Gary Lineker admits he wishes he had learned to cook before his marriage ended. The former England striker has been single since splitting from Welsh model Danielle Backes in 2016, but says he has relied heavily on takeaways and solo restaurant trips since the split. Lineker, who now lives alone, has finally mastered the art of cooking. This is a habit he had forgotten for a long time.
“My only real regret in life is that I didn’t learn to cook sooner,” he told the Irish Independent. “After I became single nine years ago, I would eat takeout or sit alone in restaurants.” It’s no wonder that, like many footballers, Lineker didn’t focus on cooking before. Players often begin their careers as teenagers, with grueling training schedules and club-provided meals that leave them with little need or time to practice cooking. At home, meals are usually provided by a partner or family member, but frequent travel during a professional career adds an additional challenge.
Since retiring from football, Lineker has had a prominent career in the media, but one that has involved erratic schedules, travel and late-night duties, making it difficult to cook consistently.
Still, he now values the kitchen and enjoys preparing his own meals. He learned cooking from Spain and Japan, which he discovered while playing for Barcelona and Nagoya Grampus Eight in the early 1990s. I also sometimes cook when I record my podcast team, The Rest is Football, at home.
Mr. Lineker has been married twice. His first wife, Michelle Cockayne, is the mother of his four children. The two married in 1986, at the height of his football career, but divorced in 2006.
Mr Lineker married Mr Bax in 2009, but the marriage reportedly ended after seven years due to Gary’s reluctance to have more children. When I asked him again about the date, he answered simply.
“No, you can’t be angry,” he said. “I’m very happy with my life right now. I don’t answer to anyone, not even the BBC. I’m very stuck in my ways. I love being with women. I have a lot of female friends, we’re really just friends, I go to dinners for them, I cook for them, but I can’t imagine dating again.
“I’ve had two great marriages and I’m still friendly with my ex-husband. Daniel is probably my best friend, and that’s much better than being married.”
Mr Lineker abruptly ended his 26-year career at the BBC earlier this year. In November 2024, he announced that he would step down as Match of the Day presenter at the end of the 2024/25 season.
He had intended to stay until the 2026 World Cup, but the Leicester-born broadcaster was sacked in May after sharing social media posts containing anti-Semitic images.
Lineker, who is now fully focused on his Goalhanger podcast company, which produces The Rest Is History, The Rest Is Politics, The Rest Is Entertainment and The Rest Is Football, has issued fresh criticism of his former employer, insisting he is happy to no longer be “treading on eggshells”.
“In hindsight, it’s a great thing[that it no longer works at the BBC],” he said. “I don’t have to walk on eggshells anymore. I’m moving on with my life. I was going to finish at the World Cup for the BBC, so that’s the only thing. And actually, now with the World Cup I’m free to do whatever I want. I do a podcast every day, so I think this is great.”
