Inside Pat Cash’s love life including ‘whip-cracking’ model girlfriend as tennis icon and grandad gets engaged at 61

PAT CASH is ready to say ‘I do’ again, after getting engaged to ‘soulmate’ Charlotte Hodson. The 1987 Wimbledon champ, now 61, revealed his happy news on Instagram with a gushing post. Tennis legend Pat Cash is engaged at 61 Credit: Instagram Cash announced his engagement to ‘soulmate’ Charlotte Hodson on Instagram Credit: Instagram He wrote: “Every now and then, life can surprise you in the very best way. I’m so incredibly lucky to know that through an amazing string of coincidences I found my soulmate. “I can’t help but believe God had it all planned to perfection. She said yes.” Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! Cash was previously in a romance with Norwegian model, Anne-Britt Kristiansen, who he had two children with. After they split, he married Brazilian beauty Emily Bendit, and they welcomed twin boys together. In 2010, at the age of 45, Cash became a grandfather. He has credited his children for saving his life, confessing, “I might have killed myself” after suffering with “severe depression”. First love When it has come to his love life, Cash has tried to remain private about who he was dating. In 1985, he was playing in Houston and seeking treatment for a back injury. Most read in Sport He was taken out by his physiotherapist to a restaurant, where he would have a chance encounter with Scandinavian model Kristiansen. They immediately hit it off and tried to maintain a long-distance relationship. In the mid 1980s, Cash was in a relationship with model Anne-Britt Kristiansen Credit: Shutterstock In 1986, Cash and Kristiansen welcomed their first child, Daniel Credit: Getty Images Cash celebrates winning Wimbledon in 1987 with Kristiansen and Daniel Credit: Getty Images “We didn’t have mobile phones so we’d send letters or call,” Cash told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2013. Kristiansen soon fell pregnant with their first child (Daniel, born in 1986) as Cash, then 21, began to rebuild his career following back surgery. “We were just young people finding our way and raising a child together. Anne-Britt certainly cracked the whip on me. “Mum always cleaned up after me, then all of a sudden I have this girlfriend who says, ‘I’m not doing any of that, forget about it.’ I was a hands-on dad.” Soon after, their daughter Mia was born in 1988, but cracks began to appear. Despite parting ways in 1989, Cash said he and Kristiansen “would never let the children hear us bickering and never say anything bad about each other”. A year later Cash, who once appeared on The Masked Singer, was in love again in 1990. This time it was with South American stunner, Emily Bendit, who was a maitre’d at a London nightclub. Cash found happiness again in 1990 when he met Emily Bendit Credit: Shutterstock Brazilian stunner Bendit was a maitre’d at a London nightclub Credit: Steve Lewis Cash and Bendit divorced in 2002 after 12-years of marriage Credit: David Thorpe He previously said: “Emily is a great woman. She took on two kids who weren’t hers. “They say men try to find their mothers in their partners; to a certain extent it was like that. She was always cooking, inviting people over.” In 1994, they welcomed twins, Shannon and Jett. He recalled, “fun days with summer barbecues and the kids running around with the neighbours” at their London home. However, Cash and Bendit divorced in 2002, after 12-years of marriage. Reasons for their split were never disclosed. Becoming a grandfather At the not-so grand old age of 44, Cash became a granddad when Mia gave birth to a daughter called Talia. “It’s like having a baby of your own,” he said back in 2013. “I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to pick up Talia and said, ‘Daddy’s going to take you for a walk’, then I think, ‘Wait a minute, it’s grandaddy.'” Mia added to her brood with a son she named after her dad. Cash became a granddad at 44 Credit: Getty Images In 1987, Cash became an icon after defeating Ivan Lendl in the Wimbledon final Credit: Empics Sport “Little Patrick was named after me and his grandfather, so that was a proud and emotional moment,” he revealed. He added: “I love spending time with the kids.” His kids saved his life Cash has been open about his struggles with his mental health in the past. From 19-35, he felt under immense pressure to perform and was crippled by injuries. He admittedly experimented with recreational drugs to cope with the emotional turmoil, before checking into rehab in 1999. Cash would go on to credit his children for pulling him through his darkest moments. “If it wasn’t for my my kids, I might have killed myself,” he told The Guardian in 2014. “I suffered from severe depression from the age of 19 until 35. It’s no secret I experimented with drugs when I was younger, but the real issue was why I felt the need to. “It was down to the stress I was under playing for my country, the expectations I put on myself and the expectations people put on me. Cash shares a rare photo with sons Jett, left, and Daniel, right In the past, Cash has been open about his struggles with his mental health Credit: Getty Images “I ended up checking into rehab for depression. Things got better when I retired from playing professionally.” A happy ending? Cash is now prepared to marry for a second time, after proposing to singer-songwriter and massage therapist, Hodson. They made their public debut as a couple at Wimbledon in 2025, and were duly photographed in the Royal Box. She has worked with rising American tennis star Kayla Day since 2023. Hodson’s band, Chocolate Charlie have also toured on The Pat Cash Experience, a live show that combines tennis and music. Cash has found love again with singer-songwriter Charlotte Hodson Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images Cash and Hodson were spotted in the Royal Box at Wimbledon Credit: Visionhaus/Getty Images Cash has called Hodson the love of his life Credit: Instagram Last year, in a rare confession about his personal life, Cash poured his heart out about his fiancée. “I don’t know if we’ll go down the marriage route, but she’s the love of my life that’s for sure,” he told The Mirror. “It’s taken me all these years to find the woman of my dreams. Not that the other women weren’t fantastic, but she’s very special.” Comment now