Rio Ferdinand and Kate Wright have allowed cameras into their lives to reveal the dilemmas around becoming a step-family for a new documentary.
The one-off BBC One film will follow the couple as Wright integrates into the family and becomes a stepmother to Ferdinand’s three children after the death of their mother.
Former footballer Ferdinand, 41, and reality TV star Wright, 28, have been in a relationship since 2017 following the death of Ferdinand’s wife Rebecca, who died in 2015 at the age of 34 after being diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time.
They tied the knot last year, and the “deeply personal” programme will show the months leading up to their wedding, while looking at the “emotionally complicated dilemmas” that the family face together.
It will also explore the challenges Wright deals with in being both a partner and a new stepmother to three grieving children.
The film, called Rio and Kate: Becoming A Step Family, follows the football star’s previous Bafta-winning documentary in 2017, Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum And Dad, in which he came to terms with the effect of losing his wife while caring for his young family.
Ferdinand and Wright said: “The positive response to Being Mum And Dad in 2017 and the way it helped others going through a similar situation was overwhelming.
“For that reason we were both compelled to tell the next chapter in our lives together. We hope Becoming A Step Family will give a unique insight into step-families and the journey through grief, whilst also providing an intimate look at our lives together.”
Alison Kirkham, BBC’s controller of factual commissioning, said: “I’d like to thank Rio and Kate for opening up their lives to us in such an intimate and personal way.
“The BBC has long been committed to tackling mental health issues and Rio Ferdinand’s programme on bereavement in 2017 helped bring the conversation into the open.
“We hope this new film will offer meaningful insight into the reality and challenges of living in a step-family.
“It will also explore how grief affects us all differently.”
The BBC said that step-families were now the fastest-growing family type in the UK, with an estimated one in three of all families being part of one.
Ferdinand and former The Only Way Is Essex star Wright meet with other families in similar circumstances to theirs in the programme, exploring the types of support on offer for those in need.
The couple wed in October last year in Turkey with Ferdinand’s children, Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and eight-year-old Tia, involved in the ceremony.