Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy On The Secret To A Happy Marriage

Ever since they first started dating back in 2006, former England striker Peter Crouch and model and presenter Abbey Clancy have lived their lives in the public eye. But it feels like we’ve only really got to know them over the past couple of years – and it’s all thanks to their chart-topping podcast, The Therapy Crouch. 

The premise is simple: the pair sit down and chat openly about their relationship, as well as offering advice to listeners. With his good-natured, funny disposition, and, of course, his remarkable football career, the famously 6ft-7in tall Crouch has always been a popular figure, and his first foray into the podcasting world, sports series That Peter Crouch Podcast, was (and still is) a huge hit. 

But The Therapy Crouch has given the world a chance to see a different side to the loveable, Liverpool-born Clancy, garnering a whole new fan base for the fun-loving celebrity couple. ‘I was dying for everyone else to see the Ab I see at home – she’s very funny and sharp, and I think that comes across in the podcast,’ Crouch said, as we chatted via video call, with the couple tuning in from their Surrey home.

Here, we talk to the pair about all things relationships, romance and busy family life with their four children.

Interview with Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy

Peter, we’ve heard it’s your birthday today – happy birthday!

P: Thank you very much. It’s been quite a busy time, I’ve got work all day. 

A: It’s been a busy morning, it was our four-year-old’s school open day. 

Hopefully you have some time to celebrate later. Has your 2024 got off to a good start?

A: It’s been a good start, an eventful start, flying back from the Maldives on New Year’s Eve due to the weather. January is always a busy month for us because it’s my son’s birthday, my birthday and Pete’s birthday. It hasn’t been a relaxing start to the year, we’ve been busy working, but it’s all been good.

P: Everyone does Dry January, we do the opposite, it’s been a really wet one.

A: We’ll do Dry February instead.

How did your podcast The Therapy Crouch initially come about?

P: I was really enjoying doing my podcast, and I said to Ab: we should do one. I was dying for everyone else to see the Ab I see at home. She’s very funny and sharp, and I think that comes across in the podcast. I just knew once she opened up and we started doing it, it would be a success, and thankfully we’ve been proven right – it’s gone bigger than we thought it would have. Also it’s a nice opportunity for us to sit down and talk. We’ve got such a busy household, it’s hard to sit down and talk, so we’ve made time by doing a podcast together.

A: Our house is hectic: four kids, four lots of school clubs and homework, and our work, so just getting a chance to sit down and chat and reminisce and talk about first dates, it’s great. We do the ‘weekly whine’ thing, if we are pissed off with each other, we can air it on our sofa, cheers to it, and put it to bed, so that’s been quite a handy tool. A lot of our listeners do it as well in their houses, it’s been really effective for them, so that’s good.

 

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Do you ever save things you’re annoyed about for the podcast?

P: All the time.

A: He’s got a little folder on his phone, his pod notes. 

P: My favourite thing to do is just observe, I write little things in my notes and go, I’m going to bring that up. She’ll always look over and see me writing things in my notes and be like, what are you writing? And I’m like, just you wait.

Are your children interested in the podcast?

A: It’s a funny thing, the podcast, because when we started it we said it was going to be 100 percent authentic, not filtered, not edited, and that’s what it is. But there are times when I think: bloody hell, did I actually say that? You do forget that the school headmaster could be listening to it, or your kids. So we’re mindful of that when we’re putting our clips out. But our kids are born into a slightly unusual world, you know, like their dad has been a footballer and they’ve seen me on TV and in magazines and stuff, so it’s kind of their norm. They don’t really pay attention to it.

P: I did see my little girl, the eldest, on her phone the other day. She was going through things, and I saw it was a video of her and her mate doing podcasts. They’ve obviously seen us doing it and did their own one.

Valentine’s Day is coming up – how will you celebrate?

A: I am an old-fashioned kind of girl, I love a bit of romance. I love getting my roses on Valentine’s Day.

P: My Valentine’s Days have actually been alright, I think they’ve been quite good. My birthdays and Christmases are usually a disaster.

A: Klarna is perfect for me because it means we’ve got a 30-day return without it being charged on my card. Pete’s presents are normally awful…

P: I’ve got the present wrong every Christmas, apart from this year. For the last four times you’ve taken it back.

A: Yeah, when he buys me these presents, and spends money on them, I’m like… what a waste. That’s where Klarna comes in great for us. And you can browse through brands that suit you, and get that perfect gift.

P: With Valentine’s Day, I feel like I’ve got them right.

A: You don’t really get me presents on Valentine’s. I’d love some diamonds. He doesn’t believe in jewellery, unfortunately for me.

BBC/Hungry McBear/Gary Moyes

How do you go about picking presents for each other?

P: Ab drops hints throughout the year, I pick up on some…

A: …and completely ignore the rest.

P: I’ve realised that there are people I can contact now that know Ab, in that sense.

