{"id":511774,"date":"2026-04-04T02:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/511774\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T02:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T02:17:12","slug":"tyson-might-have-been-the-heavyweight-champion-of-the-world-but-he-couldnt-do-what-i-do-paris-fury-opens-up-on-life-with-the-gypsy-king-looking-after-their-seven-children-and-her-nickname-fo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/511774\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Tyson might have been the heavyweight champion of the world… but he couldn’t do what I do’: PARIS FURY opens up on life with the Gypsy King, looking after their seven children – and her nickname for him"},"content":{"rendered":"

On their second ever date, Tyson Fury<\/a> took the then Paris Mulroy \u2013 he 17, she just 16 \u2013 to a crowded sports bar to watch a boxing match. It left her distinctly underwhelmed.<\/p>\n

\u2018I thought, \u201cWhat a weird way to date a woman \u2013 we\u2019re watching these two men punch lumps out of each other\u201d,\u2019 she recalls.<\/p>\n

That same night, however \u2013 in that rather unromantic pub \u2013 the teenage Tyson also made Paris a promise.<\/p>\n

\u2018He told me he was going to be a boxer,\u2019 she remembers, smiling. \u2018And not just a boxer \u2013 the heavyweight champion of the world. I remember I looked at him and thought, \u201cThat\u2019s nice.\u201d Not in a bad way \u2013 I just presumed it was a hobby that would fade away.\u2019<\/p>\n

History, of course, has robustly proven that wrong: as we now know, Tyson Fury did not just become world heavyweight champion, but one of the defining fighters of his generation, a towering 6ft 9in figure with an \u2013 until recently \u2013 undefeated record and whose affectionate moniker, the \u2018Gypsy King\u2019, is as familiar to those with no interest in the sport as it is to its devotees.<\/p>\n

Paris, now 36, has been there for all of it \u2013 the victories, the retirements and the volte faces that followed, not to mention Tyson\u2019s battles with addiction and mental health that have on occasion left him struggling to see the point of living at all.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the seven children (five under nine) and, latterly, a fly-on-the-wall Netflix series, At Home with the Furys, returning for a second series after the first \u2013 which was released in August 2023 and showed Tyson navigating family life post-retirement \u2013 proved a ratings hit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s safe to say quite a lot has happened since: there\u2019s the arrival of seventh child Nico, now two, a wounding first loss in a headline fight, retirement (again) and a U-turn (again) which means Fury is set to make yet another comeback on April 11 in an eagerly anticipated fight against Russian fighter Arslanbek Makhmudov.<\/p>\n

\"Paris <\/p>\n

Paris was sceptical that Tyson would become a professional boxer when they first met<\/p>\n

\"Paris, <\/p>\n

Paris, now 36, has been there for all of it \u2013 the victories, the retirements and the volte faces that followed, not to mention Tyson\u2019s battles with addiction and mental health<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Furys with six of their seven children\u00a0 as part of a promotion for the Netflix series At Home With The Furys<\/p>\n

The entire family has also upped sticks, relocating from Morecambe, home for well over a decade, to a sprawling isolated pile on the Isle of Man \u2013 a move that happened with barely a moment\u2019s notice not long before Christmas.<\/p>\n

\u2018This has gone on for years, the thought process of moving away,\u2019 says Paris, in her first solo newspaper interview, chatting from the vast but comfortable living room of her new home while her husband is thousands of miles away in Thailand, in a two-month training camp ahead of his fight.<\/p>\n

\u2018And then it was, \u201cBoom, we\u2019re going.\u201d That\u2019s Tyson all over. But you know, we are travellers by heritage, so it\u2019s not as strange to us as it may be to others.\u2019<\/p>\n

Because of course, before the titles, headlines and television crews, there was once a teenage girl and a \u2018slightly shy-looking\u2019 boy from two travelling families who could not have remotely envisaged what the future might hold.<\/p>\n

The couple first met at a family wedding when Paris was 15 and her husband-to-be 16. \u2018He was already tall then, but his shoulders were rounded like he was trying to hide it,\u2019 she remembers of that first awkward encounter.<\/p>\n

