From her sporting insights to her turn on the Celebrity Traitors, fans have come to love Clare Balding for her direct and level-headed nature.
And, as it turns out, that sort of straightforward, logical and practical thinking is what she credits for her long-lasting relationship to wife Alice Arnold, revealing that the secret is nothing far-fetched or dramatic, but simple ‘trust, honesty and laughter’.
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Clare told the outlet, ‘Alice and I just have the most lovely time together, we have so much fun and we enjoy doing the same things to relax.
‘But also we have the same work ethic, Alice works for Mellow Magic, she’s a radio person through and through. She totally understands the broadcast environment and she’s very honest with me and will say if she thinks I haven’t done something well or could do it better, so I think there’s that level of trust and honesty.’
Alice, who now hosts a radio show, worked as a newsreader for the BBC for more than 20 years until the end of 2012. She has also joined Clare for appearances on the celebrity edition of Channel 4’s Gogglebox.
When on Gogglebox, their humour and rapport shines through, and this is something Clare singles out. ‘We laugh a lot and we are very aware of the value of our time together.
‘I want to do good work, I want to do quality work, but I really value my time with Alice, so it has to be pretty special to take me away from that.’
With Clare often away for long stints with work, she also offered up the importance of good communication with a partner. ‘If I am away doing Winter Olympics or something like that, we talk twice or three times a day and I will message all the time.’
And when it came to direct communication, Alice was very clear on the one thing she wouldn’t support her wife doing – Strictly Come Dancing.
Hilariously, Clare has previously told Alison Hammond for the Smart TV podcast that her wife had ‘strong feelings’ about Clare not taking part when she was offered the chance to appear.
Clare told Alison, ‘It’s not something anybody needs to see, it’s not. Alice has very strong feelings about this. When the request came through she said, ‘You can say yes to that if you like, but I won’t be here when you come back.’
Clare and Alice made a major life move in late 2025, moving out of London after 20 years for a more quiet, country life in Surrey. In an interview with the Times, Clare said of the move they were after ‘a bit more space and protection from the road’ as well as a ‘good environment for a dog’.
Lots of laughter. Open communication. And a quiet country life. It sure sounds like a winning formula.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.womanandhome.com ’
