Zara Tindall says 'I see my own flaws in my children'

Zara Tindall has shared an emotional insight into motherhood, revealing the bittersweet experience of seeing her own personality traits reflected in her three young children.

In a heartfelt reflection, the daughter of Princess Anne opened up about how becoming a mum has changed the way she sees herself. 

Watching daughters Mia, Lena, and son Lucas, grow and develop, Zara admitted she often catches glimpses of both her and husband Mike Tindall in their little ones.

"It’s a bit of a wake-up call sometimes," she confessed, noting that moments of pride often come hand in hand with moments of self awareness.

Speaking to Bella Magazine, the Olympic equestrian reflected on the importance of instilling core principles in their children.

"You hopefully instil in them the values that you hold,” she said. “From both of us, what we’ve learned from our careers our hard work, dedication, motivation, lessons, and respect."

Zara acknowledged the challenges modern parents face in keeping children grounded. “It’s so easy to be distracted from that kind of thing,” she admitted. 

“So we try and work every day to make sure they get the same values we had.”

Describing their lively household as one that’s “never dull,” she offered a glimpse into her and Mike’s approach to parenting.

She also shared the funny, unexpected way she met Mike during the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Sydney. 

“I was out with some mates, we went out to watch the Rugby World Cup,” she recalled, laughing that she was “young enough to run away from life” back then.

A lunch with friends near Sydney Harbour took a twist when her tipsy pals spotted the England rugby team’s hotel and decided to play matchmaker. 

Despite the effort, Zara joked that her first impression of Mike wasn’t exactly love at first sight but it clearly didn’t take long for sparks to fly.

“I thought he was a bit boring, actually,” she confessed in her interview, recalling how he boldly told her he planned to call her after the Rugby World Cup final despite England not even making it to the semi-finals at that point.

At the time, Zara revealed she was “actually hanging out with some of the All Blacks” while Mike persistently texted, trying to convince her to “come for a drink.”

The following morning at 8am, she walked into a bar only to bump into Mike… who was walking out with another woman.

"It was definitely awkward," she admitted, laughing. 

Mike, however, still insists "to this day" that nothing happened claiming he had simply "raided her fridge."