Jamie Redknapp says 'it's not always easy' in rare comment about life after Louise split

Jamie Redknapp has made a rare comment about his blended family with his wife Frida Andersson. The football pundit and the Swedish model married and welcomed their first baby together, a son named Raphael, back in 2021.

Jamie's new relationship came following his highly-publicised split from his ex-wife Louise Redknapp, 50. The former couple, who share sons Charley, 21, and Beau, 16, called it quits after 19 years of marriage in 2017.

Since then, Louise has spoken publicly about their split, while Jamie has largely steered clear of the topic.

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Now, in a candid podcast, the 52-year-old has opened up about the highs and lows of having a blended family.

Starting with a rare comment about his second wife, he gushed: "She's a diamond, she really is," before going on to describe her as "fiercely competitive".

Before meeting Jamie, the model was married to hedge fund manager Jonathan Lourie, with whom she has four children.

The couple now enjoy a blended family of seven children between them - but the football pundit admits it's not always been easy.

Upon telling Charley that Frida was pregnant, Jamie said the news "went down like a lead balloon", while his other son Beau took it a bit better.

After adapting to the change over time, he said their younger brother Raphael has since become "the glue for everybody".

"We've got seven kids between us," he said on The Romesh Ranganathan Show. "We've got a lot of kids, a lot of moving parts.

"And it's not always easy, and I'm sure everyone who has done the same, you know the modern term is to blend a family, it's never going to be that simple, but I like to think we've done it pretty well.

"Raphael has definitely been the glue for everybody because you can't not love him, he's amazing, he's hilarious," he added.

"So with Charley, once he sort of got over that, and I got it, I wouldn't be disrespectful as he had his own individual feelings, but Beau was a little bit easier, he was a bit younger at the time.

"But I think he [Charley] knew how much I loved Frida, so he was totally fine with it in the end."

Speaking further about parenting, Jamie insisted he had learned many of his ways from his parents, Harry and Sandra Redknapp.

"You want to be their best mate, but you've also got to be tough with them like my dad was with me," he shared.

"He was very, very, honest and you know, in terms of my relationship with him, it's as good now as what it's ever been."

Meanwhile, Jamie's ex-wife Louise, who rose to fame in the girl group Eternal, has also been enjoying a new relationship with Drew Michael for the last two years.

Recently opening up about their romance to The Sun, she gushed: "I was very guarded and scared. But I'm really enjoying having special times with someone. He's a great guy and super-kind."

On the subject of marriage however, she insisted this wasn't on the cards for the pair anytime soon.