Gemma Owen left BBC breakfast with her parents Michael and Louise on Thursday as they hit back at ‘boring’ claims during the TV appearance ahead of the release of their family documentary.
The former Love Island star, 23, was joined by ex-footballer Michael and Louise, both 46, as they left the studios in Manchester.
Gemma cut a typically chic figure in a gray knitted cardigan with denim collar, teamed with white high-waisted trousers and heels.
The brunette beauty wore her long dark locks in loose waves and opted for a radiant makeup look as she walked alongside her parents.
Michael – who now runs a stable and owns racehorses – looked dapper in a blue shirt and chinos, while Louise wore a chunky knit and white trousers.
As they appeared BBC Breakfast to promote the Prime Video series Meet the Owens, they hit back at the claim that Michael is boring.
Gemma Owen left BBC breakfast with her parents Michael and Louise on Thursday as they hit back at ‘boring’ claims during TV appearance ahead of the release of their family documentary
The former Love Island star, 23, was joined by ex-footballer Michael and Louise, both 46, as they left the studios in Manchester
Michael said: ‘My kids always say ‘Dad, everyone thinks you’re boring’.’
Gemma then added: ‘I like that people can see a different side of Dad in the documentary. He’s funny and entertaining. Everyone thinks he’s boring, but I think they’ll see a different side of him.”
On why he wanted to make the documentary, he added: ‘The idea for the show started when we started promoting the stables, but the more cameras there are around, the friendlier you become with the crew and then it all just becomes part of your life and you forget they are there.
“We didn’t want it to be scripted, we wanted it to be authentic. It was a big change from football to working with horses and it was a lot of fun.”
Michael recently opened up about his financial struggles after trading in his lucrative football career for the risky venture of owning racehorses.
At the height of his career, Michael was paid around £110,000 a week while playing for Newcastle United between 2005 and 2009.
But after hanging up his boots in 2013, Michael switched to a less stable income and took a chance on owning racehorses.
While the former striker is reportedly making an impressive impression net worth of £54.4 million, he admitted he now has to be careful with his finances after purchasing Manor House Stables in Cheshire, where he breeds and trains racehorses.
Speaking candidly about his new career on his upcoming reality series, Michael confessed: “The biggest challenge is the financial side.
“It’s a damn hard business and I can’t keep making money.”
Discussing his retirement from football, Michael mused: ‘Suddenly you’re living under your wife’s feet and starting a new life.
Gemma cut a typically chic figure in a gray knitted cardigan with denim collar, paired with white high-waisted trousers and heels
Michael – who now runs a stable and owns racehorses – looked smart in a blue shirt and chinos, while Louise wore a chunky knit and white trousers
Appearing on BBC Breakfast to promote Prime Video series Meet the Owens, they hit back at claims Michael is boring
Michael recently opened up about his financial struggles after trading in his lucrative football career for the risky venture of owning racehorses
Gemma and her mother chatted as they walked through the streets after leaving the BBC Breakfast studios
Meet The Owens follows a year in the lives of Michael, wife Louise and their children Gemma, James, Emily and Jessica, as they juggle a horse racing business with a chaotic family life.
‘When you stop playing football, you no longer feel as valued and loved. There were constant feelings of admiration, like a drug and you want to make people happy.
‘When you win trophies all the time and scare defenders, that’s what gave me such a kick.
‘Injuries made me 50 percent of the player I was. I almost felt ashamed walking out with my name on my back, so I was eager to retire.
‘And that’s quite sad, if you just don’t enjoy your work. I’ve come to realize that I need a purpose in life.’
Michael, who bought his first racehorse at the age of 18 after returning from the 1998 World Championships, then decided to make horse racing his full-time career.
Still, he admitted that the business is a struggle, given its unpredictability and the fact that he’s competing against people “who have much bigger pockets than I do.”
An episode of the upcoming series showed Michael going to an auction to buy horses, where he explained that he would often be outbid by members of foreign royal families and dignitaries.
“My sweet spot with horses is between £30,000 and £100,000,” he explained, before telling his wife Louise that he had spent £273,000 buying three horses that day.
Louise, 46, expressed her frustration with her husband’s affairs and confessed: ‘Michael doesn’t tell me anything so I have to trust him to be in control.’
She later added, “MMichael is very strange when it comes to spending money.
‘He won’t think twice about spending money on a horse, but if the kids leave the lights on in the house, he’ll go up on the roof!
‘Or if I want to redecorate the bathroom because the paint is falling off the wall, he will say: ‘Is that really necessary?’
Michael further reflected on his 2022 appearance on The Masked Singer, where he made it to episode six while performing as “Donuts.”
While daughter Emily, 18, cringed at his ’embarrassing’ act, Michael confessed: ‘Why did I do this? I think the money! Now that I’ve done it, I’m actually quite proud of it.’
But looking back at a clip of his performance, he scoffed: ‘Wow, I have a big head – I look like a donut there! I’ve lost about three stone since then.’
Daughter Jessica, 16, said at the time: ‘He did quite well. He was definitely the entertainment… He sang a lot of questionable vocals, I was very happy he got voted off!’
Prime Video’s Meet The Owens is a six-part docuseries produced by Whisper.
The series follows a year in the lives of Michael, his wife Louise and their four children Gemma, James, Emily and Jessica, as they run a horse racing business while struggling with a chaotic home life.
At home, he and his wife Louise prepare for life as empty nesters: the youngest Jessica dreams of becoming an Olympic champion, while Emily, 18, tries to become the first Owen to go to college, and James considers joining the family business.
All six episodes of Meet the Owens will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video from August 28, 2026.
