Adam Peaty: Religion ‘Saved Him’ Amid Family Feud Over Church Rules

Adam Peaty hit rock bottom in May 2022 after a fractured foot became the ‘catalyst’ of his dark ‘downward spiral’.

After winning two gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the sports star has explained he underwent ‘three years of hell’ battling depression, alcoholism and the separation from the mother of his child.

However after taking a break from the sport, the Olympian attributed his newfound Christian faith as the key that saved him during the dark time. 

Adam, who also began dating his now fiancée Holly Ramsay during this period, has gone as far as to say: ‘I’d rather have my faith and my relationship with Jesus and come second than have a gold.’

Adam and Holly’s feud with his family has reached fever pitch after claims of threats of violence against the couple were reported – as their very public row escalates even further. 

In the days since, a briefing battle has ensued which has seen Holly’s famous father Gordon’s PR machine jump into action – with a blizzard of accusations and counter-accusations from each side.

Holly was pictured breaking cover on Thursday clutching a ‘Bride’ phone case when she was seen for the first time since her feud with fiancé’s family came to light.

The sighting came after the Peatys took to social media in force to claim they have been overlooked from the couple’s wedding plans because they are ‘simple people on benefits’, who do not fit in with the Ramsays’ polished look.

Peaty’s family have insisted the star isn’t following his Christian beliefs by shunning his family from their wedding celebrations as they accused Adam of sending his mother outfit options because he ‘didn’t approve of her choices’.

Born in Staffordshire, Adam was raised Catholic and was always partially spiritual. 

However he now actively describes himself as a ‘religious man’ after joining an Evangelical Church, where he attends almost every Sunday.

His return to religion, which ultimately helped his recovery and return to swimming, came after he met five-time Olympic chaplain Ashley Null, who helped put his identity as an athlete into perspective after he lost his once unbeatable streak. 

Adam recalled: ‘He said to me, “An Olympic gold medal is the coldest thing you will ever wear. It feels so warm because you have achieved your goal, but at what cost?”

‘Relationships end, your friends and family are on the back burner, even your own children have to be on the back burner.

‘As athletes, we expect a gold medal to fix all our problems because that’s the only thing we care about, in the sense of job outcome.

‘But as soon as you realise it doesn’t fix anything, it can be the coldest thing because you have sacrificed so much. You have to make sure you address those issues.’

He added: ‘It’s about being a better person. Not only being a better athlete and fulfilling my gift, but also being a better dad for George. There are so many other reasons. It gets quite deep.’

Adam now prays every day without fail and has inked a cross and the words ‘Into the Light’ on his torso amongst his collection of large tattoos.

Both Holly and Adam honoured their faith after they announced their engagement last year. 

Sharing a picture of the ring, Holly gushed that she was ‘marrying her best friend’ before quoting Corinthians from the New Testament. 

She penned: ‘And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13’.

After meeting through Strictly in 2022, when Holly’s sister Tilly was also competing, Adam has revealed it was her willingness to become part of his church that convinced him him she was marriage material. 

He wrote on Instagram: ‘You came to church with me and joined the incredible community we have there without a question. Matthew 19:6. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

Adam and Holly’s ceremony is taking place at Bath Abbey before famous guests head to lavish country estate Kin House. 

While Holly was raised religious it seems she embraced her faith more once things became serious with Adam. 

After attending a Church of England school himself, her father Gordon has said he and the family would go to the church in Chelsea where he married Tana about six times a year. 

He previously told The Times: ‘I want the kids to understand that there is a God and that more times than not we need to turn to Him for help. I’ve got no reason to stop being religious because so far it’s worked.’

He revealed he prayed when his twins were born six weeks prematurely and went into intensive care where Jack was found to have a small hole in his heart. 

Adam has also gushed over his relationship with Holly as the other factor that saved him amid his return to the swimming pool in 2024. 

He told The Times: ‘She’s brilliant. She’s been pinnacle to this moment in my life where I can have peace and I can have that kind of love where it’s not defined by anything else other than the connection we have.

