Mike Tindall spoke about his experience of online trolls on a new episode of hit podcast The Good, The Bad & The Rugby on Wednesday.
Speaking to his friends and co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne, Zara Tindall’s husband revealed that false news reports had led to people calling him names online.
The rugby star said: “It’s quite interesting how many people crawl out of the woodwork on the line below, I don’t think I’ve ever been called a [bleeped] as many times by random people who have got ten followers and don’t put their own profile picture… I was like: ‘Well, I don’t really care what you think.’ It was an interesting week.”
Mike went on: “You can’t help but get frustrated… you just don’t like it when people call you [bleeped] for something that you’re not actually doing.”
Press reports at the weekend claimed that Mike had claimed furlough when he wasn’t entitled to do so, but as the dad-of-two clarified, he only used the scheme on behalf of an employee who he wasn’t able to keep on during the pandemic.
The 42-year-old said: “Obviously the furlough scheme is there and I did have one person working for me who had nothing to do so she went on furlough which is why the system was in place, because there was nothing for her to do and she can’t come to work.”
Thankfully, the down-to-earth royal has happier things to focus on as this will be a big year for Mike and Zara.
The couple are preparing to welcome their third child and will also celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary this summer.
They tied the knot on 30 July 2011 at the Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over 400 guests in attendance, including the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and senior royals.
Mike and Zara’s eldest daughter Mia, seven, arrived in 2014, while their youngest child Lena, two, was born in 2018.