Freddie Flintoff's grounding force: Cricket star admits he put wife Rachael 'through hell' with his booze-fuelled benders and mental health battles - before she stepped in to nurse him following horror Top Gear smash Freddie has suffered with alcoholism, bulimia and depression over the years READ MORE: Freddie Flintoff's near-fatal Top Gear crash is seen for the first time as Disney+ drops first trailer for 'unprecedented' documentary By GINA KALSI Published: 17:13 BST, 17 April 2025 | Updated: 17:14 BST, 17 April 2025 Since Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff was involved in a life-altering car crash while filming an episode of Top Gear in 2022, he has been slowly learning how to live with his scars. It has been a turbulent couple of years in the Flintoff household, especially after Freddie went from being a regular on television to living under the radar for seven months. But through it all, one figure has remained by his side - his wife, Rachael Wools. The former model and entrepreneur has opened up for the first time about her agony over Freddie's car crash in the trailer for Disney+'s documentary Flintoff, which will detail the former cricket star's horrific accident. After the smash, a surgeon gave Rachael the bone-chilling warning to 'expect the worst' from her husband's injuries. Rachael - who has been by her husband's side throughout numerous hardships over the years - said solemnly: 'All of a sudden your life can change... like that.' It hasn't been an easy journey for the couple, who married in 2005, as the former England cricket player previously admitted to putting his wife 'through hell' at times during her marriage. Freddie - who resides in Hale, Greater Manchester - has suffered with drinking problems, depression and bulimia over the years, which often led to him stumbling home in the early hours of the morning 'stinking and falling over' while Rachael took care of their young children. In his 2015 memoir, Second Innings: My Sporting Life, the father-of-four said he was 'incredibly lucky' to have such an understanding partner. 'Looking back, I feel for the missus. She used to get the worst of me,' he said. Rachael Wools has nursed her husband Freddie Flintoff back to health many times in the past when he was suffering with depression, drinking and bulimia Freddie Flintoff is pictured popping the champagne after England won the Ashes in 2005 Rachael appeared on Disney+'s trailer, Flintoff, with a solemn facial expression as she spoke about her husband's injuries 'She didn't come out and celebrate when we won - that was with the lads - and I'd rock in at five in the morning, stinking and falling over. 'When we lost she'd see me drowning my sorrows in the corner. And then your career is all over.' Freddie described having 'two different worlds' - cricket and his family - but added he always craved his 'own space'. His drinking started from a young age, he revealed in autobiography Ashes to Ashes, where he recalled once arriving to practice 'smelling of booze'. Some of his less proud moments include capsizing a boat and nearly drowning in the Caribbean while under the influence in 2007, as well as getting kicked out of Prime Minister Tony Blair's office in 2005. The end of his cricket career coincided with an all-night bender with Kasabian and Oasis after winning the Ashes in 2009. But being the life and soul of the party did not go down well with Rachael, who would often bring him back to reality. 'She would give me a b****ing and I would listen...now I'm a dad and a husband,' he previously told OK! Magazine. Rachael and Freddie tied the knot in Knightsbridge in 2005 after meeting three years prior Freddie is pictured with a beef in his hand alongside team-mate Steve Harmison celebrating the Ashes victory Their love story began when the pair met on Edgbaston Cricket Ground in 2002 - where 19-year-old Rachael Wools was promoting her business, Strawberry Promotions Freddie was in a horrific, life-altering car crash in 2022 and will open up about it in a new Disney+ documentary Their love story began when the pair met on Edgbaston Cricket Ground in 2002 - where 19-year-old Rachael Wools was promoting her business, Strawberry Promotions. The model wasn't keen on Freddie at the time, admitting to the Mail in 2007 that the cricketer was not her type. Nonetheless she went for a drink with him and was, in cricket terms, 'bowled over by his charm'. Freddie Flintoff's wife opens up about her agony over her husband's horror crash for the first time Speaking in the Disney trailer, the mother-of-four also spoke about what initially attracted her to Freddie: 'There was just something about him that was different. As soon as someone says 'That's impossible' then that makes him fly.' Fresh into their relationship, the pair would often not see each other for three to four months on end while Freddie went on tours with his cricket team. They went on to marry in a lavish ceremony in Knightsbridge in 2005, welcoming their first child Holly a year later. The pair share four children together; Rocky Flintoff, 17, Corey Flintoff, 19, Holly Flintoff, 20 and Preston, three. Freddie - who has previously described himself as a 'wild lad' - stopped drinking in 2014 and spoke about how he used booze to escape his feelings. 