Nowadays it’s not enough to be a happily married celebrity couple, you need to be using your celebrity status to inspire and educate others with your very own joint podcast. Our personal favourites include Chris and Rosie Ramsey’s Shagged, Married, Annoyed and, more recently, Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy’s The Therapy Crouch, but there are hundreds to choose from. Not that we’re complaining – any excuse to go behind the scenes with our favourite couples.
That’s why we were delighted by Rio Ferdinand’s recent admission that he and his wife of nearly five years, Kate Ferdinand, are also thinking about starting a podcast together.
Surprisingly, despite having been together since 2016, the pair haven’t yet found that project to work together on. But that could all be set to change, as the former England footballer teased that he and Kate could be set to follow in pal Peter Crouch’s footsteps.
When we asked him directly, Rio Ferdinand exclusively told heat, “Watch this space, we might have something coming up soon…”
Now Kate is already something of a podcast aficionado having hosted Blended – a podcast in which Kate explores the concept of blended families like her own - since 2022.
When Kate and Rio Ferdinand tied the knot in 2019 after three years of dating, Kate became step-mum to Rio’s three children that he shares with his first wife Rebecca Ellison - who died from cancer in 2015 - Lorenz, 17, Tate, 15, and Tia, 13. Over the years she’s been open about the highs and lows of being a part of a blended family, even writing a children’s book about the subject.
For his part, Rio’s presents VIBE with FIVE every Monday, debating and discussing all the biggest talking points from the weekend’s football.
As well as teasing his future podcasting project, heat also chatted with Rio Ferdinand about his current partnership with McDonald’s and Children in Need, which aims to encourage conversations within families about mental health.
Rio’s powerful transition from footballer to mental health advocate has been well-documented and he’s delighted to be a part of McDonald’s latest campaign.
He tells us, “As somebody who has been in dressing rooms full of alpha males and macho males, it's very much an environment where you're not really encouraged to speak and to show a vulnerable side to yourself. That’s why I'm really excited to be a part of McDonald’s new mental health campaign – which removed the iconic smile from the Happy Meal box to show that it’s ok to not be happy all the time - because I think the impact that it can have for young people is huge.
“Personally, I want [my kids] to know that it’s okay to be vulnerable and feel sad and have those moments where you don’t have to be strong.”
Rio Ferdinand has teamed up with McDonald’s and BBC Children in Need to help start conversations about mental health in families.