Zara Tindall in pink and husband Mike inset
Royals

Zara and Mike Tindall: How she made the first move after crushing disappointment

The two met in a pub nearly 20 years ago!

Zara and Mike Tindall appear to be one of the happiest couples around.

But did you know Zara made the first move on now-husband Mike, shortly after something devastating happened to him?

The Queen’s granddaughter met former rugby star Mike nearly 20 years ago in a pub in Australia.

Zara and Mike at an event
Sporty Zara made the first move on now-husband Mike (Credit: SplashNews)

Zara and Mike met nearly 20 years ago

After first meeting in a pub nearly 20 years ago, Zara and Mike Tindall’s relationship has gone from strength to strength.

The two are now the parents to three children.

But the royal couple’s relationship didn’t exactly start out on a positive note.

The pair first met during the Australian Rugby World Cup in 2003 at the Manly Wharf bar in Sydney.

At the time, Mike had just been dropped by the England team leading into the semi-finals.

Meanwhile Zara, who is the daughter of Princess Anne, was on a gap year and in Australia with her friends.

The two met at a pub in Sydney (Credit: CoverImages)

Zara and Mike met in a pub

As a result of him being dropped, Mike went out to a local pub with two of his friends, Martin Corry and Austin Healy.

And it was there he quickly bumped into his wife-to-be.

Speaking to Daily Mail in 2011, he said: “Austin gave me her number and said: ‘She wants you to text her to say where you’re all going out after the final so she can come along.”

Following their initial encounter, the pair started to talk and their relationship went from strength to strength.

‘She wants you to text her, to say where you’re all going out after the final so she can come along.’

The couple become ‘official’

They were seeing each other for about five months before making things “official” in April 2004, according to Mike.

“I think it was April 27 – that would be the official date we said we were going to go out with each other,” he told Daily Mail.

Zara and Mike with sunglasses on
The couple became ‘official’ in April 2004 (Credit: Splash News)

The two get engaged

Then, after five years of dating, Mike got down on one knee. The couple announced their engagement in December 2010.

Speaking to Daily Mail, Mike admitted he was rather nervous about popping the big question.

He said: “I was upstairs, plucking up the nerve to do it, while Zara was downstairs watching television.

“It was all about shock value — I wanted to catch her when it was quiet, and she wasn’t expecting anything,” he added.

Once the two shared the news with the public, the Royal Family made an announcement, which read: “The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Zara Phillips to Mr. Mike Tindall, son of Mr. Phillip and Mrs. Linda Tindall.”

Zara and Mike get married in Edinburgh

A few months after Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, Zara and Mike tied the knot too in ceremony in Edinburgh, July 2011.

Two years later, the royal couple announced they were expecting their first child together.

Zara gave birth to baby Mia Grace Tindall in January 2014.

Since then, the doting parents have welcomed two more children – Lena Elizabeth, four, and one-year-old Lucas.

Read more: Mike Tindall reveals how royals dealt with Queen’s death behind the scenes

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