Gabby Logan’s affair with tennis player and tragedy that ‘shattered’ her family

Euro 2024 is finally here with every minute of every game set to be shown across BBC and ITV over the next month.

Both broadcasters have an all-star lineup of presenters and pundits to help them cover the tournament, with the BBC’s coverage fronted by Gary Lineker, Gabby Logan, Alex Scott and Mark Chapman.

Logan is one of the most popular presenters on TV having fronted the BBC’s live sport coverage for over 15 years. Her credits include hosting Final Score, the London Marathon, the Olympics and the Six Nations, while she has also hosted shows on BBC Radio 5 Live.

The 51-year-old has also spoken candidly about various issues in her personal life, from her past infidelity, health fears and the awful tragedy that left her family “shattered into a million pieces” when she was just a teenager. Here are some things you may not know about the presenter.

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Family tragedy

Logan is the daughter of former Wales football manager Terry Yorath and represented Wales in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games. However, just two years later, Logan’s family were rocked by tragedy when her 15-year-old brother Daniel died after collapsing from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy while playing football with her dad in his garden.

Describing the tragic event as “a sledgehammer [that] shattered the family into a million pieces,” the TV presenter explained: “We had no warning. He had a congenital heart defect which meant that from the outside and ostensibly his fitness was just beyond you know. He was in the top 0.00 per cent. His heart was enlarged and basically was about to give way and pack up on him but there were no signs at all.

“He was never breathless. When he did die, he died in the garden playing football with my dad. He was just kicking the ball about and keeled over. It was absolutely cataclysmic. It defined the rest of our youth and has defined how the family has gone on from those years and it leaves its mark in many ways. It was a really hard time for everybody and to this day the ramifications are still there.”

Logan, who was only 19 at the time of the tragedy, credits dealing with the aftermath of such an awful event as something that drove her on to have a successful career.

“When my brother died, I definitely had a sense that I had to have a purpose,” she explained “And so I didn’t know what that purpose was, but I felt like I had to have purpose in what I did, which goes back to dynamism, I guess.”

The tragedy saw her father – who also had spells in charge of Swansea City and Cardiff City – turn to drink as he narrowly avoided jail for crashing into a woman while three times over the limit in 2004. He blamed his “stupidity” on his personal heartache, with his heavy drinking sessions also leading to the breakdown of his 33-year marriage to childhood sweetheart Christine.

“I enjoyed being with Daniel and it was mutual. He was the light of my life,” he said. “At first I thought I could control my own grief. I didn’t want to share it with anyone. I didn’t want to communicate, even at home. I would wrap myself in silence. Christine tried to get through to me but I am stubborn. You just want to close your eyes and your ears and follow your nose.

“Maybe I am not brave enough to go to counselling in case it hurts more. And I think I don’t really want to leave my grief behind, even though it doesn’t do my life any good. The picture I have in my mind of Daniel falling torments me, but just before he fell was the last time I saw him alive.”

Affair admission and wild Alan Shearer rumours

Logan has been candid about her marriage to former Scotland rugby star Kenny as well as her relationship with her twin children, Reuben and Lois. in her 2022 memoir The First Half, she spoke openly about an affair she had while at Durham University, explaining that she wanted her children to know about it.

At the time, she was in a relationship with a fellow student named Ian, but started seeing a German tennis player at the same time. In an interview with the Times, she explained that she didn’t want to hide her past infidelity from her children, to allow them to see people are allowed to make mistakes and move on.

“You want them to know,” she said. “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.”

“You’re allowed to make bad decisions and then you move on. I think it’s how you learn from those bad decisions.”

When Kenny was asked for his opinion on the matter, he replied: ““I didn’t realise you had two boyfriends at the same time. That was a bit of a shock. It was a shock to the kids too!”

Years later, Logan’s marriage was hit by rumours of another affair – but this time her and Kenny knew there wasn’t “a grain of truth” in the claims. The mystery man involved? Former England striker turned Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer.

Logan opened up on the controversy in her memoir, explaining she was aware that lots of injunctions were being placed on tabloid press organisations at the time as ‘wealthy and famous people’ were trying to prevent ‘bad’ news from being released.

At the time, there was a “rumour swirling” that a former footballer was trying to prevent one such story from reaching the press. And soon enough, a message popped up on Logan’s Twitter timeline in 2011 reading: ‘I hear this injunction concerns @gabbylogan who is having an affair with Alan Shearer’.

The TV presenter recalled: “I laughed when I read it. Then I got angry. Then I panicked.”

Logan had a facial appointment, so hastily replied saying “I think you should be careful what you write on here. The publishing laws apply and you are guilty of defamation of character with that.” However, on the following Sunday, The News Of The World published an article entitled ‘TV’s Gabby Logan denies affair with Alan Shearer’, which Logan described as being ‘absolute nothingness’.

The story tried to link Shearer and Logan together whilst at the 2010 World Cup, but Logan explained that Shearer was based in Cape Town, whilst she was in Rustenburg with the England team.

Health challenges

Earlier this year, Logan opened up about fears over her health, admitting that menopause challenges had made her scared about the future of her career.

The 51-year-old candidly discussed how experiencing menopause led to concerns over potentially forgetting names, which she feared could impact her role as a sports presenter. She admitted she had found brain fog particularly difficult to deal with, but shared that she had seen a real difference since starting HRT (hormone replacement therapy).

Logan also said she does regular brain exercises to keep herself focused, while she has adapted the way she works to ease her concerns, always carrying a piece of paper on set so she is able to make notes on what she needs to remember.

“Feeling slightly unsure about things was such an unfamiliar feeling – and I thought, ‘Oh, God, am I going to keep doing my job if I can’t recall somebody’s name?’,” she said. “Fortunately, HRT has been great and I try to do regular exercise for my brain now, whether that’s testing myself on remembering numbers or people’s names.”

Gabby and Kenny faced a further challenge last year when the former Scotland star was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While he has now been given the all-clear, the diagnosis over Zoom rocked the family, with the ex-international left sobbing in his wife’s arms.

He told the Mirror: “Gabby was in the room. She was behind the screen getting ready for another meeting. We were so not prepared. But when we both heard those words… that I had prostate cancer, she stopped what she was doing, and we just looked at each other.

“So many things went through my mind. I thought, how can this happen? I’m an ex-sportsman. I’ve looked after my body. I had no symptoms. I asked the consultant whether I was eating the wrong foods and whether my diet was to blame. He said no, it was just one of those things.

“As soon as I turned off the Zoom call, I burst into tears. My wife and I held each other, and we cried.”

Kenny added that agreeing to regular PSA testing was what ultimately saved his life, with the consultant explaining that they had caught the cancer early enough to manage.

“The check-ups saved my life because the cancer was detected before it had a chance to spread,” he said. “Otherwise, I would have waited until I had a reason to see the doctor, and then it would have been too late.”