Gabby Logan's life from Alan Shearer affair claims 'panic' to brother's death

23 April 2023 , 07:00

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What do we know about Gabby Logan? (Image: BBC / Madeline Penfold)

Gabby Logan has enjoyed a lengthy career as a broadcaster – beginning in radio before she joined Sky Sports in 1996.

Now, the 49-year-old presenter is a regular face on TV, covering a number of sports events including BBC 's Sports Personality of the Year, the UEFA Women's Euros on BBC last year as well as the Commonwealth Games.

As well as appearing on Match of the Day, A League of Their Own and many more shows, Gabby has also hosted the London Marathon's TV coverage since 2015.

Gabby is a staple on sports programmes (Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com)

Not only has Gabby appeared on a number of sports programmes, but the TV star has also appeared on Loose Women, The One Show and event competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007.

But what else do we know about Gabby Logan's life away from the TV screen? Here, we take a look

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Is Gabby Logan married?

Gabby is married to retired Scottish rugby player Kenny Logan.

The pair tied the knot in 2001 and even competed on Strictly Come Dancing at the same time, as Gabby was paired with James Jordan and Kenneth was paired with Ola Jordan.

Gabby and Kenneth underwent IVF and welcomed twins Louis and Reuben in July 2005.

Gabby, husband Kenny and children Lois and Reuben together (FRANK CORNFIELD)

Speaking about her and her husband's journey to becoming parents after suffering fertility struggles, Gabby told Happy Mum Happy Baby in February this year: "You feel in your heart somehow you're failing and you don't want to always admit that you're not achieving this thing that seems so easy for everyone else.

"Once we started on the voyage of discovery of what was going on inside my body, in Kenny’s body, and then we’re told after some quite intrusive tests 'oh, well you’re part of the 20% of people who have unexplained infertility'."

Gabby's husband Kenny was diagnosed with cancer in February 2022, after the sports presenter urged him to go to the doctor.

After getting the all-clear, Kenny revealed side effects from his treatment had affected their sex life.

The couple have been married since 2001 (Getty Images)

Kenny recently opened up on the couple's sex life (Getty Images for BGC Partners)

In an interview with the Telegraph, Logan said: "Whether it be my dyslexia, my relationship, IVF, we've always been quite open. So, I was quite happy to talk about erectile dysfunction and all these other things because I was like, 'It is a symptom'.

"Six months on, I would say I'm physically 100 per cent, mentally 100 per cent, feel good. From a sexual point of view, it's not consistent. As the surgeon said to me, this could take 18 months.

"Within a month, I was getting movement, where he says, 'That's amazing'. So it's just not as consistent. The beauty is you can take a tablet and it changes things."

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False Alan Shearer affair rumours

In 2011, a social media user falsely accused Gabby of having an affair with Alan Shearer.

The incident happened when there were a "load of injunctions being slapped on tabloid newspapers", Gabby explained in October.

At the time, there was a "rumour swirling" that a former footballer was trying to prevent a story from being published.

Presenter Gabby previously faced false claims she had an affair with Alan Shearer (The Overlap)

As speculation around who the ex-footballer was and what they were trying to keep out of the press, one Twitter user tagged her and claimed she was embroiled in an affair with former Newcastle and England striker Shearer.

Gabby was initially amused by the post but that quickly turned to panic.

In Logan's memoir, serialised by the Mail on Sunday, the mother of two wrote, "A message popped up on my timeline: 'I hear this injunction concerns @gabbylogan who is having an affair with Alan Shearer.' I laughed when I read it. Then I got angry. Then I panicked."

Gabby admitted she 'panicked' after seeing the tweet (The FA via Getty Images)

A few minutes after reading the tweet and shortly before heading into her facial appointment, Gabby hastily responded by writing: "I think you should be careful what you write on here. The publishing laws apply and you are guilty of defamation of character with that."

Gabby said she suspects her reply "prodded the bear" as she quickly received another tweet which said: "So @gabbylogan, are you saying that you haven’t been having an affair with Alan Shearer?" Logan quickly shot down the false claim and went in for her facial appointment, hoping that was the last of the episode.

Later, the presenter received a call from her agent and was told to buy a copy of News of the World which, in pages four and five, had a story "of absolute nothingness" with the headline 'TV's Gabby Logan denies affair with Alan Shearer'.

Gabby's brother's tragic death

In 1992 Gabby's brother Daniel died suddenly at age 15, which plunged the TV star into grief.

Gabby was at a time in her life when she was preparing for ITV's gladiator after the British Gymnastic Association put her name down to take part in the programme.

She just returned from the gym on an evening in May when her mother called to inform her of her 15-year-old brother's death.

Gabby is haunted by the memory of her brother's passing (Joe Pepler/PinPep)

Gabby with her mum and siblings (Mirrorpix)

"My head was utterly scrambled. I couldn’t hear what Mum was saying. She was sobbing too loudly – or maybe that was me," she recalled in her memoir.

Daniel had collapsed in the garden while playing football with his brother Jordan and their father.

Their dad, former Leeds United and Wales footballer Terry Yorath, approached Daniel when he tumbled over, thinking it was a prank.

She wrote: "But Daniel didn’t turn when Dad approached him in the garden. So Dad rolled him over, and saw his eyes were vacant, his pulse gone, his body limp."

He died of a hidden heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, also known as sudden death syndrome. It causes the muscle of the heart to thicken, making it harder for the organ to pump blood.

Gabby went on to explain how, for her, life has become 'before he died' and 'after he died'.

"The 25th of May 1992 really did change everything," the star added.

"While I’d always been an independent and determined child, Daniel’s death made me fearless. I wasn’t worried about failing or looking a fool, because, well – what could hurt me as much as his death had?"

Amy Denman