Mike Tindall had the 'safest' response to cheeky question about wife Zara

Mike Tindall had the most diplomatic answer when it came to commenting on his wife Zara's competitive side.

The former rugby star, 47, was quizzed about who was backing to win the Magic Millions Barrier Draw on Australia's Gold Coast.

Mike's light-hearted interview with The Star Gold Coast took place before Zara, 44, competed on the sands at Broadbeach. Watch below.

"Look, it gets competitive, I'm not even going to lie about it," he said. "I think there'll be some early nights - not by me obviously, I'm here for the long haul - but it gets very competitive."

He joked, with a cheeky grin: "I'll always back my wife because it hurts less if I do, so…"

The comment prompted laughter from the interviewer, before Mike clarified: "No, I don't, she's very kind… I will always back the wife.

“She's very competitive, but I know Billy [Slater] wants to win, and I know Nacho [Figueras] wants to win it once. So I'm going to stick with my wife because it's safest."

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Mike and Zara are on their annual visit Down Under in their capacity as Magic Millions ambassadors, with equestrian Zara taking part in a number of competitions. The mother-of-three took home the Polo trophy for team Pommery Champagne over the weekend, as well as competed in the Magic Millions Queensland Off-The-Track Cup.

However much the couple love being back in Australia, they have ruled out a move to the other side of the world.

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Speaking to HELLO! in an exclusive interview in 2024, Mike said: "We go to Australia every year for the Magic Millions racing event, and we try to get back to have lunch at the place where we met whenever we can.

"We love Sydney and have loads of friends there, so it's been an important city in our lives. Everyone keeps telling us we're moving there but we're not. It's so far away, especially when you have a big family."

In her illustrious equestrian career, Zara has won two gold medals at the European Eventing Championships and became champion at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in 2006. And in 2012, she took home a silver medal as part of Team GB's eventing team at the London Olympics.

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She met future husband Mike when he was part of the England rugby squad, which won the 2003 World Cup in Australia. After several years of dating, the pair tied the knot at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 July 2011.

The Tindalls reside with their three children, Mia, who turns 12 next week, Lena, seven, and Lucas, four, on Zara's mother Princess Anne's Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire.