Todd Woodbridge Stuns Fans With the Way He Defends His Wife Against a Rude Question — A Proud and Enduring Love Proven Over More Than Three Decades
After more than three decades together, Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge says he and his wife, Natasha, share a kind of love that he believes has become increasingly rare in modern life.
Looking back on their journey, the former tennis champion and Tipping Point host says the quiet sacrifices his wife made throughout the years are something many people fail to fully recognize or appreciate.
Speaking to nine.com.au, Woodbridge admitted he often feels uncomfortable when people ask his wife about her occupation.
“Tash is an incredibly strong-willed competitive woman,” he said.
“And at some point people go, ‘Oh [Tash], what do you do for a job?’ and I butt in because it’s a rude question, I think.”
According to Woodbridge, society often measures people by job titles and careers, while overlooking the countless contributions made behind the scenes.
“It’s rude because Tash played the role of partner, wife, psychologist, running our travel, running our house, putting the kids through school, while I was focused on one thing, and that was a job on its own.”
Todd and Natasha’s love story began when they were still teenagers. He was 18 and she was just 16 when they first met through Natasha’s sister, former tennis star Nicole Provis.
A few years later, at just 19 years old, Natasha made a life-changing decision to join Todd on the professional tennis circuit. For the next 17 years, the couple spent much of their lives travelling around the world, spending approximately 38 weeks a year away from Australia.
Woodbridge emphasized that the decision was entirely his wife’s.
“By her own choice, she gave up her own challenges to do the ones for us.”
Todd was 24 and Natasha 21 when they got married. It was also the same year they left Australia to fully pursue his tennis career.
Reflecting on those early years, Woodbridge believes the level of commitment they showed at such a young age is uncommon.
“At that age, a lot of people go on gap years and stuff, but this was it. This was the commitment and I think that’s pretty rare.”
He also acknowledged that life with a professional athlete was far from easy.
“It’s very easy to move in and out of relationships. None of it could’ve been easy dealing with me through the ups and downs of tennis, the mood swings and losses and ranking changes.”
According to Woodbridge, his wife’s experience was never simply about seeing the world.
“It wasn’t travelling the world. It was managing all of those pieces of our puzzle and I’m really proud of her,” Todd said.
Beyond his success on the court, the couple built a close-knit family and are now proud parents to daughter Zara, 25, and son Beau, 23.
Woodbridge says he never pressured either of his children to follow in his footsteps. Instead, he encouraged them to pursue their own dreams.
Beau has chosen a career in theatre and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a Master of Arts degree. Meanwhile, Zara is an accomplished golfer who has represented the Golf Victoria state team and is currently studying nutrition with hopes of becoming a registered dietician.
Now that their children have moved out, Todd and Natasha have entered a new chapter in their marriage. One passion they now share is golf, and many of their holidays are planned around the sport.
“We like golf, that’s something we do now,” Todd shared.
“We plan our trips away around golf, places where we can go see the world but play golf, you know?”
He also recalled a humorous conversation with his wife.
“I asked her, ‘Would you like to do a trip to the Maldives?’. She goes, ‘Oh it’d be lovely, but there’s no golf course there’,” he laughed.
“She’s a sporting woman at heart.”
Despite the lack of golf courses, the couple eventually did make it to the Maldives.
As they celebrate 31 years of marriage, Woodbridge admits he still cannot believe how quickly time has passed.
“That’s a long time, isn’t it?”
He then smiled and added:
“It’s a good effort.”
After all of his achievements in tennis, Todd Woodbridge believes one of the greatest accomplishments of his life may simply be finding a partner who was willing to stand beside him, make sacrifices, and share the highs and lows of life for more than three decades.
