He and wife Sarra are parents to a son, 10, and daughter, seven
Sir Chris Hoy has revealed the gut-wrenching secret he and his wife are keeping from their two children.
Last year, Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris, 49, was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Shortly after, his wife Lady Sarra was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Now, Chris has opened up about how he and Sarra are approaching family life amid their own health battles.
Chris is battling cancer, while his wife has MS (Credit: SplashNews.com
Impact of Sir Chris Hoy and wife Sarra’s health battles on their young family
Chris has been married to Sarra since 2010. The couple are parents to Callum, 10, and Chloe, seven.
In a new interview, Chris opened up about how his cancer diagnosis has affected his children.
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You want them to only remember you as the perfect father who always says yes if they want an ice cream.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Chris shared that “it doesn’t feel as though they’ve [kids] been massively affected by it”.
Recalling when he was first diagnosed, Chris quipped that “initially you feel you’re never going to tell your kids off again”.
He explained: “You want them to only remember you as the perfect father who always says yes if they want an ice cream, or yes if they get on the iPad, or whatever. And you realise that that phase is very short.
“It feels like the family routine is as it was before, which I think is remarkable, really. That will definitely change, obviously, but I think for now we’re just getting on with life, and it just feels like we’re in a nice spot.”
The couple haven’t told their children about Sarra’s MS (Credit: ITV)
Secret Chris and wife are keeping from their kids
Chris also spoke about how his wife’s MS is affecting his family. He noted that Sarra “doesn’t talk about it a massive amount” but said she “gets good days and bad days”.
However, Chris’ children are still unaware of Sarra’s diagnosis. He revealed: “They know that she’s got sore hands sometimes, and I think that’s about the extent of it. If it wasn’t for my diagnosis, I think it would be getting a lot more attention, but she likes it that way. She doesn’t want the focus, she just wants to crack on.”
In January, Chris told the BBC that the first few months after receiving his diagnosis were “an emotional rollercoaster”. It was particularly heartbreaking to have to tell his kids, he said.
However, he said he’s more or less got his head around it now. And raising awareness of prostate cancer has lifted him and given him a purpose
