Adam Ramsay-Peaty’s mum issues statement on family feud after son’s TV rant | Other | Sport

Caroline Peaty has released a statement following her son Adam’s rant on live TV at the Commonwealth Games about their ongoing family rift. In a poignant message, the mother said she still loves her son and is backing him from a distance. It comes after the swimmer became tearful and seemed to attribute their dispute to falling short of a gold medal at the weekend.

Following his bronze-medal performance in the 100m breaststroke final in Glasgow, an emotional Adam said that the widely reported fallout with his estranged family “has taken its toll,” but insisted that the rift was “no fault of my own”. Speaking to journalists after failing to secure the gold medal, the 31-year-old swimmer grew visibly upset. He discussed his private circumstances, saying: “It’s hard because I know how hard I’ve worked. I know the s**t I’ve been through, which is no fault of my own. It does take a toll.”

He also condemned the public attention and online backlash surrounding his family circumstances, telling journalists “enough is enough”. He added: “It’s hard because I know how hard I work. I know the s**t I’ve been through, which is no fault of my own, but it does take its toll.

“I’m not crying because it’s bronze instead of gold. I’m crying because I know I am better than that. I feel like I couldn’t have put any more in and that’s where it hurts, because I’m like, ‘What’s the point of all the metres every day, what’s the point of being exhausted all the time?’

“What’s the point of having to say no to family events so you can go to training’? It has to mean something and for me it has to be human excellence and that is not excellence for me. So that’s the emotion that is unfortunately coming out. She’s always going to be proud of me and I think as a father, it doesn’t matter if you come home with a gold, as long as you come home with a teddy.”

In the wake of Adam’s widely covered emotional interview, his mother Caroline has since turned to Instagram to send a message to her son.

Caroline began by posting a black and white image of Cillian Murphy from the BBC drama Peaky Blinders, alongside the caption: “I forgive people but that doesn’t mean I accept their behaviour or trust them. I forgive them for me, so I can let go and move on with my life.”

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The devoted mother acknowledged having spoken to a national newspaper about her son during the early stages of their rift, but maintains she has not discussed him publicly since, while dropping hints that she is now ready to mend their relationship.

Caroline shared: “We continue to support Adam from afar. He’s our son who we love, whom we supported to reach his aspirations.

“Our love, our time, our sacrifices were given freely with no expectation of financial reward just genuinely given with the love as any mother and father would do for their child.”

She added: “We are strong, we love and are always there for each other.” The mum finished her post with: “The very nature of our strength as a family has helped us move past the nastiness, the lies that have been told about us.”

Adam’s parents Caroline and Mark, who have stood by their son throughout his career, were sadly absent from the stands to witness him compete in Glasgow.

Instead Adam was cheered on by wife Holly, the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, with whom he’s expecting his second child later this year.

Adam’s relationship with his parents soured in the lead-up to his December wedding, reportedly after his mum voiced her hurt at not receiving an invitation to wife Holly’s glamorous hen party.

The likes of Victoria Beckham were granted entry to Soho Farmhouse, yet Caroline was asked to remain at home to look after Adam’s son.

After Caroline expressed her distress on social media, she was subsequently told not to attend the wedding in Bath, while Adam’s father was informed he could attend but only if he remained at the back of the church. On the day, only Adam’s sister Bethany attended from his side of the family.

It is now reported that Adam and Bethany are also estranged. Following her wedding snub, Caroline spoke to the Daily Mail in an attempt to reach out, saying: “Please know I love you, your dad loves you, you can come home and talk to me at any time.”

Caroline had previously been a familiar face at all of Adam’s races, with her unwavering support for her son beginning long before his swimming career took flight.

As a young child, Adam had a tremendous fear of water and would scream during bath time. Caroline tackled this head-on by enrolling him in swimming lessons at the age of four, helping him conquer his phobia while equipping him with a crucial life skill.