Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has described claims he behaved like a bully to his son-in-law Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty’s parents as ‘absolute nonsense’.
Gordon instead insisted that he had ‘opened my door and welcomed’ his now son-in-law’s family into his own when he got together with their daughter Holly.
The model, who now uses the name Holly Ramsay Peaty, married three-time Olympic champion Adam in a star-studded ceremony at Bath Abbey in December.
The wedding came amid reports of a family feud which, according to the Daily Mail, escalated after Adam’s mother Caroline was not invited to the bride’s hen do.
Subsequently, Adam’s brother was reportedly arrested after his stag do and none of his family were at his big day, save for his sister Bethany, who was a bridesmaid.
The Sun reported earlier this month that his ‘outraged’ parents had described Gordon as ‘a big bully’ who had ‘pushed them too far’ after he called the ordeal ‘upsetting’ but ‘self-inflicted’ from the opposing side.
‘I’m certainly not a bully,’ Ramsay told The Sun in a new interview, regarding the ongoing feud.
‘I think when you send personal chauffeur cars up to Nottingham to invite this incredible family down to enjoy their party – by the way, Holly and Adam were hosting that party, Caroline and Mark (Peaty’s parents), Tana (Ramsay’s wife) and I were guests – [it’s] so appalling to even suggest there was any bullying. That’s absolute nonsense.
‘Secondly, opening up our door, welcoming them into the family, at the end of the day there was a lot of friction going on before all that and so there was some stuff that they needed to sort it out and so it was sad to see that barrage of negativity that was self-propelled by them.’
Gordon also suggested of the Peatys that ‘when you start enjoying that kind of press attention, and you revel in it, you’re sort of feeding the beast’.
The TV star, who was speaking ahead of a new Netflix documentary which follows the Michelin-starred chef ahead of the opening of three restaurants, a bar and a cooking academy at London’s 22 Bishopsgate, also called on Adam’s parents to show their son more respect.
He added: ‘Adam is an incredible young man. I understand the way he has helped his family out, so for his family to be that detrimental and derogatory about him, knowing what he’s done for his family… I know what Adam has done for his parents and his parents need to be a little bit more respectful about what they’ve taken from Adam.’
Observing that families ‘fall out’ – as he knows from close friends Victoria and David Beckham and their oldest son Brooklyn – Gordon also advised ‘don’t add fuel to the fire and just show a little bit of decorum because it’s not about the mum and dad’.
He later continued: ‘I’m a bit frustrated with the lack of vision of Adam’s parents not supporting them, because we’re mature, we’re a lot more well versed to deal with c**p in our lives, so come on.’
Caroline Peaty is also reportedly set to appear in Gordon’s documentary when it drops next week, despite asking not to be featured.
The Sun claims filming shows both families in attendance at the couple’s engagement party in December 2024, with Caroline seen briefly at the do.
She reportedly then wrote to the streamer saying they were not asked for their consent to be filmed and didn’t want to be in the documentary.
The paper has also confirmed that a source close to Gordon said filming notices were displayed at the bash in London, and that ‘by attending you were giving your consent to film in the show’.
They added that the Peaty family members weren’t interviewed so ‘no additional consent would have been needed’ and ‘it’s possible they may not even make the final edit’.
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