Robbie Williams‘ wife Ayda Field has become a stalwart at the singer’s side, revealing in his hard-hitting Netflix documentary that she even ‘nursed’ him through a violent drugs reaction when they first met.
And the actress, who rose to fame as a star of the US soap opera Days Of Our Lives, has overcome her fair share of personal woes.
Ayda, who married the Rock DJ hitmaker in 2010, has openly shared her own family struggles, and has admitted that learning to love herself has been one of ‘the hardest’ things.
In recent years, Ayda has launched her own activewear range, and has also embraced motherhood, raising four children with husband Robbie.
MailOnline takes a look at how Ayda Field has overcome her tragedies to reinvent herself as a wellness guru…
Family illness
Heartbreaking: Ayda revealed in 2018 that her mother Gwen’s had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s
Tragic: In 2014, Ayda’s father Haldun suddenly died of a heart attack, with the star sharing a heart-wrenching tribute to him on Instagram in August
Ayda revealed in 2018 that her mother Gwen’s had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, just two days before she and Robbie were due to attend Princess Eugenie’s wedding.
Speaking on Loose Women in 2019, she said: ”I know how close I am with my mum and we’re best friends.
‘I think if you are raised by a single mum for a long time there is a close bond so this is tough. The diagnosis is tough.’
Ayda admitted that it has been a ‘confusing’ and ‘tough’ time, with the television star revealing that she’s had ‘moments of misplaced anger’.
In 2021, Ayda then shared the heartbreaking news that her mother Gwen had been diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Speaking on her At Home with The Williamses podcast last year, Ayda admitted to her fears that her mother could pick up Covid-19 in hospital.
She said: ‘My mum in January was diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer and it had spread outside the cervix and was a very aggressive tumour…
‘So alongside her Parkinson’s and her Lupus was this cancer battle and because the cancer was so big they decided that she needed to immediately go into chemo and radiation daily and have surgery…
‘When the pandemic hit it was very scary because my mum with Lupus and Parkinson’s and cancer, at 70 years old is prime for some bad things happening so she was going to the hospital every day for these treatments…
‘I remember thinking ‘Is she going to pick something up? Is this where it all ends?”
In 2014, Ayda’s father Haldun suddenly died of a heart attack, with the star sharing a heart-wrenching tribute to him on Instagram in August.
‘It will always be the day. Forever. And today, I’m sad. As usual. Tomorrow, I will try and push it away. Let it fade. But today, I acknowledge it. More importantly, I will honour my dad.’
Fertility struggles
Family: Ayda has also detailed the ‘long and difficult’ path she and Robbie faced to have a third child, when they shared that they’d welcomed their daughter via an ‘incredible’ surrogate
Ayda has also detailed the ‘long and difficult’ path she and Robbie faced to have a third child, when they shared that they’d welcomed their daughter Coco via an ‘incredible’ surrogate.
Ayda wrote at the time: ‘I spy with my little eye an extra little hand. So we have been keeping a very special secret! We are delighted to share with you that we have had a baby girl…. welcome to the world Colette (Coco) Josephine Williams!!
‘It has been a very long and difficult path to get here, which is why we have kept it on the down low.
‘Family comes in all forms, and this little lady, who is biologically ours, was carried by an incredible surrogate mother, to whom we will be eternally grateful.’
She continued: ‘We are over the moon to have this beautiful baby girl in our lives and so blessed that we live in a world which makes this possible.
‘As with Teddy and Charlie, we ask that you respect Coco’s privacy and allow us to grow into our new team of 5!’
Just 17 months later, the couple shared that their family was ‘complete’ when they welcomed their fourth child, son Beau’ through the same ‘incredible’ surrogate.
Robbie’s drug battles
Tough time: In Robbie’s new Netflix docuseries, Ayda reflected on the challenges she and the singer faced during the early days of their relationship
Loved-up: After completing his treatment and getting clean, Robbie and Ayda rekindled their romance, and jetted to Morocco together
In Robbie’s new Netflix docuseries, Ayda reflected on the challenges she and the singer faced during the early days of their relationship.
In the series, Robbie and Ayda detailed their unlikely first meeting while he was in the US, with the Feel singer admitting that he’d relapsed into drug addiction, and she was forced to ‘nurse’ him when he became unwell after taking cocaine.
Robbie, who admitted earlier in the episode he had spiralled back into drug addiction, added: ‘She came over to my house after being at a party I’d just seen off my dealer that I was sleeping with at the time.’
‘The house is completely f*****g dark, not candles no lights, we’re just sitting there talking, we have nothing in common,’ Ayda explained.
Eventually Robbie decided to take Ayda back to the party she’d come from, and the Days Of Our Lives star continued: ‘I guess I surrendered to the fact that we were not each other’s person, and we were just completely loose with each other, he was saying funny s**t in the car and I thought ”oh he’s funny!”
‘There was just this moment we were laughing and it was like the universe opened up.’
Robbie then revealed that he begun to suffer an intense reaction to a line of cocaine, and Ayda took him home and ‘nursed him’ before they ‘talked all night.’
While Ayda said she was aware that Robbie was in the grips of a drug addiction, she still described him as ‘her soulmate.’
As Robbie’s troubles reached a terrifying new low, he admitted he began to struggle with suicidal thoughts.
After an intervention from his management, Robbie explained that he and Ayda decided to split so that he could complete a stint in rehab.
‘He is like I can’t be in a relationship and I have to get better, I have to break up with you,’ Ayda said.
‘I understood it because I saw he was unwell and I remember thinking I just want you to get better whatever you need to do, and I was just so crestfallen. He was my soulmate and then he was gone.’
After completing his treatment and getting clean, Robbie and Ayda rekindled their romance, and jetted to Morocco together.
They went onto marry in 2010, and they have four children, Teddy, 11, Charlie, nine, Coco, five, and Beau, three.
Kickstarting her wellness career
Stunning: While she was best known in the US for her acting roles, in recent years Ayda has reinvented herself as a wellness guru with her own activewear range
While she was best known in the US for her acting roles, in recent years Ayda has reinvented herself as a wellness guru.
On social media she’s built a following of like-minded working parents who embrace her chaotic approach to life, and now has over 600,000 followers.
Last year, Ayda launched her own high-end athleisure label called Ayda Activewear.
‘This is 100 percent my first venture into clothing,’ Williams told Yahoo News.
‘I have had the thought for quite some time, and I’ve always been passionate about fitness and wellness, and the only things I wear is my athleisure.
‘I want the women to know we’re in a dialogue together in this,’ Williams said. ‘There is no such thing as perfectionism. We all have our stumbles. I want women to feel embraced in this space.’
Learning to love herself
Candid: Ayda previously revealed that learning to love her appearance remains a challenge
Ayda has previously revealed that learning to love her appearance remains a challenge, telling HELLO!: ‘That’s been the hardes. Loving Rob has been easy in comparison – how can you love someone unconditionally if you don’t love yourself? It inevitably happens.
‘Like grace with wellness, there’s a grace that comes with ageing.
‘It’s a constant challenge because as a woman, as someone in a public space, there are so many opportunities to listen to that little voice that says bad things to you. But I’m definitely more relaxed as I get older.’
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
