Ryan Giggs' ex-girlfriend is at the centre of a high profile trial that's seen the football star accused of abuse, leaving many wondering who is Kate Greville?
From Depp v Heard and the 'Wagatha Christie' case to the Stephen Bear trial, celebrity trials are always keenly followed by the public. And another has come to the forefront, after former Manchester United player and ex-Wales manager Ryan Giggs has been accused of assault by his ex-girlfriend. After a four-week long trial, the jury was discharged, with Giggs facing a potential retrial.
While Giggs' previous relationship with Stacey (née Cooke) - his wife of ten years - was very much in the public eye, his former girlfriend is a little less familiar to the limelight. So, we've done some digging to answer the question who is Kate Greville?
Who is Kate Greville?
Kate Greville is a 37-year-old PR executive and the ex-girlfriend of former footballer and coach, Ryan Giggs, 48. She was first linked to Giggs as a romantic interest in 2015.
Prior to her relationship with the footballer, Greville was married to Damian Burke, who she married at a £40,000 wedding ceremony in Ibiza. The couple split up in 2013, and The Sun reported that Burke had told his friends that Greville broke up with him over text, 18 months after meeting Giggs. He said footballer was responsible for ending their marriage, saying: "Kate is a fame-hungry wannabe wag. She was never going to stop until she bagged a footballer."
Ryan Giggs arriving at court today.The jury are being shown police interview vid with his ex-gf, Kate Greville. She talks about times 'he flipped' at her and 'became aggressive'. He denies a charge of coercive behaviour and assaulting his ex-gf and her sister. pic.twitter.com/NnNqUsc6MrAugust 9, 2022
Not much is known about Greville, as she and Giggs kept their relationship fairly private. The pair went public for the first time in August 2018 - eight months after Giggs’ divorce from his ex-wife - when they were spotted on holiday in Italy.
Where is Kate Greville from?
According to Celebrity News, Kate Greville is from Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, and studied at Ellesmere College and Shrewsbury Sixth Form. However, she has also lived in Manchester and Abu Dhabi.
Greville moved to Manchester to work in PR after studying a degree in Public Relations at Leeds Beckett University. In March 2020, when the UK went into lockdown, Greville moved into Giggs’ £3m home in Salford. The mansion, which was sold in April 2021, has five bedrooms with en-suites, two lounges, a dining area, and a gymnasium with a steam room.
Prior to moving in with Giggs, Greville lived in Abu Dhabi for three years as the managing director of Q Communications. During the current trial, Greville has said that she decided to move to Abu Dhabi to ‘get away’ from Giggs.
With bases in Manchester and London, Q UK will be led by Managing Partner @KateEAGreville. Kate set up the Q Abu Dhabi office in 2015 before returning to the UK to take on the role of Director of PR & Comms at @GG_Hospitality. And now she’s back in the Q Comms family #pr #comms pic.twitter.com/zF3b3tckNdJuly 8, 2020
How did Kate and Ryan Giggs meet?
Kate Greville and Ryan Giggs first met when the PR agency Greville worked at was chosen to launch the Hotel Football project in 2013, which Ryan Giggs is co-owner of.
Both Greville and Giggs were married at the time, but Greville was divorced not long after they started working together, with The Sun reporting that she began to have secret botox appointments and receive designer gifts from the footballer not long before her marriage broke down.
Giggs separated from his ex-wife, Stacey, in 2017. They were married for ten years and had two children before their relationship ended in a £40m divorce row, after it was revealed that Giggs had been having an eight-year-long affair with his brother’s wife, Natasha Lever.
When did Kate and Ryan Giggs become official?
Media outlets such as The Sun and The Mirror have reported that Kate Greville and Ryan Giggs were considered to be an item during the breakdown of Giggs’ marriage. However, the pair did not go public until 2018.
They were spotted together eight months after Giggs' divorce on holiday in Ravello on Italy’s Amalfi coast. An onlooker told The Sun: “Kate looked stunning. She and Ryan were chatting and seemed very comfortable in each other’s company. They were very relaxed and happy — like they had known each other for a long time."
They added that it looked as though the pair were trying to keep a low profile, but Giggs was recognised by several football fans while the couple were out and about.
Ryan Giggs assault trial - key details
Ryan Giggs is accused of controlling behaviour towards Kate Greville from 2017 until 2020, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He is also accused of assaulting Greville's sister, Emma, but denies the charges.
The alleged assaults took place in November 2020 during an argument at Giggs' and Greville's home in Worsley, Greater Manchester. Kate Greville has accused Giggs of headbutting her in the face, while her sister says she was elbowed in the jaw.
Giggs was arrested at the time and released on bail after a suspected assault on a woman that's believed to be Kate Greville.
During the trial, which is taking place at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, the Court has heard of the pairs 'toxic' relationship, in which Giggs has admitted to being unfaithful and the prosecution claimed he threatened Greville on social media.
Meanwhile, Greville has admitted lying to him about having cancer and also faced accusations of planning a pregnancy without Giggs' knowledge.
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