rebecca adlington 2021 a question of sport
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Rebecca Adlington’s personal life and professional insights on BBC’s A Question of Sports

All you need to know about the sports champion!

Rebecca Adlington is back on A Question of Sports on BBC One.

She’s a regular as a sports panelist expert and as a pundit thanks to being a two-time Olympics Gold medalist.

But she’s often in the press as much for her personal life as her impressive professional one.

Is she still married? How many children does she have? And what did Frankie Boyle say about her?

Get the answers to these and more below…

Who is Rebecca Adlington married to?

Rebecca married former professional swimmer Harry Needs in 2014. They welcomed a daughter, Summer, in June, 2015.

But the couple announced their separation in 2016, after just 18 months of marriage.

Read more: Kate Garraway reveals latest on husband Derek’s COVID-19 battle

At the time Rebecca blamed their age difference (he is three years younger than her), and that he ‘idolised’ her for her high status in the professional swimming world.

rebecca adlington with harry needs
Rebecca with her ex-husband Harry Needs (Credit: SplashNews)

Despite their short-lived marriage, they’ve both expressed their dedication to successfully co-parenting their daughter.

What’s more, in June of 2020 Harry shared on his official Instagram account that he is bisexual.

Read more: Sam from Married at First Sight Australia claims scenes were ‘staged’

On his Instagram Stories, he wrote: “This is a question I’ve avoided every day of my life so far, mainly because I strongly dislike labels despite not knowing a solution to avoid them.

“But if I had to answer I would people that I’ve always been bisexual #ahh.”

Who is Rebecca dating now?

Rebecca is now dating Andrew Parsons. Not much is known about the handsome fella other than that he works as a facilities manager.

Meanwhile Rebecca confirmed that they met on the dating app Bumble.

rebecca adlington with her boyfriend
Rebecca with her boyfriend Andrew Parsons

Speaking to Hello!, Rebecca said: “I had only been using the app for a month and Andy was the first person I went on a date with, so I feel like I hit the jackpot.”

They’ve been dating for two years now – and are expecting their first child together.

Who is Rebecca spending lockdown with?

It was initially believed that Rebecca was spending lockdown with both her current partner and her ex – and his new male friend.

This report circulated after a group photo of all of them was shared on social media.

However, Rebecca’s representative denied that they were all living together during lockdown.

Her rep said: “Harry is not living with Rebecca, they are simply co-parenting with Summer, spending time at each of their houses.”

What did Frankie Boyle say about Rebecca Adlington?

Comedian Frankie Boyle has been slated for making derogative comments about Rebecca Adlington’s appearance in the past.

On Mock of the Week in 2008, Frankie said: “The thing that nobody really said about Rebecca Adlington is that she looks pretty weird. She looks like someone who’s looking at themselves in the back of a spoon.”

olympian swimmer
Rebecca was cruelly taunted by Frankie Boyle (Credit: SplashNews)

He then went on to insinuate that Rebecca must be ‘very dirty’ because her boyfriend at the time was so good looking.

The BBC received over 75 complaints over the cruel jokes, and the BBC Trust went on to reprimand him for his ‘humiliating’ remarks.

However, Frankie hit back  saying: “It was all [bleep], especially when you consider that we’re fighting two wars, there’s [bleeping] swine flu and the economy is going down the toilet.

“People expect you to talk about this and what do the production team send us? A picture of Rebecca Adlington.

“I mean, what are you going to write about, apart from the fact she looks like a beagle in the photo?”

What did Olympian wear to meet The Queen?

Rebecca caused a bit of a stir when she went to receive her OBE from The Queen in 2009. She wore a skimpy, bandage style dress that was very much on trend at the time – but also very revealing. This was paired up with a pair of towering white stilettos.

Did Rebecca Adlington have a nose job?

Rebecca Adlington is reported to have had surgery in 2014 to reduce the size of her nose and remove a bump.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Rebecca said: “I’m definitely happier with how I look now. But I wouldn’t necessarily say happy. I think you still always see the same thing when you look in the mirror.”

olympian swimmer
Rebecca is now expecting her second child (Credit: SplashNews)

When was Rebecca on I’m A Celebrity?

Rebecca Adlington was on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2013 and finished in sixth place.

On the series she broke down in tears while speaking to fellow contestant Amy Willerton.

She said being around the model made her feel insecure.

She said: “And it’s also making me very, very insecure that I have to look a certain way. For me, I was an athlete, I wasn’t trying to be a model, but pretty much every single week on Twitter I get somebody commenting on the way I look.”

Poster

A Question of Sports is on BBC One on Friday at 8.05 pm. Additional guests include Charlie Adam, John Barclay and Mark-Lewis Francis.

Will you be watching? Let us know on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.


Nancy Brown
Associate Editor