Inside Robbie Williams' marriage to Ayda Field Williams and their life with the kids

Robbie Williams has always been courting headlines with his rock star life over the past 30 years but his wife Ayda Field Williams has been long supporting him behind the scenes.

As the singer approaches 50 next February and celebrates his 25th anniversary of his solo tour, the musician has been reflecting on his life.

The Angels hitmaker has relived his past in a four-part self-titled Netflix docuseries, Robbie Williams, which shares intimate never-before-seen personal footage from his star-studded career.

Wearing his heart on his sleeve in the docuseries, Williams also shared glimpses into his family life too with his wife Field Williams and their four children – Theodora (Teddy), 11, Charlie, nine, Colette (Coco), five and Beau, three.

Inside Robbie Williams and Ayda’s marriage

They have been married for 13 years but their love story goes back 17 years. Sparks first flew when the couple met at a party in 2006, having been set up by a mutual friend.

Williams wrote in his memoir Reveal: "I googled her, she was obviously very attractive. But I was also doing a lot of pills that were making me antisocial. So we had plans but I flaked.

"I left her a message days, weeks, later, and it made her laugh. We made plans to meet. But I wasn’t leaving my house, so she had to meet me there, which freaked her out a bit."

Ever the romantic, the rockstar popped the question to his love on Christmas day with a pack of cards, writing on all the four Queen playing cards: "Will", "You", "Marry", "Me?"

The Williams were married at their Los Angeles home in a secret ceremony back on 7 August 2010, featuring an unplanned performance of Angels and their eight dogs as their bridesmaids.

At the time, they shocked their 60 family members and close friends with the wedding ceremony.

The lovebirds had originally told them they were invited to a James Bond Casino Royale party in Los Angeles - when in fact they were planning to get married.

In the spotlight they have gone from strength to strength as a couple - even starring on The X Factor together on the judging panel in 2018.

After living in both the US and the UK, the family have settled into their home in Kensington, west London.

Sex life controversy

This year the couple shocked everyone on the showbiz circuit when they joked about their lack of intimacy, saying: "There is no sex after marriage."

Williams told The Sun: "No sex in a marriage is only a problem if you’re on different pages; if one person wants it, and the other doesn’t; if you have different expectations or requirements. But really, everyone knows there is no sex after marriage."

But the joke spread like wildfire and caused a storm of headlines everywhere.

Ayda Field later revealed the truth behind their intimacy comments in an interview openly discussing their high-profile romance and 13-year marriage.

"We had this funny overshare that was in all the papers," she told Hello! magazine. "It was more of an offhand joke and then we re-explained the joke and it became another thing.

“But listen, I was 27 when I was with Rob. We have four kids now. Different things take centre stage. It’s not Ayda and Rob skipping along and ripping each other’s clothes off and staying up until 6am."

What has Robbie said about being a dad?

As well as being a musician and a husband, Williams is the proud dad to his four children.

In 2012, the mega star opened up about how fatherhood had changed him. During his appearance on Graham Norton, he said: "I really do love it. I was worried before she came – I’d been a pop star since the age of 16 and I’d never done anything for myself and then all of a sudden I was being asked to take care of this life.

"I thought I might be this selfish person but you just melt. The baby came out and everything changed, cosmically, spiritually, life, everything."

Their eldest daughter Teddy could follow her parents into the limelight.

Earlier this year, Williams said on the Robbie Williams Rewind podcast: "Ted's a performer, way ahead of where I was at the same age as her, just unbelievable.

"Her personality – and I know there's the proud dad aspect of everything but, trust me, I know when my children are good at things and not good at other things. She, in particular, is a mini-me when it comes to performance."

Do Robbie's kids appear on the Netflix docuseries?

The couple do share photographs of their children and talk about them in interviews.

But the celebrity parents do offer their children their own privacy too by keeping their faces out of the pictures they post on Instagram.

Now the children make sweet cameos in the Netflix docuseries.

Read more: Robbie Williams

• Robbie Williams Netflix documentary: Everything we know as release date revealed

• Robbie Williams recalls paranoia of Geri Halliwell relationship

• Robbie Williams' wild past laid bare: from quitting Take That to partying with Oasis

• Robbie Williams' biggest showbiz feuds

Netflix's four-part Robbie Williams documentary will be released on Wednesday, 8 November.