Gary Lineker has opened up about his love life, declaring he is 'done' with romance and too set in his ways to share his home with another woman. The former Match of the Day presenter is currently in the United States for the World Cup but has blown the final whistle on any prospect of a long-term relationship.
Lineker said: 'I like being on my own. I've got so accustomed to it now and being slightly selfish, but unanswerable to anyone. I'm absolutely happy on my own... Me and a dog. But my boys are always around.'
During an appearance on Louis Theroux's podcast, the subject of romance was raised, to which he replied: 'No, I think I'm done. I don't know, you never know, but I just can't imagine actually living with someone again.' When quizzed about his 'physical needs', he replied: 'You get to a certain age where it's so much effort.' He quipped about 'a big blue pill' before adding: 'It might change, but you know, I love women's company. I've got a lot of friends that I go out to dinner with.'
Lineker's Marriages and Family
The father-of-four was married to Michelle Cockayne for two decades before their divorce in 2006. The former couple share four grown-up sons: George, Harry, Tobias and Angus. Lineker then wed Danielle Bux in Italy in 2009, though the pair parted ways in 2016. The two have remained on good terms and have been spotted dining together on numerous occasions since.
Departure from BBC's Match of the Day
Lineker stepped down after 26 years as Match of the Day host in May 2025, following criticism over his airing of political opinions on social media. His exit followed a dispute over an Instagram post he had shared about Zionism, which included an image of a rat – historically recognised as an antisemitic trope. Reflecting on his tenure, Lineker said: 'I think the BBC's problem in this, and I understand why it happens, I think they're so obsessed with trying to placate or appease or keep happy the Daily Mail type newspapers, and they're doing that to people that would get rid of the licence fee in a heartbeat. They just don't want the BBC, because they're competitors to the BBC. And then from them asking for me to apologise, they end up apologising.'
Addressing the Instagram post directly, he added: 'That one I felt bad about because that was my mistake. That was my mistake. Because it was not with intent, but I could see why some people would be upset by that. So I felt bad about that and was happy to apologise, which I did. But I think by that stage, I think it's like a marriage with the BBC. We'd been together for a long time and we were starting to run out of love for each other. I'll always love the BBC. It's an amazing, amazing corporation. I was going anyway, but we just brought it forward. I thought it seemed to be the sensible thing to do.'
World Cup 2026 and The Rest Is Football
Lineker has taken The Rest Is Football – produced by his own company Goalhanger Podcasts – to Netflix for the World Cup 2026 as a daily TV show alongside co-hosts Micah Richards and Alan Shearer. They will be covering the tournament across the United States, Canada and Mexico. He admitted he was 'not sure' how he felt about the event given the surrounding politics and controversy, but added: 'In terms of football, I'm looking forward to it. But the world's a little bit bonkers at the moment, particularly over the pond. So, this World Cup, we go into it and, you know, America's been attacking one or two countries, which will make it interesting. But I find from my experience of these World Cups, that once it starts, we concentrate on football and all is well with the world.'
