Robbie Williams’ wife Ayda Field has revealed the firm rule they stick to when flying with their children.
The couple, who have four children together aged between three and 11, are sticklers for not sitting with their young ones on the plane – with the kids knowing they need to head further back into the aircraft to find their seats.
Ex-Take That star Williams, known for songs such as Angels and Millennium, and actress Ms Field don’t make their way to economy, however.
“My kids fly economy whenever we fly. I turn left and they turn right. That’s terrible. I mean, people will think I’m such a d***,” Ms Field told The Sunday Times.
The reason behind this strict approach? To ensure the children stay grounded.
“My kids will know that [economy] is where they will sit in a plane until they can pay to put themselves in a different part of the plane,” she said, adding: “There’s no interest in raising brats.”
Ms Field admitted that she is the less lenient parent of the two. Williams, who is currently in Australia promoting a Netflix documentary charting his career, comes back from travelling and “becomes fun parent”, which she labels “super-annoying”.
They aren’t the first celebrity couple to draw parenting red lines over flying habits.
Gordon Ramsay previously shared that he and his wife, Tana, fly first class but insist his children sit in economy.
“They haven’t worked anywhere near hard enough to afford that,” said the Michelin-starred chef.
“I do not want them sat there with a 10-course f***ing menu with champagne.”
He repeated his stance in 2021, stating that it’s “so important” that the children “stay seriously grounded and motivated”.
“When it comes to holidays, I told them, ‘Don’t you dare waste that f***ing money flying first class from here to New York. We all f***ing take off together, we all land together. Think what else [you can] do with money,’” he said.
“When they ask if they can pop up to us for some nice food, we say, ‘No you f***ing can’t’, so now they take their own picnics on board, and they’re absolutely fine in economy. I mean, what 14-year-old needs to sit in a reclining chair?”
