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Kate and Rio Ferdinand showed off their ripped physiques in matching cover shoots for Women’s and Men’s Health UK.
The couple, who relocated to the UAE last year with their children, flaunted their impressive gym-honed figures.
Kate, 34, recently admitted she had been struggling with their move to Dubai and broke down in tears as she admitted she’s ‘missing her family’.
She confessed that while Dubai has been an ‘amazing’ place to live, she’s ‘struggled’ with being apart from Rio’s two eldest sons Lorenz, 19, and Tate, 17, who have stayed in the UK for their football careers.
Kate and Rio, 47, made the move with the footballer’s daughter Tia, 13, from his first marriage to his late wife Rebecca, and their two children together, son Cree, five, and daughter Shae, two.
Opening up about their decision to move in March’s edition, Rio said: ‘I look at it like an adventure. My life has been governed by the fixture list while playing football and then, post-career, being a pundit.
‘There aren’t many opportunities in life where you get time to make a big change, have an adventure, step out of your comfort zone and explore something new. So this is it. This is what we wanted to do.’
Kate admitted she’s very in touch with what works well for her mental health, declaring exercise and therapy helps if she is ‘struggling’.
She explained: ‘I want to look good and I’m happier when I look good, I have to be honest. But I would always choose to exercise because I work out for my mental health, too.
‘I also want to be a healthy role model for my children: they see me working hard in the gym and that makes a difference…
‘I’m quite aware of how I feel and what I need to do in order to make myself feel better. If I need help, I’ll have therapy. If I’m struggling, I’ll go outside and go for a walk, I’ll talk to people.’
Speaking about her struggle with the move last month, she said: ‘I feel like we’ve opened our eyes to a different world. But I love London, I love the UK. I love so many things about the UK.
‘I do feel happy in Dubai, but I’m just missing a part of me.’
Kate added that the move has also helped Rio be more ‘present’ with his family, after he stepped back from his role as a pundit for TNT Sports last year.
She added: ‘I think it’s an amazing place to live, I think it’s amazing for the children. The children are thriving and happy and living a life of just outside freedom.
‘Rio loves it so much. I am enjoying it, but I miss home quite a lot. I get upset. I miss the big boys a lot and I’m just struggling with that.
‘I know this decision is right for my younger children and as a family we are settled there, but the boys are following their football careers. So they’re doing what they want to do otherwise they’d be with us.
‘But it’s very hard because we’ve been through so much as a family and we’ve always been together and that’s a huge adjustment.’
Kate added that she and her family have felt far safer in Dubai than the UK, however she admitted she’s even begun to ‘miss’ the English weather.
She added: ‘If I could merge the two worlds together it would be absolutely perfect.
‘I think I miss people. I miss the rain. The cold, cool air on your face. I miss the culture of England. Certain types of people and all different types of people.
‘That’s also something I like about Dubai, that my kids are being brought up with all sorts of cultures.’
Sharing how the move has affected Rio, Kate added: ‘He’s been travelling a lot for the last three weeks, but the work life balance is better. When he’s at home he’s at home and present, whereas before he was working a lot.
‘We just go for walks and stuff. We did a lot together before, but I didn’t realise how much we were separate, because there was a lot in the diary.
‘He does the school run a lot of days. That’s a really nice thing… ‘It’s not like I’m unhappy, I’m adjusting.’
The full interview with Rio and Kate can be read in the March issue of Men’s/ Women’s Health UK, on sale from 10th February.
