Pat Cash will always be remembered for pioneering the ‘Champion’s Climb’ Wimbledon when he refused to wait on Center Court for the traditional trophy presentation after beating Ivan Lendl in the 1987 men’s singles final.
Instead, he dramatically ran into the cheering crowd and climbed onto the roof of the commentary box to reach the players’ box, where he hugged his then-girlfriend, Norwegian model Anne-Britt Kristiansen.
Now he has served up another romantic gesture.
The former Australian champion, 61, has proposed to Charlotte Hodson, 54, a singer-songwriter he describes as his ‘soulmate’.
He says: ‘Every now and then life can surprise you in the very best way. I am so lucky that, through an amazing series of coincidences, I found my soulmate. I can’t help but believe that God planned it all to perfection. She said yes.’
Charlotte, who lives in Buckinghamshire and is a massage therapist, made her first public appearance with Pat at Wimbledon last year, where he gave commentary. She sings with the pop group Chocolate Charlie and has performed Dannii Minogue And Westleven.
She has two sons, while Pat has four children, two with Anne-Britt and two with his Brazilian ex-wife, Emily Bendit, whom he married in 1990. They divorced in 2002. He became a grandfather at the age of 45.
Pat Cash has proposed to singer-songwriter Charlotte Hodson, who made her first public appearance with the former Australian champion at Wimbledon last year
In 2014, he spoke candidly about his mental health struggles, explaining: ‘If it wasn’t for my children, I might have committed suicide.
‘From the age of 19 to the age of 35 I suffered from severe depression. It’s no secret that I experimented with drugs in my youth, but the real problem was why I felt the need. It was because of the stress I had playing for my country, the expectations I had of myself and the expectations people had of me. I ended up going to rehab for depression. Things got better when I stopped playing professionally.”
Poppy is in bloom as she shares her pregnancy news
Princess Eugenie’s boyfriend Poppy Jamie has announced she is seven months pregnant with her first child after a multi-year fertility journey
Princess Eugenie’s friend Poppy Jamie once revealed that three years ago she discreetly excused herself from a dinner hosted by King Charles’ niece – to inject herself with fertility drugs in the toilet.
Now the TV presenter has happy news: she is seven months pregnant with her first child.
“The third trimester is finally here,” Poppy, 36, says online alongside this photo of her growing bump. Her boyfriend is businessman Jack Bryant. ‘As some of you know, I have been on a multi-year fertility journey and have unfortunately lost two pregnancies after five months.
“So here we are, third time lucky. It was a difficult ride to say the least. But in the tragedy, magic and hope have emerged in the most incredible way.”
Zoe BALL spoke last year about her breakdown following the death of her mother, Julia Peckham, which forced her to quit her Radio 2 show. But it turns out her son, Woody Cook, 25, has been able to keep in touch with his late grandmother. ‘He always talks to his grandparents in his dreams. They come to him a lot,” says Zoe, 55. “I’m quite jealous. I say, ‘You see them all the time!’
Leggy Lindsey shows off recovery from skiing accident
Lindsey Vonn attends a gala in an olive green CindyLou dress at the US Open after breaking her leg and ankle at the Winter Olympics in February and narrowly avoiding amputation
Skier Lindsey Vonn, who required eight operations and narrowly escaped amputation after breaking her leg and ankle during the women’s downhill at the Winter Olympics in Italy in February, appears to have made a remarkable recovery.
The American gold medalist even wore a pair of nude heels while attending a gala at the US Open in New York.
Lindsey, 41, who was confined to a wheelchair, donned an olive green CindyLou halter maxi dress for the tennis event, with medical tape still visible on her left calf and knee.
She has yet to decide whether to return to the track, explaining: “I may never race again and that would be fine.”
I prefer to rent, says Caroline
Men Behaving Badly star Caroline Quentin has turned her back on home ownership after downsizing from a six-yearbedroom Devon farmhouse.
The comedy actress, 66, and her second husband Sam Farmer, who is twelve years her junior, are renting their latest home and have no plans to buy another home.
She says of their former property: ‘It had a two-acre vegetable garden, a two-acre orchard and a swimming pool. The vegetables alone were tiring.
‘We have lived in Somerset for just over a year now, with a more manageable garden. We are very happy. I don’t think we’ll buy again.’
The Cotswold village of Bibury, the former home of quiz queen Anne Robinson, has its latest bell ringer. Reverend Tim Hastie-Smith used his Sunday sermon to praise Pete Bartlett, 90, who rings a lone bell in the 11th-century church. Hastie
Smith wants to recruit ringers to take over when he hangs up his rope. Maybe he should ask his neighbors, the Beckhams, who aren’t above jumping up and down making a racket.
Zak’s regeneration in The Who
Nearly 18 months after being surprisingly fired by The Who – after 29 years as the band’s drummer – Sir Ringo Starr’s son Zak Starkey has been welcomed back to the group.
Frontman Sir Roger Daltrey confirmed that Zak, 60, recently rejoined The Who for rehearsals ahead of a possible European tour.
Zak says: ‘I’m so happy to be able to play the music I love again, with people I love… it’s good to be home.’
Starkey’s firing last year – which saw him officially fired twice within a few days – proved a chaotic affair, with both sides claiming disputes over his scheduling.
Even Sir Ringo got involved in the feud.
The former Beatle scathingly concludes about fellow rock legend Sir Roger: “I never liked the way that little man leads that band.”
All forgotten now?
