Gabby Logan reveals why she wants her children to know she had an affair while still at university
Logan had an affair with a German tennis player while in a relationship at university
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Gabby Logan has revealed why she wants her children to know that she had an affair while she was a university student.
In her new memoir The First Half, the Welsh TV presenter writes about beginning a relationship aged 16 with an England athlete Gary Staines who was 10 years her senior and was engaged to another woman. At the time, she was a rhythmic athlete representing Wales at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand.
She also writes about when she was a student at Durham University and had an affair with a German tennis player while still officially with her boyfriend Ian, a fellow student.
Logan, who has been a leading TV sports presenter for almost 30 years, eventually confessed to Ian and called off her relationship with the tennis player, but her relationship with Ian was damaged.
Speaking to The Times, Logan said that she wanted her children to know about the infidelity so that they learn that “you’re allowed to make bad decisions” and move past them.
She shares twins Reuben and Lois, born in 2004, with her husband Kenny Logan, whom she married in 2001. Reuben has left home to play rugby for Northampton Saints while Lois is taking a gap year before attending university.
“I think it kind of dawned on me when I was writing that sometimes in life you make excuses for yourself and actually it’s much healthier sometimes to say, ‘I made a bad decision,’” Logan said of writing her 2022 autobiography.
“You’re allowed to make bad decisions and then you move on. I think it’s how you learn from those bad decisions.”
Logan explained that she initially worried that her daughter Lois would see her as a “terrible person” if she revealed her past infidelity, but decided that she wanted to give her children an example of how someone can learn from their past mistakes.
“I had my teenage daughter in mind as well because I thought, she’s very good and she’ll think I’m awful: ‘I can’t believe you did that!’ She thinks I’m just a terrible person,” said Logan.
“But actually, you want them to know. You set these kinds of standards for your kids, and try and give them a great example but actually that’s not the full picture and they didn’t know me before I became a better person.”
Meanwhile, she said her son Reuben likes to “take the mickey” out of her social life as a student.
“He’s always like, ‘Did you ever actually go out when you were at Durham? Did you actually go to nightclubs?’”
“One of my very best friends now was at Durham at the same time as me but we didn’t know each other and she always teases Reuben and says, ‘That’s because I was in the clubs and your mum was in the library.’ He’s taken that comment and run with it and now thinks that I’m some kind of square.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments