Liverpool legend Ian Rush’s fiancee, 16 years his junior, slammed claims she had an affair with him as the reason why he left his wife of 25 years
15:21, 21 Oct 2025
Ian Rush and Carol Anthony
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Ian Rush's fiancee Carol Anthony had to slam 'affair' claims(Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage via Getty Images)
Ian Rush’s fiancee once felt forced to rubbish claims that she had an affair with the Liverpool legend and broke up his 25-year marriage.
Rush, who celebrated his 64th birthday on Monday (October 20), is engaged to Irish beauty Carol Anthony - who is 16 years younger than him - having left his wife Tracy Rush in 2012. At the time, Carol was accused of breaking up their marriage and faced criticism over the age difference between them.
The start of their romance was met by claims the two had an affair, but Carol adamantly denied the pair had any relations when he was still married to Tracy, the mother of Rush's two children.
Speaking in 2013 to the Irish Independent, Carol said: “There was a flirtation, I will admit that, but there was never a relationship and Jesus, not an affair. That's beyond a joke.”
In 2022, legendary goalscorer Rush revealed he “couldn’t be happier” with his life as he watched his two sons Jonathan and Daniel thrive and having just moved into a new house he built with Carol.
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The Liverpool legend is engaged to Carol, who is 16 years younger than him(Image: @CAROLANTHONY_ )
Plans for a wedding followed, with Carol saying they were considering tying the knot in the summer the following year. But talk about their relationship continued with numerous publications reporting there to be 22 years between Rush and his new partner.
Carol then felt she had to confront the rumours to reveal the truth. Speaking to the Irish Independent, she said: "It was in a couple of the papers in the UK, all about the age gap and didn't come up to speed about what I've been doing the past few years.
"They took another six years out of my life. There's 16 years between us, not 22. There's 13 years between my own parents.
IRISH beauty Carol Anthony
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Carol Anthony is a lifelong Liverpool fan and would watch Ian Rush play on television
Ian Rush and Carol Anthony
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Rush and Carol began dating in 2014(Image: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images for Laureus)
"The slant they put on it was wrong, like I was marrying him for money or something. I just felt it was time I spoke up for myself."
She added: "Ian himself said, it's great to support a footballer in the height of their career but when you finish your career, it's a downward spiral and a whole different ballgame.
"I've been so supportive of Ian over the last year years and help him work on getting contracts so it feels a bit like a slap in the face when you read these articles. It was a little bit hurtful.
Ian Rish
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Ian Rush split from wife of 25 years Tracy in 2012
"Women are strong and we'll always try to take things on the chin but when I saw Ian getting annoyed about it I said, 'No I'm going to take a stance on this."
Carol continued to discuss how she coped with the harsh criticism during the early stages of her relationship with the former Wales striker. "It was difficult navigating it initially because I didn't realise the level of scrutiny, and I wasn't ready for it, and that makes everyone anxious and nervous,” she said.
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"It wasn't good for a relationship. I navigated my way out of that and we have an incredible relationship, absolutely wonderful. We love each other to bits. We're together 12 years now.
“But I used to walk behind Ian at every function because I would never want to be photographed with him. I went into a phase where I wanted to be unknown. Then I realised I shouldn't be hiding."