Why Clare Balding might not wear her wedding ring during Olympics

The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics begins today, so many sports fans will be tuned in to watch it live.

Over at the BBC, viewers will be delighted to see the familiar face of veteran presenter Clare Balding.

This is not Balding’s first time covering sporting events, as she is a lesbian and has covered many sporting events in the past, including the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Paralympics, Wimbledon and rugby league.

Balding is married, but eagle-eyed fans may notice that she doesn’t always wear a ring during her television appearances, so there’s a chance she’ll be ring-free during the Olympics coverage.

During the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the bald actress was spotted without a ring, leaving people confused about her relationship status.

Her wife previously explained why, confirming the pair are still together, when she posted on Twitter (now known as X): “Surprised that so many people have noticed Clare Balding is no longer wearing her wedding ring. Don’t worry, the ring is kept safe in my home.”

The couple felt it was “unwise” to wear the “irreplaceable” jewellery to such a big event due to the risk of it getting lost.

So even though Balding won’t be wearing her wedding ring at this year’s Olympics, fans can take comfort in knowing that she’s as happily married as ever.

When did Clare Balding come on the scene?

Balding came out as a lesbian in 2003 after hiding her sexual orientation for nearly a decade. She kept it a secret for so long because she feared coming out would end her career as a broadcaster.

“I was scared that if people knew I was dating a woman I would be humiliated or discriminated against when it came to choosing presenters for big events or TV shows. Thankfully, the world has changed a lot since then,” she previously told The Sun.

Who was Clare Balding’s wife Alice Arnold?

Balding married Alice Arnold in a private ceremony in 2015 and has been in a civil partnership since 2006.

They first met in 1999 when they were both working for the BBC – Arnold was a former news presenter and Balding was the network’s main horse racing presenter at the time.

Arnold and Balding became colleagues, then friends, and then romantically involved.

Arnold worked for BBC Radio 4 for over 20 years until 2012, and has since contributed to The Telegraph and The Guardian newspapers. He currently works as a radio presenter for Mellow Magic and lives in London with his wife and their two cats.

You can read all our coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics here here.