How old is kath botham

After almost 25 tempestuous years of marriage to "Beefy" - England's greatest cricket all-rounder, leading wicket-taker and TV commentator - she was ready to kick him out if he didn't agree to her demands. He was very short and didn't want to be around me," says Kath, speaking for the first time about her husband's affair. Even our daughter Becky, who's a real Daddy's girl, said: "I don't know why he's bothering to come home because he's not very nice to you.

It was the tone of his voice, not the words, but I was determined not to ruin the family's Christmas. If Ian doesn't give me what I want, then he'll have to leave. Kath confronted Ian at the beginning of January , just three weeks before their silver wedding anniversary, and, realising he'd been found out, he admitted everything.

He simply caved in and promised to do whatever I wanted to save our marriage, which surprised me. Ian ended his two-year affair with year-old Australian waitress Kylie Verrells, a single mother he'd met on New Year's Eve in Sydney, where he was commentating on the Ashes.

Ian issued a grovelling public apology to his family for the embarrassment and distress he'd caused. The Bothams' children Liam, now 29, Sarah, now 28, and Becky, now 21, were completely shaken by his betrayal. That, however, was almost seven years ago and much has since changed.

For a start, Kath, trim and glowing at 52, is positively radiant and says, amazingly, she has never been happier with Ian. Last year the Bothams celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary and their 50th birthdays with a safari holiday in Africa. Ian's gift - a beautiful Tiffany diamond eternity ring - is now twinkling on Kath's slender finger.

Kath is now Lady Botham. It was Kath who planned almost all of his 11 long-distance sponsored walks, covering more than 5, miles, and she was the first person on a long roll call of people Sir Ian paid tribute to. He says he won't stop until there is a cure for leukaemia," says Kath. He is much more of a family man. He loves spending time with us and especially his grandchildren Regan, James and Imani. Thirteen years ago Kath Botham publicly vowed that if Ian ever cheated on her it would be the end of their marriage.

He's not perfect, but for all his faults he's a remarkable man. Kath now believes boredom and loneliness was the cause of Ian's affair. On his own in Australia, he was simply flattered by the attentions of a younger woman and then became infatuated with her. Kath reveals that, in some ways, the affair, though deeply upsetting, shifted the balance of power in their marriage which had always been tilted in Ian's favour.

Several things had been mounting up and during our many heart-to-hearts they came to the surface," says Kath. For the first time I felt I could ask for things from Ian and get them.

If he wanted to stay with me, then he was going to have to do things my way for a change - and that meant putting me and the family first. I remember shouting at Ian: 'If you were going to have an affair at least you could have it with someone absolute stunning', says Kath with typical Yorkshire bluntness, "but once the affair was out in the open the black cloud hanging over us simply evaporated. Kath belongs to the pre-WAG era of sports wives. She was the archetypal girl next door who stayed in the North-East throughout Ian's career with Somerset and England and never craved the limelight.

Of course, it was fantastic when things were going well, but when they were going badly it was a nightmare. When you are up there, it's like stepping off a cliff when you fall.

You need to be like that to reach a certain standard, only a few people go on to be exceptional and Ian was truly exceptional.

Kath was often incredibly lonely when he was away for months at a time on tour. She missed him so much she was frequently in tears on the journey home after a weekend together. He put cricket before his family and that did cause friction.

Botham, who said the main piece of advice he'd received from his grandfather, was to "enjoy yourself" only got called into the Wales squad on Monday after playing just 13 professional games. But with Wales having lost their last six Tests, he has been catapulted straight into the starting XV by coach Wayne Pivac.

I can't wait to go out there now. And while he is grateful for the support he's received from all his family, it is his late great-grandfather, Gerry Waller -- Kath Botham's father -- whose absence James will feel most acutely when he runs out at Parc Y Scarlets. It was a good sight at the end of the game, especially as a kid. He will be looking down on me from up there.

Hopefully, I can do him proud on the weekend. Sir Ian also discussed the ''horrendous'' day in when he and his wife learnt that their third child had died in the womb at 24 weeks, and he left his wife's hospital bedside to play cricket.

Nowadays, of course, you'd have just left the game and gone, but in those days you didn't. You had an obligation to your team. Ian Botham laments affair with Australian waitress that cost him 'nearly everything'. Please try again later. The Sydney Morning Herald. By Anita Singh February 13, — Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size. At times you make big mistakes and that was a massive mistake.