Tennis great turned Channel Nine star Todd Woodbridge has hailed his wife Natasha and explained that he believes people are insulting all she’s done for their family when they ask what she does for a job.
The host of Tipping Point opened up about his wife’s huge role in his on- and off-court success just a few weeks after the couple celebrated their 31st anniversary.
‘Tash is an incredibly strong-willed, competitive woman,’ Woodbridge said.
‘And at some point people go, ‘Oh, what do you do for a job?’ and I butt in because it’s a rude question.
‘It’s rude because Tash played the role of partner, wife, psychologist, running our travel, running our house, putting the kids through school, while I was focused on one thing, and that was a job on its own.’
The couple started dating when Todd was 18 and Natasha was 16, at around the time he was stamping himself as a tennis talent in the juniors, making the finals of the Junior Australian Open and Junior Wimbledon in 1989.
Todd Woodbridge says he butts in when people ask his wife Natasha (pictured together) what she does for a living, because the question is ‘rude’
The Channel Nine star (pictured with Natasha and their son Beau) takes offence at the question because it doesn’t take into account his wife’s huge role in supporting him and their family
Woodbridge said Natasha was the family’s rock as he became a success on the court and on television
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‘By her own choice, she gave up her own challenges to do the ones for us,’ Woodbridge told Nine.
‘At that age, a lot of people go on gap years and stuff, but this was it. This was the commitment and I think it’s pretty rare.
‘It’s very easy to move in and out of relationships.
‘None of it could’ve been easy, dealing with the ups and downs of tennis, the mood swings and losses and ranking changes.
‘It wasn’t travelling the world. It was managing all of those pieces of our puzzle and I’m really proud of her.’
Woodbridge worked to become one of the most successful doubles players in tennis history before he retired from the court in 2005, with an Olympic gold medal to his name.
He worked on Channel Seven’s tennis coverage until 2018, when he was signed by Nine.
Woodbridge took to TV hosting like a duck to water, winning a Silver Logie for most popular presenter in August last year.
Todd and Natasha’s son Beau is also forging a career in showbiz.
He graduated from England’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music in 2024 after earning a master of arts degree, with his dad, mum and sister Zara all on hand for the big occasion.
Zara has excelled at golf, being named the Royal Melbourne Women’s Club champion in 2021 and the Cathedral Club champion in 2022. She also made Golf Victoria’s state team as a 14-year-old in 2015.
