Cricket Legend Andrew Strauss Announces December Wedding
Former England cricket captain Andrew Strauss is preparing to marry again, seven years after the tragic death of his first wife, Ruth, from lung cancer. The 48-year-old sports legend will tie the knot with his partner, 30-year-old Antonia Linnaeus-Peat, in a ceremony scheduled for December 17 in Franschhoek, South Africa.
Private Ceremony and Ashes Absence
Strauss revealed on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast that the wedding will be an intimate affair, with only family members invited to attend in the small town renowned for its wine, located approximately 50 miles east of Cape Town. Due to his upcoming nuptials, the former England captain will not be in Australia for the Ashes series commencing next week.
The couple's relationship became public knowledge two years ago when they were spotted leaving an exclusive London restaurant, having reportedly been together for several months prior. They were later seen together in the Royal Box at this summer's Wimbledon Championships, mingling with sports personalities including footballer Jamie Redknapp and Olympic cyclist Dame Laura Kenny.
New Beginnings and Lasting Legacy
Linnaeus-Peat, a former PR executive who now serves as a company director of Linnaeus Fine Art Advisory Limited, was educated at the prestigious £40,000-a-year St Mary's Calne school for girls after growing up in Hong Kong.
This new chapter for Strauss comes seven years after his first wife, Ruth McDonald, died aged 46 on December 29, 2018, following a battle with a rare form of lung cancer. The couple had been married for 15 years and share two sons, Samuel and Luca, now 19 and 17 respectively.
In response to his wife's passing, Strauss established the Ruth Strauss Foundation in 2019, a charity that supports families facing the death of a parent from cancer and funds research into non-smoking lung cancers. The foundation's annual 'Red for Ruth' campaign has become a fixture in the cricketing calendar, with players, staff and fans wearing red during a designated England Test match each July.
Strauss has spoken openly about how grief transformed his perspective on life. In a 2023 interview with The Telegraph, he emphasized that 'our time is limited' and discussed the importance of being conscious about life choices while prioritizing happiness for those most important to him. He has also advocated for more open conversations about grief, describing it as 'still far too much of a taboo' in society.
