Peter Crouch Leaves Wife Abbey Clancy in Tears
Peter Crouch Shares Christmas Memories and Podcast Success
Peter Crouch, a well-known figure in international football and a popular podcaster, recalls the moment he realized there was more to the concept of Father Christmas than he had previously believed. He laughs while sitting in his podcast studio, preparing to catch a train back home. “I remember my dad falling down the stairs after a few drinks,” he says. “I found out that it might not be Santa delivering my stocking when I heard him swearing at midnight.”
The reason for discussing Christmas in early November is due to the release of Peter’s seasonal ad for Debenhams Delivery, which features him alongside Judi Love and Olivia Attwood. In the ad, Olivia even says, “Too soon? Never!” as Peter wears Burton’s for Debenhams and sprays Boss Bottled Beyond, shouting, “Come on, Christmas! Let’s have it!”
This ad highlights the service that allows people to order all their presents ahead of time, getting them ahead of the Christmas curve. “It feels like it gets earlier and earlier, doesn’t it?” Peter remarks. “But if you’re going to start early, you’ve got to start with a bang, which I think we did. It’s very glittery. You wouldn’t believe the size of the whole production.”
As for the service he’s promoting, Peter believes it’s something he would use himself. “Without a doubt! I hate shopping so if there’s one place where I can get every base covered, that’s definitely what I’d do… Until I get it totally wrong and then I nip out last minute on Christmas Eve. It’s a male tradition.”
The hard one for Peter is his wife, Abbey Clancy. “I always get it wrong,” he admits. “She drops hints throughout the year, and as long as I keep up to date, I’m covered. She’s good at hinting. But I’ve made mistakes in the past. I’ve had her in tears on Christmas Day by buying her the wrong thing.”
The Crouch/Clancy household celebrates Christmas properly, including four children who still believe in Santa. “We love it,” says Peter. “We’re very much the all-matching-pyjama, Christmas-tree vibe kind of family.” The family enjoys a mix of classic holiday vibes, from Home Alone to Gavin & Stacey and Only Fools and Horses Christmas Special.
“Don’t get me wrong, going to the pub on Christmas morning has been known, especially when my dad’s over. And I’m looking after him, right?” he justifies. “I’m hosting! So we would go to the pub and Abbey’s been in charge of the cooking… We went for a little bit too long one year and I remember being told in no uncertain terms not to do that again.”
One of the reasons Christmas is such a big deal for Peter now is because, as a football player, this was always the busiest part of the year. “You train on Christmas Day and play on Boxing Day. Play the 28th, play the first. So I never really celebrated Christmas until I retired and thankfully my kids are still young enough for me to be able to share it with them. So I let myself loose and let myself eat what I like and drink what I like. It’s like I’m living my life backwards.”
When asked about the best Christmas present he ever received, Peter recalls, “The England shell suit from the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the one Paul Gascoigne wore. I was nine years old.”
Since retiring, Peter's career has taken off in a new direction with the success of his two podcasts: That Peter Crouch Podcast and The Therapy Crouch, which he does with Abbey. “I didn’t realize how big it would go,” he says. “It’s taken us to some amazing places. Kensington Palace to interview Prince William. That is a big deal, right? I was like, ‘How did I get here?’ Elton John, we’ve had Rod Stewart, Idris Elba… And the one I do with Abbey has gone pretty big quite quickly. I think the reason that one’s worked is that it resonates with people who’ve got the same problems as us.”
It’s also gone big because Abbey is unexpectedly hilarious. “I think there may have been a misconception of her,” says Peter, who towers over her at 6’7 to 5’9. “The person I see every day is incredibly funny and intelligent, warm, loving and I knew the minute we did this together that people would love her as much as I do. As amazing as she looks, she’s so down to earth and funny.”
When did Peter Crouch and Abbey Clancy first meet? You wouldn’t usually expect a 23-year-old football player meeting a 19-year-old model in a nightclub – that’s their meet-cute story – to be the start of a 20-year relationship, no disrespect to footballers, models or nightclubs but it was definitely a meeting of souls.
The couple are now proud parents to four children.
Peter remembers their first proper date at a pub near where he lived when Abbey was still living at home. “She’d got a tenner off her mum. And as I was going to the toilet, she said, ‘I’ll get you a drink’ but only had enough money for my Guinness so she got herself a tap water.” How could you not fall for that?
Not that Abbey is a football fan. Far from it. “She’s quite open with the fact that she’s got no interest whatsoever in football,” says Peter, with an amused eye-roll.
“But that works for me. When I was playing for England or for Liverpool in the Champions League and I’d come home having had a bad game, she’d just change the subject. In all honestly, that’s probably what I needed. I don’t need to stew on a bad performance, so I’d come home and she’d give me a whole new set of problems.”
Even when she did make the effort to go and see him play, there were always distractions. “I was playing for England and scored a hat-trick at Old Trafford,” he remembers, “and she said, ‘Well done on your goal!’ and I said, ‘Which one?’ Turns out she was first at the buffet and missed my other two.”
And still she quibbles about staying too long at the pub on Christmas Day!
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