They bumped into each other again at a local cafe. \u2018I remember we skitted each other about what we were wearing\u2019 \u2013 and then once more, at her 16th birthday party. \u2018That was the point,\u2019 she says. \u2018I knew I liked him instantly. And the feeling was mutual.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

They married two years later, in 2008, in Paris\u2019s hometown of Doncaster, then just another two young teenagers in love. \u2018It didn\u2019t matter where we were going to end up,\u2019 she recalls now. \u2018We always said we\u2019d happily live in a cardboard box, as long as we were together.\u2019 In the event, it wasn\u2019t quite a box: their first home was a 24ft trailer, parked in the yard of her mother\u2019s house, in keeping with Traveller tradition.<\/p>\n

\u2018I thought it was a palace on wheels,\u2019 she says, with a grin. \u2018I loved it.\u2019 After their honeymoon, they moved on to land owned by Fury\u2019s uncle in Morecambe \u2013 temporarily, they thought. \u2018It was meant to be a couple of weeks, but we never left,\u2019 she says. \u2018Then two or three years later, we bought our first home.\u2019<\/p>\n

By then, their eldest daughter Venezuela, now 16, had been born, followed by their 14-year-old son Prince. All the while, Tyson\u2019s boxing career was gathering pace \u2013 though not without early signs of the volatility that would dominate sections of his career: even before they married, Paris reveals he had dramatically declared he was quitting the sport after missing out on the Olympic squad. \u2018He was wounded by that,\u2019 Paris says. \u2018He took a real hatred to it for a few months. Looking back now, you can see the pattern. It\u2019s actually very similar to what\u2019s happened at other times in his life.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear Paris quickly became the practical one in their partnership: at just 18, while still on honeymoon, it was she who scrutinised her new husband\u2019s first professional contract.<\/p>\n

\u2018We sat down, two kids together, and read this really intricate legal document,\u2019 she recalls. \u2018I highlighted everything that didn\u2019t seem right \u2013 and there was quite a lot \u2013 and sent it back to be amended.\u2019 With the contract duly signed, the honeymoon was promptly cut short in order for Tyson to train for a fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018That set the tone,\u2019 she says, with a wry smile. \u2018People see the big house and everything now, but what they don\u2019t see is what he gave up to get it. He gave up a young person\u2019s life, a social life, holidays. We both did. We didn\u2019t go out, we didn\u2019t drink. He was in the gym every day. I was his social life \u2013 just me and him together.\u2019<\/p>\n

As we know, it paid off: by 2011, Fury was already garnering headlines after winning the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles. Then, as 2015 drew to a close, he became a global star following a historic win against long-reigning champ Wladimir Klitschko. The fight \u2013 watched ringside by Paris \u2013 was considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. \u2018That was an amazing moment,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

But the euphoria didn\u2019t last. In the aftermath, Fury experienced a severe mental health crisis: despite \u2013 or perhaps because of \u2013 achieving his lifelong goal, he immediately fell into a deep depression, marked by alcoholism and periods so bleak that he contemplated taking his own life.<\/p>\n

He was subsequently diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, and has since spoken openly about his struggles with depression and addiction which also went hand in hand with a number of controversies. In 2015 he was implicated in a major doping scandal \u2013 furiously denied \u2013 after traces of a banned substance were found in a urine sample which he later blamed on eating uncastrated wild boar.<\/p>\n

\"Tyson <\/p>\n

Tyson and Paris on their wedding day in 2008. The pair were married in Paris’s hometown of Doncaster<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The couple’s\u00a0first home was a 24ft trailer, parked in the yard of her mother\u2019s house, in keeping with Traveller tradition<\/p>\n

\"Paris <\/p>\n

Paris quickly became the practical one in their partnership: at just 18, while still on honeymoon, it was she who scrutinised her new husband\u2019s first professional contract<\/p>\n

Later that year, more than 100,000 people signed a petition calling for him to be removed from the BBC Sports Personality of the year shortlist after the emergence of sexist and homophobic comments for which he later apologised at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

