Adam Peaty has revealed a distinctively different side to Gordon Ramsay's formidable figure, recounting the time the celebrity chef almost made him cry during an interview.
Team GB star Peaty, who is a three-time Olympic swimming champion, is engaged to Gordon's second eldest daughter, Holly, and has been dating the fashion designer since the pair met on the set of Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.
Peaty met the 24-year-old when her younger sister Tilly competed against the professional swimmer on the show, and they got engaged in September last year. They revealed their engagement at the time on social media, as Holly showed off the ring on Instagram with the caption: "I am marrying my best friend. I truly cannot put into words how I am feeling right now.
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"I still remember how big my smile was the morning I got home from my first date with you. Thank you for letting the little girl inside of me feel loved, seen and happier than ever. I love you & I cannot wait to be your wife."
Peaty, 30, shared his own engagement post and wrote: "I can’t believe you’re going to be my wife. I’m truly the luckiest man on earth to have such a gentle, caring and beautiful woman by my side. You fill my heart to the brim and give my soul peace."
Holly has been an extremely supportive figure in Peaty's life, after his sporting career fell into turmoil during a battle with alcoholism that severely affected his mental health. This spiral culminated in his eight-year unbeaten run in swimming coming to an end at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Peaty previously described his battle with addiction as "three years of hell", and spoke about how the relationship he developed with Gordon's daughter played a massive part in helping turn his life around.
In addition, the close bond he made with his future father-in-law has been imperative in changing his party-goer lifestyle into a focused athlete's once more. After Holly and Adam got engaged in 2024, Gordon wrote on social media: "Congratulations to this gorgeous girl @hollyramsay... so happy for you and @adam_peaty!
"Hols, watching you become the woman you are today with your kindness and your love is absolutely infectious. Adam is a very lucky man. Welcome to the family!"
Gordon is understood to have given Adam his blessing to marry Holly in the summer of 2024, and has been a vital part of the athlete's resurgence in swimming – after a loss at the Commonwealth Games led to him ultimately achieving a silver medal finish at the Paris 2024 Games.
In April 2024, the athlete told The Sunday Times: "He [Ramsay] is an incredible energy to be around and an incredible person to have that guidance from. Gordon is a high performer.
"He worked his way up to the upper echelons of his industry and works in a place where there's no bulls**t. I take a lot from that and from the professionalism he has every single day with a relentless pursuit. So, when I see that, I'm like, 'yeah, why can't I work like this? Why can't I do this every single day? Why do I have to be so emotionally engaged with things?'"
Peaty also appeared on The High Performance podcast earlier this month to talk about his relationship with the eight-time Michelin star chef, as host Jake Humphrey read out a text that Gordon had sent about the athlete. In the text, the 58-year-old said: "I want you to know he's an amazing young man with such a great attitude.
"Honestly, I could not ask for a more down-to-earth, respectable future son-in-law. What he's achieved is incredible and he's not done yet. Looking forward to catching up soon."
After hearing what his future father-in-law had written about him, Peaty was left emotional and almost in tears. He said: "That makes me emotional, I don't want to cry on the podcast, but it makes me very emotional. In this last year or so, seeing how he performs; the balance he has to create in his life with high performance, family life and love, his children, and his wife is incredible.
"I love how he's already signing me up for LA [Olympics in 2028) but he's a great father-in-law. Hopefully, next year...we already call it father-in-law and mother-in-law.
"He's also very down to earth with what he's done and a great guide. Another blessing for me to look up to. Someone like him and Tana as well as my own parents, who give their perspective on my life, and it's very important, going forward, that you have those people."
Also, during the podcast, Peaty spoke about his mental health struggles in the past and admitted that he was using alcohol and partying as a replacement for the adrenaline he felt while competing. The athlete added: "To a certain extent, was it just the high that I was seeking or was it numbness I was seeking from the bad that I ignored? It's probably the latter.
"That I was using alcohol, parting or those environments, yes for a bit of fun at the time, but I was just paying that debt down the road. That's not a sustainable way to really listen to yourself. Also you don't want to numb yourself to anything. I think numbness is probably the most dangerous feeling you can ever get, you want to feel the bad with the good."
Now, Peaty is planning to marry Holly later in 2025, and Gordon will be front and centre at the wedding to congratulate the pair on their loving relationship – something that he has always supported throughout the time he has known the talented swimmer.
