Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana are celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary on 21 December, so they will likely be reminiscing about their nuptials.

The couple tied the knot in Chelsea, London in 1996, but when they first met Tana was dating Gordon’s friend! Join us as we reminisce about the Ramsays’ love story, from their first meeting to rare wedding photos and their big brood…

First meeting

The childhood sweethearts met in 1992 when celebrity chef Gordon was aged 26 and Tana was aged 18. Former schoolteacher Tana admitted that the Hell’s Kitchen star came across as “so arrogant” with a “larger than life” character when they met.

“I remember when I first met him [at 18] – and I was actually dating one of his friends – I said, ‘Oh my God, he’s so arrogant,’ because it’s always his voice you heard. He was always the one riling everyone up. In that respect, he has not changed at all. It’s just gotten more obvious. But at the same time, he is, believe it or not, incredibly sensitive – he’s a crier,” Tana told People.

Winter wedding

Very few details are known about Gordon and Tana’s wedding, aside from a few rare throwback photos. Exiting a set of large church doors, Tana looked stunning in a satin wedding dress with a V-neck and capped sleeves with an embellished trim. The fitted bodice highlighted her waist before the material fell into a full skirt.

Meanwhile, Gordon was pictured gazing lovingly at his new wife wearing a morning suit with a grey waistcoat, a striped tie and a black tailcoat, slicking his blonde hair away from his face.

Tying in with the colour scheme, Tana’s adorable flower girl was dressed in a red velvet dress with a Peter Pan collar and a maroon flower headband.

Tana’s bridal beauty look

The couple’s children’s Instagram account for young Oscar shared an anniversary tribute that included a throwback photo of their parents’ big day. Securing her brunette hair into a half-up style with curls falling to her shoulders, the beautiful bride finished off her look with a natural beauty blend including flawless skin, long lashes and nude lips.

She wore a veil over her curls and carried a bouquet of wintery red flowers.

Tana pulled her wedding dress out of storage back in 2021 and tried it on once again, revealing it still skimmed her figure perfectly. “Clearing out our home and unearthed my wedding dress,” penned Tana. “25 years and 5 pregnancies later and happy to say it still fits #mamasstillgotit,” she wrote as she twirled in the classic satin gown.

Marriage comments

Tana sweetly told People that she still gets butterflies around her husband. “When it comes to our busy schedules, people say, ‘It must be hard having to be apart so often,’” she began. “It is, but I feel really lucky that I still get butterflies when we haven’t seen each other for a few weeks. I never want to take that for granted – even with all these kids to worry about. We have a lot of fun.”

Meanwhile, Gordon joked that Tana was the reason he was motivated to focus on his health.

“[Wife] Tana was not impressed with the way I was,” the Kitchen Nightmares host told The Times. “I was overweight, 18 stone [115kg]. I looked like a sack of [expletive]. I look at the pictures and think, ‘How did Tana stay around?’ Because Tana has got better-looking and more gorgeous. And there she is, getting in bed with a fat [expletive.]

“It was a big wake-up call,” said Gordon, who was motivated to lose nearly 30 kilograms as he lost his father at a similar age.

Six children

The couple share six children: Megan, 25, twins Jack and Holly, 23, Matilda, 22, Oscar, four, and baby Jesse, who was born in November.

Gordon announced his arrival by dubbing him “one more bundle of love to the Ramsay brigade,” in a heartfelt Instagram post.

Tana also sadly suffered a miscarriage in 2016, five months into her pregnancy.