The following year, he apologised again after making anti-Semitic comments and calling transgender people \u2018freaks of nature\u2019. \u2018I\u2019ve said some things which may have hurt some people which as a Christian man I would never want to do\u2019, he said.<\/p>\n

None of this appears to have dimmed public affection for Fury, and today Paris admits that, at the time, both she and his extended family did not fully understand what was happening. \u2018It was hard,\u2019 she says. \u2018There were times when I thought I couldn\u2019t deal with it. But I think the love that we\u2019ve had for one another has kept me there. And it\u2019s in the vows, isn\u2019t it, in sickness and in health?<\/p>\n

\u2018I can only speak for my relationship, but I always think that if the good outweighs the bad, it\u2019s worth fighting for, because no relationship is sunshine and roses all the time.\u2019<\/p>\n

Her husband\u2019s decision to open up about his struggles also brought an unexpected sense of relief.<\/p>\n

\u2018Once it had been said out loud, it felt like a weight had lifted,\u2019 she explains. \u2018It was never a secret, but we just didn\u2019t understand it before. Now I think we\u2019ve come to the conclusion mental health is something you learn to live with, not something you cure. If you can live a healthy lifestyle with it, then great \u2013 and that\u2019s what Tyson tries to advocate.\u2019<\/p>\n

That openness is reflected in their Netflix series, which offers an unusually unfiltered glimpse into their lives. \u2018When we let cameras into the home, we agreed there\u2019d be no airs and graces,\u2019 she says. \u2018We\u2019re open books. We don\u2019t need to hide anything.\u2019<\/p>\n

That means plenty of eye-popping moments and dramatic mood swings: one minute they\u2019re joshing for the cameras, the next Fury\u2019s making candid admissions that there were times when, even though he loves his wife and children, he didn\u2019t always want to live.<\/p>\n

The new series also promises plenty of similar light and shade, the former notably provided by the unexpected engagement of Venezuela to her 17-year-old boyfriend Noah Price \u2013 also a boxer \u2013 the proposal unfolding at her 16th birthday party (although her daughter had flagged his intentions to her mum beforehand).<\/p>\n

Paris admits to being shocked by the news. \u2018You think back to that age and you think you\u2019re a woman \u2013 and of course you\u2019re not,\u2019 she says. \u2018She\u2019s still my baby.\u2019<\/p>\n

Public reaction to the news has been more divided, something Paris finds baffling.<\/p>\n

\u2018People say, \u201cShe\u2019s too young, she should live her life.\u201d But in what way is she not living her life?\u2019 she asks. \u2018They\u2019ve both got plans, they want to travel, she\u2019s working, modelling. I can see how happy she is, and I believe she\u2019s made the right decision.\u2019<\/p>\n

While she\u2019s tight-lipped on whether a date has been set, Venezuela has already had her hen do, a raucous and lavish affair at Morecambe football club last week at which Paris joined her daughter in a metallic gold dress,\u00a0partying until the small hours.<\/p>\n

\u2018We all had such an amazing night \u2014 all the girls together,\u2019 she says now. \u2018I thought Venezuela looked beautiful.\u2019<\/p>\n

Perhaps surprisingly, Tyson is entirely in favour of the match. \u2018He\u2019s a big love story believer \u2013 a proper hopeless romantic,\u2019 his wife laughs. \u2018I call him \u201cfrilly knickers\u201d because he\u2019s got such a soft side. He just thinks, \u201cThey\u2019re in love \u2013 isn\u2019t it lovely?\u201d I\u2019m the more sensible one.\u2019<\/p>\n

In fairness, it would be hard for either to take a formal stance against their daughter\u2019s engagement given how young they were when they wed. \u2018I like to think we\u2019re a good advert,\u2019 she says. \u2018People criticise those who get married young but we\u2019ve been together 20 years, we still love each other, we still want to be together and I\u2019m proud of that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, chatting to Paris about her life it\u2019s sometimes hard to remember she\u2019s still only 36. \u2018A lot of people come out of university in their 20s still not knowing what they want to do,\u2019 she says. \u2018I knew from 17, 18 what my future looked like so I matured quickly. There were times I was in foreign countries on my own with two children and I just had to get on with it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Now, of course, her brood has expanded to seven, although the majority \u2013 \u2018canny\u2019 Tyson Junior, nine, \u2018chatterbox\u2019 Valencia, seven, \u2018hot-headed\u2019 Adonis, six, \u2018delicate\u2019 Athena, four \u2013 are at school when we meet, while the \u2018sensible\u2019 Venezuela is tucked away somewhere in their vast house helping to look after two year-old Rico.<\/p>\n

