Mike Tindall says wife Zara is a ‘great mother’ as he opens up about balancing work with family life

Speaking candidly about life in the Royal Family, Mike Tindall has revealed that 'it's not easy' to balance family life with work and said his wife Zara is a ‘great mother’ despite the mum guilt she feels.

• Mike Tindall has revealed that 'it's not that easy' being married to a royal as you still need a job that you can balance easily with family life. 
• Speaking about work/life balance, Mike also shared that his wife Zara is a 'great mother' to their three kids but often 'punishes herself for going to work because she doesn't want to leave them.'
• In other royal news, This is the richest Royal child (and it's not who you'd think).

Finding a healthy work/life balance can feel impossible whether you're a royal with a hectic schedule of engagements that demand your appearance in cities up and down the country, like Kate Middleton, or you're working from home in your pyjamas and dreading the two office days a week that mean you have to commute for an hour each morning - We will still have to wait and see exactly what the Flexible Working Bill that has just become law means for parents. 

For Mike Tindall, the struggle is much the same and he has now set the record straight about the apparent 'ease' of marrying into the royal family. 

Speaking on the ITV1 and ITVX documentary Grand Slammers, which follows England's 2003 rugby squad, which Mike was a part of, as they team up and train a team of prisoners to compete against the Australian rugby team, Mike revealed, "Everyone thinks that just by marrying Zara that means it's all fine and dandy…  But that doesn't stop the fact that you need a job. 

"And it's not that easy, you know - you get quite institutionalised into rugby, it's a way of life and you leave the game and that's not there."

It's not just Mike that struggles with balancing his job and home life. He previously spoke about the mum-guilt his wife Zara Tindall, who has spent a lot of time forging her career path as an equestrian, often feels when she leaves her kids despite her focus on her career helping, an expert believes, to ‘normalise and challenge mum-guilt’ for working parents.

Zara has had an incredibly successful career as an equestrian, winning multiple awards including a silver medal as part of the equestrian eventing team during the London 2012 Olympics. But while she is incredibly busy with her work, Mike has revealed that she is a 'great mother' and often feels mum-guilt for 'leaving' her kids as she goes out for important events.

Mike told HELLO! Magazine, "Her passion her compassion, her dedication I think they are the foundations of any great mother, it's just born in. She punishes herself for going to work because she doesn't want to leave them, I take my hat off to all women out there."

Zara's balanced approach to work and family life was likely an inspiration for Mike after his rugby career came to an end in 2011 and he was left struggling to find a path forward.

Elsewehere in the documentary Grand Slammers, Mike spoke about his life post-rugby and explained why he found it so difficult to move into a new career after leaving the England squad. 

Speaking about leaving rugby, he said, "I don't think you can ever sort of describe when you're so used to being around that many people, and understanding, because of it being ingrained in you, where you fit in to then not being that person."

Mike had a 17-year playing career and for 11 of those he was on England's rugby squad. His time with the team ended in 2011, prompting Mike to find a new career that would still feel like him while also allowing him to spend more time with his family.

Following his departure, Mike has shared that it took him quite a while to figure out what he was going to do. He said, "Zara would say if she was honest it was probably a year it took me to figure out what I was, who I was going to be. You've got to then go carve where the next path is - you can never replace going to work with 35 of your best friends every day."