How Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay found God – then each other

Despite coming from very different backgrounds, the couple have come together through their shared faith

On the surface, Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay’s engagement seems like any other celebrity betrothal. There are the gushing Instagram posts, the huge rock, the matching tattoos and the well wishes from famous friends and family.
But unlike most high-profile Gen Z couples, there’s another special relationship in their life, even if He probably won’t be posting on social media any time soon. Peaty and Ramsay credit their shared faith with bringing them together, and even posted Bible verses alongside their big news. 
The Olympic swimmer, 29, first crossed paths with Gordon Ramsay’s daughter, 24, when he competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 alongside Holly’s sister, Tilly. But Peaty was still with his then-girlfriend Eirianedd Munro at the time, with whom he has a now four-year-old son, George. 
It wasn’t until summer 2023 that Holly and Adam officially began dating, and Peaty says it was Ramsay’s willingness to become part of his church that convinced him she was marriage material. He wrote on Instagram: “You came to church with me and joined the incredible community we have there without a question. Matthew 19:6. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Meanwhile, Holly, who calls herself a ‘digital creator’ and once hosted a podcast called 21 and Over wrote: “I am marrying my best friend. I truly cannot put into words how I am feeling right now. I still remember how big my smile was the morning I got home from my first date with you. Thank you for letting the little girl inside of me feel loved, seen and happier than ever. I love you & I cannot wait to be your wife. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13.”
A post shared by HollyAnna Ramsay (@hollyramsayy)
Despite only having been together for a year, engagement rumours have been swirling for a while. Peaty and Ramsay went Insta-official in the summer of 2023, after he was spotted at the Ramsays’ family home in Cornwall. They posted pictures of a romantic trip to Rome and a family date to Silverstone. Matching ‘H’ and ‘A’ tattoos soon followed and Peaty told an interviewer “I definitely want more kids.” 
In October, fans were convinced that the duo were already engaged, when Holly showed off some beauty products with a ring on her wedding finger, with one even saying: “Thought the first was an engagement pic.” But now he’s officially popped the question while the couple were enjoying a luxury holiday.
Aside from their faith and a mutual understanding of life in the spotlight, they both share experiences overcoming trauma. Britain’s most successful swimmer nearly quit the sport completely last year after a “self-destructive spiral” involving alcoholism, depression and an ADHD diagnosis. “It started in the water and my goggles filled with tears,” he says of his breakdown in a pool in Loughborough in February 2023.
The turning point was when another swimmer, Kyle Chalmers, introduced Peaty to the Olympic chaplain and theologian Dr Ashley Null. Peaty, who went to a Catholic school, attended a church service with Null and says he instantly felt as though he had discovered what was missing. 
“A big moment came when I went to church with Ashley and we sat at the back,” he says. “It made me understand people are more lost than ever as it takes huge wisdom to feel grateful for what we have. We’re programmed to always want more. The hardest thing is to put your pride aside and say: ‘It doesn’t matter what you earn or what you’ve accomplished.’ We should all be equal. But I never push [his faith] on people.” 
Peaty credits God and Holly with his comeback – he won silver at the Paris Olympics – and he has the words ‘Into the Light’ and a cross tattooed across his torso. Now he and Holly attend an evangelical church every Sunday.
Meanwhile Holly has been open about her experience of overcoming PTSD following two sexual assaults when she was 18. December 2022 marked two years since she quit alcohol after “hitting rock bottom”, a time when she described herself as “terrified”. 
Speaking on her podcast in 2021, the celebrity chef’s daughter said: “I went to university, studied fashion design, and I loved it. But by the second half of the first year I was being affected by my PTSD and I had no idea that this was happening. I was going out a lot, missing class because I’d been out. I wasn’t enjoying myself at all. I was struggling a lot. The PTSD was a result of two sexual assaults when I was 18. I didn’t tell anyone about it until a year afterwards. I just buried it in a box in the back of my mind.”
Ramsay revealed that she left university after just a year and was admitted to Nightingale Hospital as an in-patient for three months. “That was where I was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression,” she said. “Since then, I have been in therapy up to three times a week. I now have these diagnoses that I carry around with me. It’s confusing and I’m trying to take control of my narrative and use that to make something good.”
That “something good” seems to be her relationship with Peaty, and Holly regularly shares pictures of their domestic bliss on Instagram to her 393k followers, including snaps of them mowing the lawn together and going on hikes. Holly was there cheering on Peaty from the stands in Paris this summer.
They’re not the first celebrity couple whose faith has brought them together. Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford met at a Christian youth camp when she was 12, married in 2012 and now regularly go to church. Justin and Hailey Bieber both attended Hillsong Church in LA while they were dating and married in 2018.
Adam and Holly may have God on their side, but what about Gordon? The famously foul-mouthed TV chef has given his seal of approval, writing on Instagram: “Congratulations to this gorgeous girl @hollyramsay… so happy for you and @adam_peaty! Hols, watching you become the woman you are today with your kindness and your love is absolutely infectious. Adam is a very lucky man. Welcome to the family!” 
Even Peaty’s ex, Eirianedd Munro, is pleased for them, saying: “She is so gentle and kind; I couldn’t wish for a better stepmother for my son. We’re so glad about the news and are wishing them the best.”
Clearly Holly and Adam will now be planning a church wedding. “She gives me peace and that brings so much stability,” says Peaty. “Whatever happens in the pool, I’m still winning because I’ve found the right person.” Let’s hope the couple that prays together, stays together.