s told Pete he needs to be more romantic and organise stuff. She has joked that’s risky, because his idea of a good time would be a game of golf and then go to the pub to watch the football. However, the pressure is on him to pull out all the stops for her 40th birthday next year – he’s had ample warning.’
Abbey will mark her milestone birthday in January next year, but while she still looks every bit as amazing as she did when she finished as runner-up on Britain’s Next Top Model in 2006, our source says she’s still freaking out about it slightly. ‘She’s panicking a little bit,’ we’re told. ‘She says she can feel her age creeping up on her. Friends have told her she’s got a body most women can only dream about, but she’s upped her fitness regime and tweaked her diet in order to look her absolute best. She’s hired a PT and nutritionist to help her, as well.’
The source continues, ‘She’s already started cutting out things that are bad for her, and is in the gym or doing classes or horse riding as often as she can. Pete has told her she always looks great, but she’s said she wants to stun everyone with her bikini body.’
The insider adds, ‘Abbey doesn’t care if she’s being vain – she intends to spend the whole summer abroad and living in a bikini, and wants all the attention on her. And then, once the summer is over, her 40th countdown begins, so this will be a whole new way of life for her.’