Zara Tindall revealed how she really felt during Mike's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here appearance back in 2022, as she recalled the 'emotional' time.
In 2022, Mike Tindall participated in the ITV show, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, which meant that he spent a long time away from the UK and his wife and children while he participated in the Australian jungle-based show.In an interview with Woman's Weekly, Zara opened up about Mike Tindall's appearance in the show and spoke about how the distance was a challenge for their family and their young children.
"It was emotional," Zara said. "Nowadays you can speak to each other on the phone with FaceTime, whenever [you want]. So, if either of us is away you’ve still got that connection. Mike not being able to speak to them, or for him to say, ‘What’s going on, guys?’, or ‘Help your mother out!’ or stuff like that, really makes such a difference. It was really hard for them."
She elaborated on why it was hard for the children and explained, "They could watch him on the TV of course, but the way they edit it depends how much you actually do see of him. Some episodes you might not see that much and the kids would be saying, ‘Why can’t we see him?’. It’s hard for them to understand, so yes, they really missed him."
In the interview, Mike added that it was challenging for him to not speak to Zara for a month - something that's never happened in their relationship before. "Neither of us has been away for that period of time in one space," he said. “The fact that you’ve got no communication – that’s the really difficult bit. You don’t speak to each other for a month. That’s never happened in our relationship. And not being able to speak to the kids was so hard. I think the lucky thing is, with social media, Zara could show clips to the kids of me getting the spider slapped on my head or having to drink some horrible stuff."
He added, "That way they still get to see you, but it’s the interaction that you miss, being able to talk to them. It was lovely to get out of there and go and see them."
The couple then reminiced on some of the lighter moments of the show and how nine-year-old Mia, five-year-old Lena and two-year-old Lucas enjoyed seeing their dad partake in gross challenges on TV.
"I remember Mia shouting at the TV," said Zara, laughing. "All she wanted was for Mike to win the trials."
Mike added, "I knew that Mia would want me to be wrestling an alligator or in some way in harm’s way. With Matt Hancock, he got to first base in the first seven trials in a row, so Mia was saying, ‘Why is Dad not doing that?’ And honestly, I’d love to have done that!"
