Gary Lineker reunites with his first wife Michelle at son Harry's Ibiza wedding

Daily Mirror

a day ago

Former Match of the Day host, Gary Lineker, was seen beaming with pride alongside his first wife, Michelle Cockayne, when the proud parents attended their son Harry's wedding in Ibiza
Gary Lineker and his first wife, Michelle Cockayne, put the past behind them when they reunited for their son's wedding in Ibiza recently. Harry Lineker was surrounded by his famous family when he tied the knot on the Spanish island at the lavish nuptials, which were also attended by Gary's brother, Wayne, earlier this month.
In snaps taken from the celebration, Gary, 64, dressed in a beige linen suit with cropped trousers and brown suede loafers, sits next to Michelle as they wait for Harry's bride, Annabelle, to walk down the aisle. Michelle looked stunning for her son's big day, sporting a midnight blue, silk maxi dress, which was perfect for the sun-kissed nuptials. She is also seen in another family photo on the party island alongside Gary and the former couple's four sons, Tobias, 29, George, 34, Angus, 26, and groom, Harry, 31.
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Gary married Michelle in 1986 when the former footballer met his wife-to-be when she was 14 and he was an 18-year- old reserve for his home town club Leicester City.
"There wasn't one particular moment when we suddenly became a couple but I do remember asking her out for our first proper date to a restaurant when she was 17 and it just went on from there," Gary once recalled, adding: "I was probably keener on her then than she was on me and I'm probably keener now."
The couple went on to welcome four sons, but, tragically, were made to endure every parent's worst nightmare when they discovered their son, George, had been diagnosed with cancer when he was just a baby.
Gary discussed the heartbreaking time - during which their son spent seven months in hospital - during an interview on ITV 's The Assembly in which celebrities are interviewed by a panel of neurodivergent or learning disabled individuals.
With tears in his eyes, the former footballer, who recently left MOTD after a 25-year-tenure, explained that George wasn't given much of a chance following his leukaemia diagnosis when he was just two months old.
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Visibly moved when asked about his son, Gary said: "That was really tough - it changes you, he was only two months old. We got told he had leukaemia, he wasn't given much chance.
"It was really awful. We were in the hospital for around seven months with him.'
Gary continued: 'We were the lucky ones, because there were other parents in there that lost their kids so we felt quite fortunate in the end. It was really scary."
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Claiming that he and Michelle handled the terrifying time differently, he concluded: "I felt I needed to talk about it. Michelle, she would bottle things up. But ultimately we got a good ending.'
Two decades after they tied the knot, when George was 16, Michelle filed for divorce from Gary on the grounds of her his 'unreasonable behaviour', with documents submitted to the court claiming that the England star's actions in their marriage had caused her 'stress and anxiety'.
However, they later stated their marriage breakdown was amicable, with Gary, who went on to marry Welsh model, Dannielle Bux, recently telling The Times he'd had "two really good marriages".