Cricket star Ricky Ponting and his wife Rianna Ponting (née Cantor) are notoriously private, preferring to live their day-to-day lives without the glare of the spotlight.
And in their first-ever interview as a couple for The Daily Telegraph’s Stellar magazine this weekend, Rianna said that she’s always been happy to do her thing ‘without people watching’.
The mother-of-three went on to say that it wasn’t until Lara Worthington (née Bingle) dated Michael Clarke from 2007 to 2010, that WAGs suddenly became ‘interesting’.
Shunning the spotlight: Cricket star Ricky Ponting’s wife Rianna told The Daily Telegraph’s Stellar magazine that Lara Worthington (née Bingle) ‘made WAGs interesting’. Ricky and Rianna are pictured with their daughters Emmy, 12, and Matisse, nine, and son Fletcher, six
Rianna, who met Ricky, 45, in 2001 and wed just eight months later, recalled how cricket WAGs weren’t really a thing during Ricky’s reign as captain of Australia.
‘I think it changed when the beautiful Lara Bingle came along and made WAGs interesting,’ Rianna told Stellar.
‘Prior to that, cricket WAGS weren’t really a thing. And thank goodness! The idea of no one caring [about me] was much easier than having all that scrutiny.’
Former power couple: ‘I think it changed when the beautiful Lara Bingle came along and made WAGs interesting,’ Rianna said this weekend, adding that ‘prior to that, cricket WAGS weren’t really a thing’. Lara is pictured with then-boyfriend Michael Clarke in 2008. They split in 2010
Lara, 33, who is now married to Australian actor Sam Worthington, made headlines during her relationship with cricket legend Michael Clarke from 2007 to 2010.
In 2010, after a two-year engagement, Lara and Michael announced their split.
Unlike Lara, who was popular in her own right as a successful editorial model, Rianna never saw herself as a media identity.
Private: Rianna, who met Ricky, 45, in 2001 and wed just eight months later, also told Stellar that she’s always been happy to do her thing ‘without people watching’
‘When I met Rick, he was always in the media. That was his role and I never saw it as a dual role – he would do his thing, come home and we would live our normal life. It was nice to do that without people watching,’ she explained.
Rianna and Ricky are proud parents to three children, daughters Emmy, 12, and Matisse, nine, and son Fletcher, six.
Ricky, who is now a Seven Network commentator, told The Hamper Emporium in August that fatherhood is by far his best gig yet.
Fatherhood: Ricky, who has retired from professional cricket and is now a Seven Network commentator, told The Hamper Emporium in August that fatherhood is by far his best gig yet
‘Even when I was playing [cricket], as soon as the kids came along, it didn’t matter if you had a good day or a bad day on or off the field,’ he said.
‘Just to see their smiling faces every morning, afternoon and night, and being able to spend as much time as I have with them over the last five or six years since I’ve retired, has been what life is really all about.
‘I think life is all about family. I obviously had a long cricket career but now that that’s done, it’s all about being the best husband I can be and the best father I can be.’
Appreciative: ‘Just to see their smiling faces every morning, afternoon and night, and being able to spend as much time as I have with them over the last five or six years since I’ve retired, has been what life is really all about,’ he said