Clare Balding is back on the BBC to anchor this year's coverage ofj Trooping the Colour. The star, who has been on our screens since 1994, is one of Britain's most recognisable voices thanks to her decades of presenting live events, including Wimbledon and The Boat Race.
Clare was one of the first British celebrities to get married after same-sex marriage was legalised in 2015. The 55-year-old had already been in a civil partnership with her wife, Alice Arnold, for nine years before they were able to marry.
Scroll down to find out everything about their relationship, and Clare's "real, deep love" for Alice…
Early days
The two first met back in 1999, when they were both working at the BBC, where Clare still is today. At first, Clare and Alice were just friends, but their relationship soon blossomed into something more, and in 2006, they entered into a civil partnership.
However, when same-sex marriage was legalised in 2015, they had an official wedding ceremony. Since then, the broadcasters have backdated their marriage, so that they have now been officially married since 2006. During an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show, she said of the ceremony: "We didn't have a big party at all, actually. Nobody came apart from us."
What has Clare Balding said about marriage?
In the same interview, the BBC presenter spoke about same-sex marriage more generally, adding: "It's about equality. It's just about knowing that you can and knowing that you can say: 'I'm married'. And nobody's going to think that's married in inverted commas… I think it's great."
In a separate interview with the Mail, Clare shared the secret behind their long-lasting marriage, explaining: "Alice and I just have the most lovely time together, we have so much fun and we enjoy doing the same things to relax.
© Dave Benett/Getty Images for Vic"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."
Speaking exclusively to HELLO! last year, she revealed how her love story with Alice inspired her new novel, saying: "One of the things I wanted to write about in my novel was about falling because I thought, 'I know that'. I know what real, deep love is and meeting someone I want to grow old with. Lucky, lucky me."
© Dave Benett/Getty Images for VicClare also revealed that, as well as watching television together, they also enjoy golfing and cruising: "Alice and I are about to go from New York up to Quebec and back again and we're going to Japan on a cruise next year. We love being on the water and then ending up in a new place."
