Why Gordon Ramsay Got ‘Very Emotional’ at His Daughter’s Wedding

Gordon Ramsay, 59, set aside his famously fiery TV persona to embrace a more emotional role as a proud father of the bride.

“I was very emotional,” Ramsay revealed while recalling his daughter Holly’s wedding on the Jennifer Hudson Show.

Holly, 26, married English Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty, 31, on December 27 at the Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, commonly referred to as Bath Abbey, in Bath, England.

During Ramsay’s appearance on her show, Hudson played a video he shared on Instagram from his daughter’s big day, in which Ramsay embraced her and wiped away tears.

“I was crying [because] I realized how expensive the dress was there,” Ramsay told Hudson. “That’s when it suddenly hit me.”

While Ramsay’s comments may have been in jest, it is not far-fetched given the circumstances of his daughter’s opulent gown.

For her ceremony, Holly wore a custom gown from luxury designer Elie Saab. She concealed the gown outside of the church beneath an opaque white cape, though she shared pictures of the full look with Vogue.

“I knew this custom gown was the one. Created by the incredible Elie Saab team with my own custom changes,” she told Vogue. “I will never get over this dress.”

A non-custom Elie Saab wedding gown reportedly starts at $10,500 and can cost up to $60,500.

Still, with an estimated net worth of $220 million, even the purchase of a fully personalized design won’t exactly break the bank for the prolific chef, restaurateur, and television personality.

Not satisfied with just one extravagant bridal look, Holly later changed into her mother’s wedding dress from the 1990s for the couple’s first dance. Shortly after, she changed into yet another outfit, picking a shorter sparkly Elie Saab dress for the evening celebration.

In a more serious tone, Ramsay continued, “But it’s quite an emotional moment. We have six kids. Three girls, three boys.” In addition to Holly, Gordon and his wife, Tana, share daughters Megan, 27, and Matilda, 24; as well as sons Jack, 26; Oscar, 6; and Jesse, 2.

“My wife Tana’s amazing,” he continued, “But seeing your daughter there for the first time when you come down, and you just see this little girl just transforms into this amazing lady. It just gets you.”

In a pre-wedding interview with Vogue, Holly revealed that Ramsay was emotional already before the big day.

“Dad cries every time I talk about the wedding,” she said.

In an Instagram post on January 13, Ramsay shared photos from the wedding, including snaps of their father-daughter dance, his speech, and their walk down the aisle. The first picture showed Ramsay holding his daughter’s hand.

In the caption, he wrote, “One of the most exciting car journeys ever in a father’s life is on the way to the Church with your beautiful daughter, incredible conversations and helping her to stay calm and relaxed ahead of our walk down the aisle.”

He signed the post, “A moment I’ll never ever forget.” Holly is the first of his children to walk down the aisle.

Hudson noted that Gordon and his wife, who got married on December 21, 1996, will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary this year. She asked whether Ramsay had given his daughter any marriage advice.

“Yeah, we talk a lot with the kids, and obviously we spend you know little time together,” he said, adding, “but it’s quality time.”

Ramsay continued, “So, the secret of any great relationship is not just the communication [but] time together. Dating, dinners, cinema, jogging.”

Hudson also asked which one of Ramsay’s children was the best cook.

“[Matilda]’s just come back from culinary school,” he said “She’s young, she’s tenacious, she’s ready, and she’s super excited to sort of hopefully step up to the plate.”