Clare Balding, the beloved TV presenter known for her work on the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Crufts, and Celebrity Traitors, has a love life that has captured public interest. Away from the cameras, she is happily married to Alice Arnold, her partner on Celebrity Gogglebox. But her journey to marital bliss was not without its challenges, including a past relationship with an ex-boyfriend who proposed under questionable circumstances.
Clare Balding's 'Appalling' Ex-Boyfriend
Clare has previously been in relationships with men, and one of her ex-boyfriends even proposed to her. However, she turned him down, later describing his behavior as 'appalling'. In an interview with the Mirror, she revealed that she had a 'very serious' relationship with a man in the Army for two or three years before meeting Alice. He asked her to marry him before a tour of duty, but she suspected his motives. 'I thought, "He's only asking me because he thinks he's in danger". I meant to say yes at this point. And I knew I didn't want to,' she recalled. She told him to ask again when he returned, but he never did. 'I thought, "Thank God". I thought "I don't trust you and I'll never trust you" - and funnily enough I was absolutely spot on as his ex-wife told me not that long ago,' she added. The relationship ended badly, with him behaving appallingly, leaving Clare feeling damaged. But she noted, 'that doesn't make you gay. I just think when I first fell in love with a woman, it was completely different.'
Clare and Wife Alice
Clare met Alice Arnold in 1999 at work, when Alice was a BBC Radio 4 announcer and newsreader. They started as good friends before their relationship deepened. Alice admitted to The Times in 2018, 'There was very little about Clare that I found attractive at first. To be honest, everything about her was wrong! She ticked all the boxes of things I tend to avoid and didn't have any of the qualities I thought I needed in a partner.' Despite this, they entered into a civil partnership in 2006, before gay marriage was legalized in the UK, celebrating at an 18th-century Palladian villa in Chiswick. Nine years later, in April 2015, they married in a private ceremony at the same venue. On The Jonathan Ross Show, Clare said of her marriage, 'It's about equality. It's just about knowing that you can and knowing that you can say: "I'm married", and nobody's going to think that's married in inverted commas, no, that, actually, married. I think it's great.' Sharing their secret to a happy marriage with the Mirror, Clare said, 'We are very easy together. We don't row. I don't know how we achieve that, but I don't think there is a secret. You're on this wonderful adventure together.'
Alice’s 'Ultimatum' for Clare
Clare has revealed that Alice has 'strong feelings' about her not appearing on Strictly Come Dancing. 'When the request came through, she said, "You can say yes to that if you like, but I won't be here when you come back,"' Clare told Alison Hammond on the Smart TV podcast. Alison understood the 'ultimatum', noting that the show 'does split people up', referencing the so-called Strictly curse. Alison suggested that watching a partner dance with someone else 'has got to hurt a little', and Clare agreed.
Why Haven’t Clare and Alice Had Children?
The couple do not have children, and Clare has spoken openly about their decision. In a 2015 interview with the Radio Times, she said she 'never had that urge'. 'I have never wanted children. It’s my choice, but of course it’s not something that’s going to happen by accident,' she explained. 'Yes, it could happen if I wished it to. I have two nephews, a niece and eight godchildren, and I love that. But I don’t want kids. I just never had that urge.'
Celebrity Gogglebox airs every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.