A: Are you joking? Well you’ve never contacted them. He normally asks random girls who work in the shop or whatever, and he could ask my sister, my mum, my best friends. He never utilises them.

P: Better if it’s come thoroughly from me, surely, it’s more loving.

A: Pete’s really easy to buy for because he’s a simple creature. He likes anything to do with golf… and that’s it. A nice golf top, a pair of golf shoes, he’s the happiest guy alive. But I like to be a bit more sentimental with my presents.

What’s been your best Valentine’s Day ever?

P: There was a great one in the early days, I remember. We’ve had some good ones, haven’t we? 

A: The time you whisked me off to a hotel, and bought the whole outfit. I just turned up and he’d done a dress, shoes and bag, and then we went out for dinner. I think I was pregnant and hormonal, with morning sickness 24 hours a day, so it was a really nice treat. I love Valentine’s just in the house with the kids as well, they get cards off their secret admirers.

P: We did a nice one at home once as well when we got a chef and he cooked and all that, but then he basically joined us. We had a weird meal for three, didn’t we? It was a nice idea.

 

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What do you think is the key to a happy marriage?

A: Obviously love. We’re still in love.

P: Laughter is definitely the biggest thing – we just get on, and that helps. Obviously she looks pretty good as well. She’s incredibly funny and good fun to be around. The fact that we want to be around each other is nice, even after all this time.

Are you romantic people?

A: I think we’re romantic people.

P: I think we are as well, but you could always do more. Sometimes life gets in the way.

A: You were way more romantic when we first got together. He used to go to work and leave me little love notes on the pillow, and write me poems. He used to do lovely things like that, impromptu dates, and when you have kids there’s a lot more planning needed to be romantic – you need to sort babysitters. But I do think it’s important to make that time for each other, even if it’s once a month or once every couple of months, get done up and go out on a nice date. But I love romance. You need to do more, actually.

P: I do loads, what do you do for me?

Abbey you recently hosted Abbey Clancy: Celebrity Homes. Have you always been interested in interiors? 

A: I’ve always been obsessed with interiors. We rented for 10 years, so I was never able to put my true stamp on a home. So about eight years ago we built our own house, and I’ve basically been doing it ever since. It was an incredible show and I was fortunate enough to look in some incredible homes. I met some amazing people along the way, it’s really nice to see how someone’s home represents them. It was a fascinating experience, and hopefully there’ll be another series of that, we’ll see.

How would you describe your interior style?

A: Elegant, homely, comfy, not too precious, it’s an eclectic mix. I love my old pieces of furniture, my Swedish painted cabinets, a little bit of old, a little bit of new. A lot of Andrew Martin.

Do you both enjoy hosting at home?

A: Our house is the hub of the family. We host Christmas, Sunday roasts, have our friends over, we love a garden party. In theory I like it, but then when people come I’m always shouting at them for putting glasses on my marble, or walking through my house with shoes on. 

P: You wouldn’t have it any other way though, would you? 

Who’s the cook?

P: Ab…I do the barbecue, to be fair. But Ab is the chef in the house.

A: I’m not a good cook, I can make what I can make – Thai green curry, shepherd’s pie, but I’m not really a creative cook, which I would love to be. My brother can go into an empty fridge, pick three random ingredients and make a restaurant standard meal. I can’t do that, I would love to be able to do that. 

What about exercise – what are your favourite types?

P: We both go to the gym. It’s weird for me because obviously for 20 years, fitness was taken care of just through my job, and now I have to make sure I do it, because that’s not taken care of anymore. I have to go to the gym and keep myself active. I’m still sporty, I’m still out playing golf, I like playing padel tennis.

A: He’s very competitive. I would like to go to the gym more, I absolutely love going to the gym. We’re a very active family: we love taking the dogs for a walk, I love horse riding when I can fit it in. I wish I could ride every week. I do Pilates, and a bit of Switch which is a mix of cardio and weights, but not enough of it at the moment.

A Quick Game Of Mr & Mrs

Who is the…

Most fun at a party?

A: Me.

P: She is fun. We’re a really fun couple.

Messiest?

P: Yeah me.

Most stubborn?

A: Peter. 

P: Probably me, I’ll agree with that.

A: He likes a door slam.

P: That’s not what stubborn means. If you push me to the brink, that’s what happens.

Most likely to win an argument?

P: Ab, she’ll just wear me down.

A: Are you joking? I would always win the argument on the basis of always being right.

Better driver?

In unison: Me.

P: Don’t even start with that. You can’t… you don’t mean that. Me. Are you really gonna go for you? Our producer has just come in and I’m just asking him. He’s obviously said me.

A: (asks producer) Who’s the best driver? 

Producer in background: Abbey.

Funniest?

A: Me?

P: Probably me.

A: I think me, he copies all my gags.

P: Ab’s very funny. 

Peter and Abbey are working with Klarna. Get the app here.