'Alcohol at times is a bit of escapism. I've spoken in the past about having depression and I'd use alcohol to change the way I felt,' he said on Loose Women in 2017. Rachael is pictured with Freddie when she was pregnant with their fourth child, Preston, in 2019 Freddie Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen are pictured outside Downing Street in 2005, when Tony Blair was Prime Minister During those difficult times, Freddie was also struggling with the eating disorder bulimia. He said he was fat-shamed during his early cricket career when his poor diet and heavy drinking saw his weight soar to 19 stone. Freddie would binge and make himself sick, even while on international tours, and shed two stone during his illness. 'I was doing it a lot. I was doing it at lunchtime, I would come off and have something to eat and go and bowl again,' he told Piers Morgan for his Life Stories TV series in 2014. 'I was cautious, you'd see if anyone was in the toilets with you and you'd find somewhere to go.' Freddie would describe feeling constantly 'hangry' and his moods would take a toll on his home life. In a BBC documentary Freddie Flintoff: Living with Bulimia, the Top Gear star revealed how he initially hid parts of his eating disorder from Rachael. He explained that, although he revealed aspects of living with Bulimia to his now-wife when they met in 2003, he kept from her exactly how bad his condition was. 'By 2003 I was 25 and I’d become an established member of the England team while managing to keep my bulimia a secret from everyone,' he said. 'By then I’d met my future wife Rachael and fallen in love, so I decided to tell her the truth.' However, filled with embarrassment at the extent of his eating disorder, Freddie didn't reveal to Rachael just how frequently he was purging. 'After that I’d hide it, [Rachael] asked me a few times and I lied a few times about how much I was doing it,' he said. Freddie has also credited Rachael with helping him reach dizzying heights in his cricketing career. 'Professionally, I don't think I could have done all the things I've done without her. She's always there,' he said. In December 2022, while taking part in a stunt for his lucrative presenting gig onthe BBC's Top Gear, Freddie's car flipped over at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, leaving him with serious injuries. The former England cricket player said that Rachael has been there for him through thick and thin (pictured 2018) Since the accident, he has kept a much lower profile while prioritising his recovery - but has revealed he's struggling with anxiety and has flashbacks of the accident. Last year, he appeared in the second season of Freddie Flintoff's Field of Dreams, revealing that he had been struggling with his mental health. He said: 'I am struggling already and I need help. I really am. I'm not the best at asking for it.I need to stop crying every two minutes. 'Everywhere I go at the minute I've got a face mask on and glasses on. BREAKING NEWS Heart-rending moment Freddie Flintoff says he may never feel better again after Top Gear crash 'I struggle with anxiety. I have nightmares, I have flashbacks.' Freddie has been open about his bouts of depression even before the accident, previously revealing that just 18 months after England beat Australia to win the 2005 Ashes, he found himself unable to get out of bed. He was tested by medics for diabetes, but those who knew him suspected he had depression as he showed many of the symptoms. In 2006, Australia beat England 5-0 which caused Freddie to spiral into a crisis. He told BBC1 documentary, Freddie Flintoff: Hidden Side Of Sport: 'I was having a quiet drink with my dad Colin on Christmas Eve 2006 and as we made our way home I started crying my eyes out. 'I told him I'd tried my best but that I couldn’t do it any more, I couldn't keep playing. We talked and, of course, I dusted myself down and carried on. But I was never the same player again. 'I was captain of England and financially successful. Yet instead of walking out confidently to face Australia in one of the world’s biggest sporting events, I didn’t want to get out of bed, never mind face people.' 'All I wanted was for the doctor to tell me what was wrong but no one suggested it was depression.' He eventually retired from his career in 2010 and became a broadcaster, before going on to land a gig as one of the presenters on Top Gear in 2019, leaving the show after the incident in 2022. Share or comment on this article: Freddie Flintoff's grounding force: Cricket star admits he put wife Rachael 'through hell' with his booze-fuelled benders and mental health battles - before she stepped in to nurse him following horror Top Gear smash Add comment