Robbie Williams opens up on sex life with Ayda Field and people will be surprised how often they do it
ROBBIE Williams and wife Ayda Field have revealed that they barely bother with sex — and would rather cuddle instead.
The singer’s libido has drooped since he stopped taking testosterone to treat his depression.
Robbie, 49, said: “Everyone knows there’s no sex after marriage.”
Ayda, 43, said: “Intimacy is the important, meaningful side of love. We’re happy.”
In a podcast last year, she joked that sex between them was “completely dead”.
She grimaces: “I really panicked Rob would be mad. I’d actually forgotten about the interview, and then it came out weeks later — totally out of context, looking terrible — and I woke up to concerned texts from friends asking if I was OK about my sexless marriage!”
The former Take That star interjects: “I didn’t give a s***.”
So, er, how is their sex life, I ask, not unawkwardly, over a mouthful of a Greek-inspired chicken dish their private chef has casually whipped up.
The truth is that the pair — like most married couples — would, frankly, rather watch Netflix.
Or, well, have a nice cuddle. Robbie reveals that since coming off testosterone to treat depression, his libido has slumped.
Happily, uber-fit Ayda would rather work out in the gym than the bedroom.
Rob smiles: “No sex in a marriage is only a problem if you’re on different pages; if one person wants it, and the other doesn’t; if you have different expectations or requirements.
“But really, everyone knows there is no sex after marriage. That’s just the way it is. I was on testosterone for a while but, because I’m an addict, that had to stop. I got these massive square shoulders and started to look like a doorman. It wasn’t a good look.
“But the sex we had when I was on testosterone was incredible; it was all the time. We were insatiable. It goes to show how into each other we really are, though, because when I was on it, we couldn’t take our hands off each other.
“I miss that. That was a fun period. Sometimes now, though, Ayda will turn to me on the sofa and say, ‘We should do sex,’ and I’m sitting there eating a tangerine and just sort of shrug. So, ya know, sometimes we try.”
I ask Robbie if he has any spare testosterone that I can try, for research purposes.
He deadpans: “No — if I did, it would be in my body, not in a bathroom cabinet . . . that’s the nature of an addict, I’m afraid.”
Ayda, who was a judge with Robbie on The X Factor in 2018, adds: “I think people confuse sex for intimacy. We are always cuddling and kissing, holding hands, and touching each other when we are just watching TV on the sofa, or a movie, or whatever.”
At this point, I look under the kitchen table and, sure enough, Robbie’s foot is on her calf. They really do seem a nauseatingly perfect couple.
She continues: “Intimacy is the important, meaningful side of love. I have friends who feel obliged to have sex with their husbands and that must be awful.
“Me and Rob are on the same page. We are happy.”
But we aren’t here today, at the couple’s incredible new Beverly Hills home, to talk about sex.
No. We’re here to discuss Ayda’s eponymous athleisure line.
I first met the actress about seven years ago at a hardcore exercise class called Barry’s Bootcamp.
We were on adjacent treadmills and Ayda, obviously not concentrating, asked me what speed we were supposed to run at.
We immediately hit it off, and stayed in touch. Unguarded, fun and very funny, she’s about the least American American I’ve ever encountered.
And whilst I’m biased, her new range, Ayda Activewear, is brilliant — like a cooler, funnier Lululemon for the over-30s.
Over a game of pickleball (think tennis crossed with badminton, but with a bright pink, holey plastic ball), she says: “I’ve always been into fitness, and have wanted to design my own range for so many years. But just never had the confidence to go for it.
“I just thought, ‘Who am I — an actress, a mum of four and Rob’s wife — to imagine I can possibly design my own range?’
“I’m not Serena Williams, I’m not Nike, I can’t be anyone but who I am so I’ve just tried to make stuff I’d love to wear, using great, high-end materials.
“Humour is important to me, so that’s why there’s a lot of sweary slogans. I don’t take myself too seriously. I love working out so much — if it’s a case of therapy or working out, then working out wins every time.
“It’s so important for my mental health and one workout can transform my mood.”
Looking at her today — head to toe in the new range — she has the body fat of a greyhound, one with biceps.
It’s evident Ayda practices what she preaches. She’s now considering branching out into a “cool” women’s golf range.
Robbie, who has a handicap of 12, is doing one himself with J Lindeberg next year.
Clearly, the man dubbed “Blobby Williams” in his bigger-boned days is similarly exercise-addicted.
When I arrive, he’s in the gym, pounding away on the treadmill.
Today, he’s incredibly trim — and a good four stone lighter than his “Blobby” days.
As well as a forthcoming biopic about his life, Robbie reveals he’s recently signed a lucrative deal with Netflix to front a four-part documentary featuring hours of never-before-seen reportage and footage.
Hilariously, the Let Me Entertain You singer has been thwarted in his efforts to get camera-ready.
He says: “I had fillers and Botox years ago, and I looked f***ing great with it. So for the doc, I was going to get them done again, but for continuity I was told I couldn’t.
“But once we’ve finished filming, I can do it all.”
Robbie was one-fifth of Britain’s biggest boyband since The Beatles, but quit Take That after five years in 1995.
He then went on to have enormous solo success, selling 80 million records worldwide.
The quintet are forever asked about a reunion. So, would they?
He says: “I can’t see it not happening, but it’s not on the immediate horizon. But you’ve seen the tragic events that have happened with S Club 7 and then you think about our health, and who we are as people, and I’d like to, God forbid, do it sooner rather than later.”
Why has Robbie — who has also raised millions for charity — not been made an OBE, like, say, his ex-bandmate, Gary Barlow?
Ever-loyal Ayda snaps: “I think there’s some politicking. He’s not bothered, though. I really think he deserves one. Can we canvas . . ?”
Robbie barks: “No, please don’t. I don’t have one and honestly I’d have to go and get it if they offered me one, so honestly, I’m good without.”
The couple are good pals with Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, who they met in the Caribbean in 2011.
Robbie performed at Eugenie’s 2018 wedding to Jack Brooksbank, where daughter, Teddy, ten, stole the show as a bridesmaid.
Over a triple (!) espresso, Robbie says: “Eugenie is like a little sister to us, she’s brilliant. We love hanging out with her, she’s just so normal and sweet. It can’t be easy being in the royal family.”
- CHECK out Ayda’s range at www.shopayda.com.