Stuart Broad chronicles romance with fiancée Mollie King and reveals the journey that saved their relationship
Stuart Broad has discussed the journey that proved he and Mollie King were meant to be together.
The couple, who are now parents to daughter Annabella, had an on-again, off-again relationship for a number of years after meeting in 2012.
As Mollie, 36, a member of pop group The Saturdays, and Stuart, 37, played cricket, the athlete told how they both put their careers first in the early days of their romance.
They briefly split up and struggled to keep in touch before reuniting in 2018 and taking a trip to Paris.
Stuart was due to make another tour of New Zealand and was concerned that the distance would keep him and Mollie apart again.
Couple: Stuart Broad has discussed the journey that proved he and Mollie King were meant to be together
Family: The couple, who are now parents to daughter Annabella, had an on-again, off-again relationship for several years after meeting in 2012
So the pair went to the French capital for a few days to decide whether they wanted to commit to the relationship.
In his book Broadly Speaking, Stuart writes: ‘It felt like we needed a few nights and some time together to discuss whether we could make things work, so two days after I got back from New Zealand, despite being concerned about the We were jet lagged on the train to Paris.
‘We walked the streets, sat drinking coffee, everything we could do in London. But somewhere else.’
Stuart and Mollie got engaged on New Year’s Day 2021 and their daughter Annabella was born in November 2022.
Tragically, Mollie’s father Steve died of cancer less than two weeks after Annabella was born.
Stuart described it as an ‘incredibly emotional’ time for Mollie, but said she was happy her father met his granddaughter before he passed away.
The cricketer also talked about how Mollie made him retire in July simply because he wanted to spend more time with her and their daughter.
He writes: ‘Perhaps the fact that I had hardly seen Mollie and Annabella for the past two months had subconsciously influenced me. You definitely miss home because you have a daughter who changes herself every day.’
Relationship: They briefly broke up and struggled to keep in touch before getting back together in 2018 and taking a trip to Paris
Happy: Mollie proudly supported Stuart after he ended his legendary cricket career with a 2-2 draw in the Ashes series on Monday
Mollie proudly supported Stuart after he ended his legendary career with a 2-2 draw in the Ashes series in July.
After a 17-year career that saw him become England’s second most prolific Test bowler, he will now join the Sky Sports commentary team.
Mollie congratulated him on Instagram, writing: ‘What a moment @stuartbroad – your final test! My love, you have brought joy to so many cricket fans around the world, especially your family.
‘We loved every minute of cheering you on and we are so incredibly proud of you.
“Watching you achieve your dream is something I will never forget. Annabella and I will be cheering you and the team on today, as always. We love you so much.’