‘It’s great and I look forward to the future’.

Adam also gushed over the support from the Ramsay brood – namely Gordon, who he said ‘inspires me to be successful’.

The sportsman has since come under fire from his working class family members, who have accused him of being seduced by the wealth and fame of the Ramsay family. 

Adam is said to now feel ashamed of his own working class family who made huge sacrifices and shelled out hundreds for his swimming lessons growing up.

Speaking to The Mail’s Katie Hind, they said: ‘You only have to look at the picture to see that there is a certain “type”, says one person familiar with the party. 

‘They all look the same and you wonder if Caroline might have stuck out a bit. She’s a normal woman, not a celebrity. You look at Holly’s Instagram and it’s all so planned, so super-glam and very, very showy. That’s not Caroline.’

Adam’s auntie Louise Williams took to social media to share her anger as she penned: ‘How can Adam and Holly “source” sit there and say Caroline wasn’t invited because of the way my sister looks? 

‘She doesn’t suit the look Holly is looking for????! WTF BODY SHAMING A 60 YEAR OLD WOMAN! JESUS CHRIST ON A CRACKER!’

She added: ‘Yes. Adam is a born again Christian. He’s not living by the tenets of Christianity is he? Where is “honour thy mother and thy father” where is the forgiveness?’

An insider close to the Peaty family claimed it seemed like Adam didn’t feel his nursery worker mother and caretaker father are ‘good enough for the new one he is now part of.’ 

They added: ‘Holly comes from a celebrity world, while his parents do not, and his ego and self-importance have grown. He’s no longer the lovely boy next door we all remember.’

A source told Daily Mail: ‘Caroline is devastated by the rift and doesn’t know what she has done wrong.

‘Adam’s relationship with his mum and dad Mark are at an all-time low, and now she’s not coming to the wedding,

‘She had been so excited and really wanted to be involved and had offered to make lovely table setting name plates, as she is a skillful craftswoman, but she was told her help wasn’t needed.

‘As time has gone on, things have become strained and there have been rows, the tension has been very fraught. Caroline is in pieces and is absolutely heartbroken that it’s gotten to this point.

‘Caroline and Mark put Adam’s career above everything and supported him through thick and thin so for their relationship to have crumbled is so upsetting.

‘They feel that Adam started to grow distant from his family after he met Holly and they started to become more serious. There is a feeling that money is an issue.

‘His family are working class and proud – it’s a stark contrast to the Ramsay family and some members of the family have said it feels like Adam is ashamed of them.’

However, a source close to the Ramsays points to ‘wider problems’ in the Peaty family which they say is at the heart of the fall out – and that they are serious.

The insider explains that there have been ‘horrible’ threats of violence against Holly, 25, and Adam, 30, and that police are now involved.

The Olympic swimmer reportedly had to be escorted from his plane by armed police after receiving threats on his stag do.

He is said to have been met by five uniformed police officers who flanked him through immigration and baggage reclaim, after the aircraft touched down at Manchester Airport on Sunday night.

They said CCTV was also monitored by authorities for suspicious activity and Adam was escorted from the building into a waiting vehicle.

The Sun report the police presence came following fears he could be assaulted as shaken Adam initially contacted his fiancée Holly, who then alerted police.

A friend told the publication: ‘The issues that have been reported don’t stem from hen do or wedding invitations; it goes so much deeper.

‘Things escalated over the weekend when someone became increasingly abusive and threatening over text. Adam was trying to enjoy his stag do and was getting freaked out by it all.

‘He then received a threat that he’d be met off the plane. He told Holly who called the cops after consulting with her family.’

The friend added that Holly’s parents, chef Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana have been ‘100 per cent supportive’ of them.

But sources close to the situation told the Daily Mail’s Katie Hind that the accusations from team Ramsay have not reflected favourably upon them.

The insider told Mail+: ‘It all seems rather unedifying for Team Ramsay to come out and throw around accusations about a normal, ordinary family like the Peatys.’ The full exclusive report is available to read here.