‘We don’t agree on some things': Zara Tindall opens up about difficult moments in her marriage to husband Mike

Mike and Zara Tindall spoke candidly about how they overcome the ‘difficult’ moments in their marriage.

The couple, who married in 2011 and have three children, Mia, 12, Lena, eight, and Lucas, five, made a joint appearance on the Talk Horse podcast during which they said their shared love of sport strengthened their bond – but that some confrontation was unavoidable.

'I think neither of us necessarily chase out confrontation until it happens. That's sometimes not the best way of doing it,' Mike, a former England rugby star, explained. 'But then when it happens, I think we're probably pretty good at actually talking about it. He added: 'You've just got to try and muddle your way through. It's never easy, is it?'

Zara explained that shared interests are at the root of their relationship, adding: 'I think we enjoy the same things, even if we don't agree on some things.'

Speaking on the Talk Horse podcast, Zara also reflected on her journey to her horse riding success, one that eventually saw her crowned World Champion, win a silver medal at the London Olympics, and, this year, win the British Open. After leaving Gordonstoun, she decided to see whether she to see whether she might be able to turn her passion for eventing into a career.

‘I think my dad and my mum were like, “But you have to do it properly. And this is how it's going to work. And you're not getting any help, and you need to produce results",’ Zara said.

The Princess Royal and Mark Phillips divorced in 1992, when Zara was 11, but her father remained a hard taskmaster in her training. He was, she said, a great deal stricter than her mother when it came to the sport.

‘Mum's very relaxed,’ she recalled. ‘She's like, “Just, you know, just do what you do,” whereas my father's like, “More of this, more of that”.’

The King’s niece added: ‘My father was quite critical... Very rarely you would get a, “Yeah, that was good”, out of him. So it was always striving to try and get that comment. He was a tough coach.’

The attitude delivered results. In 2006, Zara topped the podium at the World Equestrian Games, riding Toytown to a stunning victory in Aachen. She was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, then went on to win silver at the 2012 Olympics, where the medal was presented to her by her mother.

Despite this success, Zara is endeavouring to be less tough on her daughters, who have both expressed an interest in following in their mother’s footsteps. She has been taking Mia, 12, and eight-year-old Lena jumping with their cousins, Savannah and Isla Phillips, though it sounds like her eldest is not entirely keen to heed her mother’s advice.

‘I said something to Mia, she just rolled her eyes. I literally said the same thing to the other guys; they didn't roll their eyes at me,’ Zara recounted: ‘I think I was probably like that with my mother and father too.’

But Mia is certainly putting in the hard work. Last month, she took the reins to compete in the Blenheim Horse Trials. With proud mother Zara watching on from the sidelines, Mia rode her horse, Bunny Two Twirls, at the Heythrop Pony Club Blenheim Palace Show Jumping competition. The young Tindall already appeared to be a seasoned competitor, wearing a smart traditional riding uniform and boots, with her blonde hair tied up beneath her helmet.

And young Mia’s love of equestrianism goes beyond simply competing. While Zara Tindall was also busy at the Horse Trials, her daughter was spotted grooming her mother’s horse, Classicals Euro Star, between events. The Olympic silver medalist also coached her daughter through some jumps, no doubt offering up the years of competition practice which saw her claim a stunning victory at the British Open Championships in August – though any eye rolls were not photographed…