\"Tyson <\/p>\n

Tyson in 2015 after defeating\u00a0Wladimir Klitschko to become Heavyweight Champion<\/p>\n

\"Paris <\/p>\n

Paris with her eldest daughter Venezuela, 16, who recently announced her engagement to her 17-year-old boyfriend Noah Price<\/p>\n

Prince, meanwhile, is currently training in Thailand with his father. \u2018I really hate the thought of my kids boxing,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

\u2018But all the boys love it. I see Prince sparring with big men and I think, \u201cThis is not good.\u201d I\u2019m going to have to live this for the next 50 years \u2013 the grandkids will come along and no doubt they\u2019ll want to do it too.\u2019<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Paris insists there\u2019s no more need for a fresh supply of nappies: despite having once proclaimed she\u2019d like ten children, she confides she is not planning any more additions.<\/p>\n

\u2018I always imagined I\u2019d have had more, but I\u2019m blessed to have what I have.\u2019<\/p>\n

With a brood this size \u2013 and that money in the bank \u2013 you would be forgiven for thinking Paris has a retinue of staff. Surely a housekeeper at the very least?<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t have a cook or a housekeeper and that\u2019s deliberate,\u2019 she insists. \u2018What kind of parent would I be if I didn\u2019t teach the kids real life? You\u2019ve got to get up, make your bed, clean your dishes. That\u2019s the real world. I cook and clean pretty much every day and it\u2019s important the kids see that.\u2019<\/p>\n

As Netflix viewers can testify, Tyson isn\u2019t exactly the domesticated sort. \u2018Tyson might have been the heavyweight champion of the world,\u2019 Paris says wryly. \u2018But he couldn\u2019t do what I do. I genuinely think women are by far the stronger sex.\u2019<\/p>\n

Perhaps with an eye on the future, she\u2019s also developing her own sidelines, previously collaborating with High Street retailer River Island on a clothing line and is brand ambassador for collagen supplement Eternal Collagen.<\/p>\n

For all that, she knows her real job is to keep the home fires burning while her husband pursues the sport that has driven him since he was a teenager. As we speak, his fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov, nickname \u2018the lion\u2019, is looming, and Paris admits to feeling sick. \u2018I don\u2019t enjoy it at all,\u2019 she says of watching her husband step into the ring.<\/p>\n

\u2018I always think of the \u201cwhat ifs?\u201d. Yet she also knows she cannot stand in the way. \u2018It\u2019s like asking an artist not to paint,\u2019 she says. \u2018Some people are just wired differently. That\u2019s their goal, and nothing else fulfils them. And that\u2019s Tyson. All I can do is support. I can\u2019t be the dream crusher.\u2019<\/p>\n

Not least because Paris is under no illusions about how difficult the final transition away from boxing may be. \u2018He can\u2019t box when he\u2019s 60,\u2019 she says. \u2018So the day will have to come when retirement really means retirement. And I do worry about how that will go.\u2019<\/p>\n

For now at least, life continues at its usual relentless pace \u2013 a swirl of children, training camps and television cameras.<\/p>\n

And through it all, one constant. \u2018We all say that at the end of the day it\u2019s Tyson\u2019s world,\u2019 says Paris. \u2018We\u2019re just living in it.\u2019<\/p>\n

At Home with the Furys returns to Netflix on April 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On their second ever date, Tyson Fury took the then Paris Mulroy \u2013 he 17, she just 16…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511775,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,97,655,137872,392,30646,101,4654,6901,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-511774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-lifestyle","11":"tag-lifestylefamilyparenting","12":"tag-netflix","13":"tag-prince","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-thailand","16":"tag-tyson-fury","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}