Adam Peaty’s close friend Michael Gunning was allegedly left ‘devastated’ after reportedly being uninvited from the Olympic swimmer’s wedding to Holly Ramsay amid a family fallout
(Image: Instagram/michaelgunning1)
It appears Adam Peaty’s wedding snub extended beyond his own family, as one of the Olympic swimmer’s closest mates has reportedly been left “devastated” by the entire situation.
The 31-year-old tied the knot with Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly, 25, in a spectacular ceremony at Bath Abbey on December 27, but following a “toxic” family rift, his loved ones were excluded from the celebrations – with the exception of his devoted sister Bethany, who also served as one of Holly’s bridesmaids.
The former GB champion had a falling out with his mum Caroline in the lead-up to the nuptials, leaving her “broken” as she was absent from her son’s special day.
Now it has emerged that Adam’s fellow swimmer and training partner Michael Gunning, who competed alongside him in Team GB, was also reportedly uninvited from the wedding – a development he “never saw coming”.
Michael trained alongside Adam with Team GB(Image: X/ @MichaelGunning1)
Michael posted a cryptic message on social media shortly before the wedding, writing: “Wishing everyone a magical and festive week! This year has been crazy… I’ve travelled the world, had incredible new opportunities, learnt more about myself, made mistakes and taken risks, been dropped by friends, but made unexpected new ones, been told ‘no’ far too many times but stepped fully outside of my comfort zone.
“Life isn’t always perfect, and if you’d told me two years ago where I’d be now, I wouldn’t have believed you. But I’m learning that change can be a really beautiful thing and you should never stop fighting for your dream!”
Michael’s no-show was a surprise, especially as the sportsman had been present at the couple’s engagement do, but it’s believed he chose to stand by Adam’s mum Caroline.
An insider told The Sun: “It’s not just Adam’s family who’ve been affected by the wedding feud, some old friends have been too. Michael was once very close to Adam and Holly and even attended their engagement party last year. But he was uninvited from the wedding as he got too close to Caroline, who has been vocal about being estranged from her son.”
Michael Gunning attends the Women’s Football Awards 2025 at the InterContinental Park Lane Hotel on May 01, 2025 in London, England(Image: Getty Images)
The source went on to allege: “The family have been in touch with him and he said he is feeling very hurt by the couple – especially Adam, given how publicly supportive he was of Adam when he went through a rough time in 2023. Given how close they once were, Michael never would have seen this coming. Adam really has broken us all by acting this way and now to hurt and snub Michael, the kindest and most genuine person out there, says it all really. It’s clear how much Adam has changed.”
Michael has consistently been a staunch supporter of his former Team GB colleague, particularly when Adam was first confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing back in 2021, reports the Mirror.
Taking to social media, Michael expressed his enthusiasm for the swimmer, highlighting the strength of their bond.
He wrote: “We have an exciting few month coming up because it’s just been announced that Adam will be competing in Strictly Come Dancing this year! I can’t tell you how EXCITED I am. It’s going to be a blast! Make sure you vote to keep our swimming champ in the competition!”.
Adam Peaty alongside Ellie Simmonds and Michael Gunning(Image: PA)
However, this isn’t the first instance where Adam’s relationship with Michael has encountered difficulties, as earlier reports suggested Michael felt “betrayed” when Adam’s swim academy AP Race – established by Adam alongside his training partner Ed Baxter – extended operations to Saudi Arabia in 2024.
Michael, who publicly came out in 2018, holds the distinction of being Britain’s first openly gay and mixed-race swimmer. In Saudi Arabia, same-sex relationships remain criminalised, with some cases resulting in capital punishment.
A source told the publication: “Michael fights so hard for LGBT rights, so the Saudi Arabia move was a dagger to the heart.
“It left him feeling devastated and betrayed,” an insider revealed. Following AP Race’s takeover of the Wave Swimming Academy in Saudi Arabia last August, Michael ceased his role as a vocal ambassador for the organisation.
“Many of those within the swimming community were so upset to not have Michael part of the AP Race team anymore.”
Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay depart after their wedding at Bath Abbey on December 27, 2025 in Bath, England(Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Leading up to their extravagant nuptials, Adam and his influencer bride made their allegiances abundantly clear by jetting off to Finland for a Christmas break with Holly’s celebrity parents, whilst his own family were noticeably absent. The former Olympian also appeared to skip his mum Caroline’s 60th birthday celebrations.
Caroline has been remarkably candid about her devastation over the family rift, recently confessing she has ‘lost a piece of herself’ and is ‘praying for peace’ in 2026 following the breakdown. The distraught mother revealed just before Adam walked down the aisle with Holly that she felt the pair had ‘cut out her heart’ with the snub, which allegedly stemmed from Caroline purchasing a dress for the occasion that the couple disapproved of.
In the days following Adam and Holly’s wedding vows, the Olympian’s mother posted two enigmatic messages on social media which seemed to allude to the estrangement from her son.
The first featured an illustration of a robin and ladybird perched together on a branch, accompanied by the caption: “Just a little reminder that you don’t have to make resolutions, or huge decisions, or big proclamations. You can just set some sweet intentions and take each day as it comes.”
Caroline Peaty has shared more cryptic comments after her son’s wedding(Image: @adam_peaty/Instagram)
The second quote stated: “I won’t end this year pretending everything was fine. I lost a piece of myself this year that I will never get back, and I’m not forcing a smile like it didn’t change me. So no… I won’t be saying ‘2026 is going to be my year’. I’ll be praying that I recover next year, that my heart never has to break like this again, that I never have to survive something like this again. I’ll be praying for peace… real peace, the kind that lets me breathe without fighting for it. I deserve a year that doesn’t hurt.”
Adam seems to have made matters worse with another significant move – adopting a new name. Unveiling his fresh identity on Instagram last week, Adam will apparently now be known as Ramsay Peaty.
Recently published photographs from his wedding, featured in Vogue, reveal the same surname displayed throughout the couple’s wedding stationery – including signage declaring ‘Ramsay Peaty’s Bar’.
The change appears to have been decided well ahead of the ceremony, though one specialist cautions that such a choice wouldn’t have been taken lightly by Adam, who has grown apart from his heartbroken parents in recent months.
Holly Ramsay arrives for her wedding to Adam Peaty at Bath Abbey on December 27, 2025 in Bath, England(Image: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Body language authority and communications expert Judi James tells The Mirror: “Adam’s situation with his family means he will be facing an ongoing, potentially life-time’s worth of difficult decisions that could range from the petty to the substantial if the rift isn’t somehow healed soon.
“A fall-out with family means murky, heart-breakingly complex calls about everything from sending birthday cards to making visits during illness or crisis. Every decision will have deep significance to both sides and each one of them will be painful to make.
“Adam’s name change seems to have been one of them and it has probably cost him a lot of angst to get ‘right’.
“Of course it’s possible and even likely that his blending of the two names was merely done in his capacity as a modern man who makes no assumptions about his wife automatically taking his name, but so much depends on optics and perception during any family crisis and, by adding his wife’s name, not in the more usual double-barrel, and putting it first, it could easily be seen to be symbolic of moving his own family name further away.”
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