ENGLAND legend Terry Venables leaves behind his wife Yvette after a 32-year-long marriage.
Tributes have flooded in for Euro 96 boss Venables after he died at the age of 80 following a long illness.
His family said: “We are totally devastated by the loss of a wonderful husband and father who passed away peacefully yesterday after a long illness.
“We would ask that privacy be given at this incredibly sad time to allow us to mourn the loss of this lovely man who we were so lucky to have had in our lives.”
Venables met his wife Yvette in his father’s pub in Chingford, Essex in 1984.
She accompanied the footballing icon to Barcelona when he was appointed as their manager, with the couple marrying in 1991.
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Yvette supported Terry after he was dismissed from his job as chief executive of Tottenham Hotspur by the club’s owner Alan Sugar in 1993.
Terry was reinstated after gaining a temporary injunction – but went to lose a three-day High Court battle, with the judge ordering him to pay Sugar’s costs.
Yvette also managed Terry’s Kensington dining club, Scribes West for seven years.
However, the couple decided to sell it in 1997.
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Terry and Yvette later ran a boutique hotel and restaurant in Alicante, Spain.
In a 1996 interview, Yvette said: “Terry has more than fulfilled all my romantic aspirations of what the man of my dreams would be like.
“He is my best friend and confidant as well as my husband, and I don’t think any woman could ask for more.
“I could certainly never have imagined what the future would bring when Terry and I first set eyes on each other.
“But to this day I wouldn’t have changed anything.”
Yvette welcomed Terry’s two grown-up daughters from his previous marriage to Christine McCann – while giving up her own own hopes of having children.
She said: “I love children. But the one thing I would never do would be to jeopardise my relationship with Terry.
“And I do think that babies can alter the balance in a marriage.”
Yvette added: “Terry does nothing for himself at home. He wouldn’t know where the hoover was, let alone what to do with it.
“He doesn’t do the washing-up, nothing.
“And it’s probably my fault. His mum used to do everything for him and he’s got into that routine. It really doesn’t bother me.
“If I was to say to him, ‘Oh, please pick up your shirt and put it in the washing machine’, I’m sure he’d do it.
“But I’d never, ever put him in that position.”
Despite being married to the Three Lions legend, Yvette hated being in the limelight.
She said: “I particularly dislike going to big functions.
“I never feel comfortable and dislike the fact that everyone is saying, ‘Oh look, there’s the England coach’, and then looking at me to see what his wife is like.”
But Yvette added: “Terry is my best friend and I’m his. He’s the centre of my life.
“He is also honest, kind and thoughtful, and we both share a good sense of humour.
“It’s really important to be able to laugh, even when things get you down.”
England manager Gareth Southgate has shared a heartwarming tribute to his “outstanding” former coach Terry Venables.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
