EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS
Back where their love story began more than 20 years ago, Zara and Mike Tindall look closer than ever as they cuddle up in the Australian sunshine, making the most of a working trip far from the British winter.
Zara, 42, and Mike, 45, left children Mia, ten this week, Lena, five, and two-year-old Lucas at home in Gloucestershire to fly to Queensland for the Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Carnival, the equestrian festival of which the King’s niece has been ambassador for 12 years.
In an exclusive interview with hello!,, Zara says her annual visit to the carnival each year has made Australia feel like a “second home”, as well as giving her and Mike, who appeared in the 2022 series of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, , a chance to escape the UK winters.
As well as competing, playing in polo and galloping down the long, sandy beach at Surfers Paradise, Zara also enjoyed some much-needed couple time with her husband, including lunch dates and ocean dips.
“Mike and I both love the vibe and personality of Australia,” she tells us. “It really suits us with the outdoor lifestyle and everything that comes with it. What’s not to love about being here?
“It feels busy, but being by the beach and in the middle of summer is also relaxing, especially coming from the depths of our winter right now back home.
“We’ve always had a love for Australia and look forward to coming here. It is a second home to us, but we wouldn’t move here as it’s too far from family. But we will continue to get down as much as we can and enjoy it while we are here.
“I do like to be able to get out the summer wardrobe in the middle of our winter – that is a definite bonus,” she adds, after stepping out in Aussie labels Zimmermann, Rebecca Vallance and Leo Lin.
CHAMPIONING WOMEN
Zara was thrilled to take part in the Pacific Fair Magic Millions Polo & Showjumping and to play alongside Argentinian star Nacho Figueras – a close friend of the Duke of Sussex – and his wife Delfina Blaquier, fellow ambassadors for the Australian thoroughbred auction house.
“It’s always a great fun match with the other ambassadors and with Mike alongside the field helping out on the commentary team; it is so much fun,” she says. “The exhibition horse run down the Surfers Paradise foreshore is a real highlight. Those are the photos that really show off the Magic Millions carnival across the world, the real magic of what it is like here and how amazing it is.”
