Following years of not speaking to one another, Wayne Lineker has addressed the state of his relationship with brother Gary and why the former footballer won’t step foot in O Beach
It’s a sibling feud that ran for 17 years, but Wayne Lineker and his brother, Gary, are back in each other’s lives. It was claimed that the two brothers fell out due to Gary’s relationship with his ex-wife, Danielle Bux.
And the rift was only intensified when Wayne wasn’t invited to Gary and Danielle’s wedding, leading the pair to be distant from one another for almost two decades.
But while neither Wayne nor Gary has spoken in detail about their rift, it seems the two siblings are now past it. Although their lives were very different, with Gary making a name for himself on the football pitch and Wayne known for his wild Ibiza antics, they’re now in contact and appear to be closer than ever.
In a new interview, former party man Wayne, 64, has spoken about just how close he and Gary, 65, are. “I’ve always had their support,” he said of his family. He went on to tell the Daily Mail: “Our relationship has progressed a lot since seeing how well I’ve done for them. Even my relationship with my brother is good now, and I’m very close with his children.
“We’re all just really close. Gary and I had that time apart, many years apart. But now, we speak often. He came to Ibiza for his son’s wedding, but he stayed well away from Ocean Beach. I don’t think it’s Gary’s scene!”
Wayne previously said: “In my opinion, Danielle cost me my relationship with my brother. Sadly Gary is no longer a part of my life. They came to Ibiza in August 2008 and it was really awkward. I didn’t spark with Danielle and our relationship was cold.”
However, to avoid drawing attention to the frostiness, Wayne didn’t address the situation with his brother. Wayne had been the best man at Gary’s first wedding to ex-wife Michelle Cockayne in 1986, but he didn’t even attend his second wedding.
The Ibiza club owner refused to attend because he was told his then-girlfriend, model Ana Tanaka, was not invited just months before the big day. “He was my brother and he was telling me that I couldn’t bring my girlfriend of a year and a half to his wedding. She was a lovely, polite girl, and not a five-minute girlfriend,” argued Wayne.
Last year, Wayne and Gary were pictured together at the latter’s son, Harry’s, wedding. Wayne has always been very close to Gary’s sons, George, Harry, Angus, and Tobias, who regularly visit him in Ibiza and kept in touch with him despite the rift between the brothers.
“All four come here. They always say ‘If Carlsberg made uncles, then I’m the man.’ They get treated amazingly. George comes three times a year,” Wayne previously said. But while Wayne was once known for his partying at O Beach, this year is very different.
The businessman will be celebrating one year sober next month, and his children and grandchildren will mark the occasion with him in Ibiza. Although he will always be part of O Beach, he is now planning on reducing his time at the venue to around three to four hours, rather than being the first person in and the last person out.
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