Gavin Henson was one of Welsh rugby’s most enigmatic figures, winning two Six Nations Grand Slams with his country and dating singing sensation Charlotte Church
Welsh rugby and Six Nations star Gavin Henson was a puzzle wrapped in a mystery during his glittering playing days.
The flamboyant fly-half started his career with Swansea before becoming a key player for Ospreys. His flair and remarkable kicking skills made him a spectacle on the field, drawing comparisons to football icon David Beckham.
Henson played a pivotal role in Wales’ 2005 and 2008 Six Nations Grand Slam triumphs and was chosen for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in 2005.
However, it was his off-field celebrity lifestyle that often stole the limelight. Here we take a look at the 43-year-old’s life away from the pitch, including his wealth, his high-profile relationship and break-up with singer Charlotte Church, and his revival of a village pub.
What is Gavin Henson’s net worth?
Information about Henson’s current financial situation years after his rugby heyday is limited, but he is estimated to have a net worth of £800,000, reports the Mirror.
During his time with Ospreys, where he made nearly 100 appearances, he signed a four-year contract in 2005, reportedly worth around £120k per year, according to Wales Online.
After this contract ended, he had spells with Saracens, Toulon, Cardiff Blues, London Welsh, Bath and Bristol, but as his form gradually declined, his earnings likely did too.
When did Gavin Henson date Charlotte Church?
The beloved pair, Henson and Church, stole the nation’s heart when they first appeared together in 2005. Fast forward two years, and the Welsh songstress thrilled her followers with the birth of a daughter, soon followed by another little one in 2008.
Their romance was a media sensation from the get-go, but alas, the love story wasn’t to last. Merely months after their engagement announcement in 2010, the couple decided to part ways.
While the exact details of their break-up remains private, Church has admitted it was mutual, revealing: “When he proposed, I was overjoyed. It was amazing. I really was going to marry Gav and spend the rest of my life with him.
“But then he came back from Norway, and he’d changed, and I’d had time to think. We had both had a change of heart so we were both of the same mind.”
Nowadays, the ex-couple keeps things amicable, co-parenting their teenage children. Henson has since found new love and married Katie Wilson Mould in 2019.
What’s Gavin Henson doing now?
After retiring from rugby union in 2019, Henson couldn’t stay away from the sport for long, joining West Wales Raiders in League 1 the next year. But his stint in rugby league didn’t last, as he hasn’t played for them in four years.
In 2019, Gavin Henson boldly entered the hospitality scene as the owner of The Fox, a charming gastropub nestled in the Vale of Glamorgan, which he now manages with his partner, Katie.
Chatting with The Times, the ex-rugby ace explained: “I was coming to the end of my career, and it [the pub] had been sat here for 18 months, two years.
“It was not nice for the village, and I needed something to do after rugby and to be busy, not to mourn rugby and get depressed, as they say everyone does.
“But be careful what you wish for because this is so full-on. We want to feel like we’ve achieved something with the pub. We’re perfectionists. We’re all about the detail.”