Gary Lineker reunites with his first wife Michelle Cockayne in rare joint appearance at their son Harry's Ibiza wedding - 19 years after bitter divorce
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Gary Lineker reunited with his first wife Michelle Cockayne at their son Harry's Ibiza wedding, following their bitter divorce.
The pair divorced in 2006 on the grounds of Gary's 'unreasonable behaviour,' and share four sons - George, 34, Harry, 31, Tobias, 29, and Angus, 26.
But Gary, 64, and Michelle, 59, appeared to put the past behind them while celebrating their second eldest son's nuptials to fiancée Annabelle in Ibiza.
The former Match Of The Day pundit looked dapper in a beige linen suit as he sat beside Michelle, who looked glamorous in a blue maxi dress.
They were also seen beaming for a family snap alongside their four sons, who were dressed the same as father Gary.
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In High Court papers seen during their divorce, Michelle said the former England striker known as football's 'Mr Nice Guy' had caused her 'stress and anxiety'.
The former couple met when she was 14 and he was an 18-year-old reserve for his home town club Leicester City.
'There wasn't one particular moment when we suddenly became a couple but I do remember asking her out for our first proper date to a restaurant when she was 17 and it just went on from there,' he once recalled.
'I was probably keener on her then than she was on me and I'm probably keener now.'
Gary went on to remarry Welsh model Danielle Bux, but they later split in 2016 after nine years of marriage and have remained close friends ever since.
Danielle subsequently relocated to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and went on to find love with Nate Greenwald, an Ivy League educated lawyer with CAA.
The model, already a parent to teenage daughter Ella, 17, from a former relationship, announced she was expecting her first child with Greenwald in February 2017.
The couple then welcomed their daughter, Romy Wren, in August 2017.
Elsewhere on the special day, Gary raucously swigged booze from a bottle as he reunited with brother Wayne despite their 17-year feud.
Though he wasn't seen in the latest pictures, a video showed Gary necking back the drink before the bottle was passed to his entrepreneur younger brother, 63, with the pair having seemingly buried the hatchet for the family event.
The former footballer's high-spirited celebrations - which left him worse for wear - comes just days after he quit the BBC amid his explosive anti-Semitic rat post row.
Gary and Wayne's feud dates back to 2008, when former England and Barcelona striker Gary started seeing Danielle Bux and brought her on holiday to Ibiza.
'In my opinion, Danielle cost me my relationship with my brother. Sadly Gary is no longer a part of my life,' Wayne told The Sun in April 2015.
Wayne was left confused when their weekly phone conversations and home visits ended abruptly - but he blames it on an awkward first encounter with Danielle, who Gary married in 2009 but divorced in 2016.
'They came to Ibiza in August 2008 and it was really awkward. I didn't spark with Danielle and our relationship was cold,' said Wayne.
Wayne claimed that Danielle stayed in her room on the first day and they did not speak to one another during a night out the following night.
The influencer did not want to risk upsetting his brother by bringing the tension up with Gary - but Wayne never spoke to Danielle after the holiday.
He was the best man at Gary's first wedding to ex-wife Michelle in 1986, but he was not even a guest at his brother's second set of nuptials.
The club owner refused to attend because his brother told him that he couldn't bring his then-girlfriend, Ana Tanaka, who he been with for 18 months.
'She was a lovely, polite girl, and not a five-minute girlfriend,' argued Wayne.
Wayne has claimed that he has tried to reconcile the relationship in the past, including on Gary's 50th birthday but a phone call between the pair lasted last less than a minute.
Wayne recently reflected on his 17-year feud with his brother, telling The Mail's Straight to the Comments! podcast that things remain strained between the two, noting: 'It's not so good to be honest, we don't really speak very often. I'll always be his number one fan.'
However, the duo have appeared to put their differences aside as they joined other family members to celebrate Harry's big day.
Wayne took to Instagram on Sunday to share a snap of himself looking dapper in a grey blazer and white trousers as he posed alongside son Freddie.
Captioning his post, he penned: 'The boys are ready for the big family wedding today as my nephew @harry_lineker weds the beautiful @bellacfh_ #ibizawedding.'
He then went on to add a picture of himself enjoying a glass of wine with daughter Tia, who looked gorgeous in a fringed champagne dress.
Meanwhile, Gary cut a very sharp figure in a tan blazer as he posed eldest son George, with their matching attire indicating they were both groomsmen.
Gary went on to share details of the nuptials on his The Rest Is Football podcast on Monday, telling co-host Alan Shearer: 'I had Harry's wedding which went swimmingly well.
'He had an amazing speech and the bride looked amazing, it was a beautiful day. The Sun was shining and it was great.'
The star went on to admit that he's a bit worse for wear following the wild celebrations, noting: 'I'm a bit fuzzy and a little bit jaded, yes! As you would expect.'
It comes as the long-serving Match of the Day host recently presented his final programme for the channel on the last day of the 2024-25 season.
Gary had been set to continue working with the BBC for next year's 2026 World Cup as the front man of the channel's coverage in North America, as well as leading FA Cup coverage.
But the England legend announced that he would step back from the broadcaster for good after becoming embroiled in controversy for sharing an Instagram story about Zionism featuring a rat - an antisemitic trope used by the Nazis to characterise Jewish people as vermin.
Announcing his exit in a BBC statement, the former England footballer said that he '(recognised) the error and upset that (he) caused.
'Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action,' he added, stating that he 'would never consciously repost anything antisemitic'.
After Lineker shared his statement stepping back from the broadcaster, the BBC's director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski sent an email to staff minutes afterwards highlighting how 'difficult and emotional' the rolling controversy had been for many of his employees.
He added: 'It is sad to be saying goodbye to such a brilliant broadcaster and I also want to thank Gary for his years of service'.
