Andrew Strauss is preparing to remarry seven years after the death of his first wife, Ruth.
The former England captain, now 48, confirmed that he will wed Antonia Linnaeus Peat on December 17 in the wine town of Franschhoek in South Africa, in a ceremony that will be attended only by their families.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Strauss explained that the gathering would be small and private in the valley east of Cape Town.
The timing means he will not be in Australia for the start of the Ashes series next week, choosing instead to focus on the wedding he and Linnaeus Peat have been planning quietly for some time.
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The couple were first seen together two years ago after leaving an exclusive London restaurant and were reported to have been in a relationship for several months already.
Their more public appearances have since included the Royal Box at Wimbledon this summer, where they joined a cluster of sporting names.
Linnaeus Peat, 30, grew up in Hong Kong before attending St Mary’s Calne, a boarding school that commands huge fees every year.
Andrew Strauss and Antonia Linnaeus Peat pictured at Wimbledon
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A former PR executive, she is now a company director at Linnaeus Fine Art Advisory Limited.
Strauss’s decision to marry again comes after a long period of adjustment following the death of his first wife.
Ruth died aged 46 on December 29, 2018 from a rare form of non smoking lung cancer. She and Strauss had been married for fifteen years and had two sons, Samuel and Luca, now 19 and 17.
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Andrew Strauss tragically lost his first wife, Ruth, back in 2018
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Her illness and death prompted the former opener to establish the Ruth Strauss Foundation in 2019.
The charity supports families preparing for the loss of a parent and funds research into the types of lung cancer that claimed Ruth’s life.
Its annual Red for Ruth day has become a fixture in the English cricketing summer, with fans and players wearing red during a July Test to highlight the charity’s work.
Strauss has spoken candidly about how grief altered his perspective.
In a 2023 interview with The Telegraph he reflected on the urgency that followed Ruth’s death.
“Our time is limited, and therefore I need to be more conscious about what I do and don't do,” he said. “This might mean experiencing things that weren't appealing to me before, or saying no to things even though I don't want to let people down. But most of all, it means keeping the people most important to me happy.”
Andrew Strauss established himself as an England cricket legend during his playing days
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He also urged greater openness around grief.
“It is still far too much of a taboo,” he said.
“Many people feel very uncomfortable, not knowing what to say to those who are going through it.
“They shudder, almost wanting to pretend that it's not going on.
“It is absurd, because we're all going to be touched by death in life. Grief still feels very beneath the surface to me. And that has to change.”
In 2018, when announcing Ruth’s death, Strauss said: “Anyone who has met Ruth will know how loving, caring and passionately protective she was of her family and it gives us huge comfort that she was in Australia, the land of her birth, surrounded by those who love her, in her final moments.”