Olympic champion Adam Peaty has made a touching tribute to wife Holly Ramsay as reports claim he's worried fresh family tensions could overshadow one of the biggest moments of his career.
The swimmer is preparing for a huge summer in the pool, with his sights set on becoming the first Team England swimmer to win four consecutive Commonwealth gold medals. At the same time, he and Holly are also preparing to welcome their first child together.
Family rift concerns
Behind the scenes, it's been claimed Adam fears the ongoing rift with members of his family could spark more unwanted headlines. The athlete's relationship with his relatives dramatically deteriorated before he married Holly at Bath Abbey on December 27.
While his sister Bethany attended the ceremony, reports now suggest she is no longer on speaking terms with Holly, fuelling speculation that tensions remain high.
A source told The Sun: "Sadly, nothing ever seems to be quiet for Adam and Holly. This could be a career-defining moment for Adam, but there's always the looming possibility that someone from his extended family will try to detonate another bomb.
"They announced their pregnancy last month and, days later, his sister Bethany was stirring things up and claiming she's at loggerheads with Holly. It's becoming relentless."
The insider added that the ongoing family fallout has been "acutely painful" for the couple, claiming there appear to be "troublemakers" within Adam's wider family at a time when he simply wants to focus on competing.
Public support for Holly
Despite the reported turmoil, Adam appeared to send a public message of support to Holly this week after revealing a meaningful addition to his race kit. Holly shared a photo of the swimmer's new cap on Instagram Stories, showing his updated double-barrelled surname. Alongside the snap, she wrote: "So Special."
Adam has also admitted he and Holly haven't always handled the attention surrounding their relationship in the best way, but insists his priority is letting his performances speak for themselves.
Focus on swimming
Ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, he told The Independent: "Pressure can be given to anyone, but it's probably best in my hands because the more pressure I'm under, the better I perform.
"At the same time, you need a strategy for managing the noise and we probably haven't done that as well as we could, but I'll make sure the swimming does the talking.
"We can't control every variable in life, but I can stand behind the blocks and not really care about what people's opinions are. Being at peace with a 100m or 50m breaststroke race is a beautiful place to be."
