Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale cancels wedding to childhood sweetheart amid family turmoil

Footie superstar, 29, and Emma Rhys-Jones, 26, have put their star-studded Italian ceremony on hold, following a rift involving Bale's father-in-law

Posted Monday, July 23, 2018 by Thesun.co.uk

FOOTIE superstar Gareth Bale has called off his wedding amid family turmoil and a rift involving his fiancee's dad.

Real Madrid ace Bale, 29, and childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones planned a star-studded Italian castle ceremony this summer.

Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale cancels wedding to childhood sweetheart amid family turmoil
Gareth Bale and partner Emma Rhys-Jones, who recently gave birth to the couple's third child

But they have postponed it until next summer after a "rollercoaster" year.

A family source said Emma, 26, hopes it will give her chance to heal a rift with her former jailbird dad Martin Rhys-Jones, 54.

The couple uninvited him along with other family members who were involved in a row over a missing suitcase containing £750,000 of drug money.

A case with cash, cocaine, and watches went missing from her elderly grandparents' home last year.

A source close to the family has said Emma hopes the wedding delay will give her time to repair her relationship with her father

Cars belonging to Emma's aunts were also torched in Flint, North Wales.

She and Wales star Bale believe the violent drugs feud which has engulfed her family will die down if they delay the wedding.

Emma is said to be secretly delighted by the postponement because it will give her time to get in shape after having the couple's third baby, Axel.

The source said: "There's so much family turmoil right now — they want things to settle down before tying the knot. They are still very much in love but they've had a lot of issues to deal with."

The couple had tried to hire Beyonce as a £1.5m wedding singer as they prepared for a lavish big day.

Bale, who earns £15million a year, met Emma in Cardiff in their late teens. They have two daughters.

Emma fell out with her dad after he moved in with a Russian florist half his age within weeks of being freed from jail in the US. He served six years for a £2million international fraud.

During his sentence, he missed the birth of three grandchildren including Emma's two daughters by Bale, Alba Violet, five, and Nava Valentina, two.