Fogle’s father-in-law sent to ‘keep an eye’ on him and Pendleton
MOST wives would worry about their husbands disappearing on a nine-week adventure with an alluring Olympic star who boasts model looks.
So television explorer Ben Fogle’s wife of 12 years, Marina, could be forgiven for taking the precaution of sending her father, retired GP Jonathan Hunt, to accompany them.
‘Marina is not a jealous type, but she wouldn’t be human if she didn’t have a few doubts about letting Ben go on the trip,’ one of her friends tells me. ‘Her dad will keep an eye on Ben.’
Certainly, Ben and former champion cyclist-turned-jockey Victoria Pendleton seem to have bonded. In a picture posted online after their arrival in Lukla, Nepal, last week (top left), she can be seen cosying up to Ben, who has his arm around her.
Pendleton, 37, declined to comment on rumours that her marriage had hit the rocks after this newspaper’s Eden Confidential column reported last month that she and her husband, Scott Gardner, had not been seen together since the summer.
She admitted in December: ‘ I’m probably having a midlife crisis, for sure.’ Her remarks came as she confessed that Gardner, 42, the former Team GB sports scientist, would prefer her not to embark on her planned ascent of Mount Everest with handsome Fogle, 44.
‘In an ideal world, he would like to be able to stop me, but he knows that won’t make me happy,’ she said. If there is trouble in their marriage, it could be the curse of Hello! striking. The couple sold the rights to their wedding to the magazine in 2013.
Marina’s father is the pair’s team doctor as they start their 12-day hike to Everest base camp. He has even created an Instagram account to share photos along the way, already posting a series of snaps including one of him tucked up in bed, which is in the same room as Ben’s.
Marina, 39, has made no secret of her fear of Ben’s trip with Victoria. She recently told me: ‘I’m really nervous about him going up there, of course. I’ve met Victoria a few times. She’s an interesting person because she’s so focused. I’m curious to see how they will get on.’