Tyson Fury’s wife Paris reveals he’s a romantic softie who buys her lollipops every Valentine’s Day
HE may be 6ft 9in, weigh 18st and beat people up for a living but Tyson Fury’s wife says he is nothing but a big softie at home.
Paris, 30, is the mother of the heavyweight champ’s five children and they began dating when she was 15 and he was 17.
And there is no doubt she has always meant more to the boxer than any of his achievements in the ring.
Tyson, 31, says: “In 2006 I’d just started going out with Paris and I won my first gold medal in a boxing tournament and I came back and gave it to Paris to keep for ever.
“She was like, ‘Oh my God, are you sure?’ and I was like, ‘Yes, I want you to have it. It’s the most precious thing that I own’.”
Tyson is seen expressing his love for Paris in the first episode of new ITV series Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King, which begins on Thursday.
The Manchester-born boxer and his wife grin as they sift through a bright pink box of mementos from their time together.
As well as jewellery and his gold medal — which Paris jokes she should have given to his mum, as she thought the couple would only last a week — they stumble across the lollipops that Tyson has bought her every Valentine’s Day.
They then give middle son Prince Tyson II a telling off for trying to eat one.
Also in the treasure trove are numerous love letters from Tyson which he is keen to share.
One reads: “I will part with anything for you. There is only one happiness in life, to be loved and to love.”
The couple met at a mutual pal’s wedding and their first kiss was while watching King Kong at their local cinema in December 2005.
Paris kept their tickets and even wrote down the date to make sure nothing about their romance could be forgotten.
Tyson recalls: “Me and Paris have been on a lot of good dates. I remember coming back from a fight once and I’d been away for a while.
"I got her a nice dress, an evening dress, and some shoes.
“She didn’t know about this. I went and got a Boyz II Men CD and I got a nice hotel suite.
"I got a load of roses and put them all over the bed. Then we conceived our second child.”
Paris married Tyson in 2008 in her home town of Doncaster, South Yorks — and they slept together for the first time after the wedding.
Eldest daughter Venezuela, ten, was born the following year and she was followed by their sons Prince John James, eight, and Prince Tyson Fury II, four.
In 2018 daughter Valencia Amber was born and last year they were joined by third son Prince Adonis Amaziah, now one.
Paris has been by the fighter’s side as he progressed up the ranks in the sport, defying the odds to become heavyweight champion of the world in 2015 when he defeated Ukrainian champ Wladimir Klitschko in one of boxing’s biggest upsets.
However, as well as the glory, she has also experienced plenty of lows — notably Tyson’s spiral into self-destruction following that epic victory in the greatest fight of his life.
Rather than revelling in his success he fell into depression and battled alcohol and drugs problems, culminating in an aborted suicide attempt.
His troubles led to his being stripped of his world titles in 2016.
Paris recalls: “Tyson had ballooned to 29st. He was drinking heavily, he was doing things that even I didn’t know about and it was just getting worse and more out of hand.”
He was diagnosed with bipolar and obsessive compulsive disorders — both of which he had pushed aside for his climb to the top.
Paris adds: “He had done what he wanted to do. He was on top of the world.
“We had everything anyone could dream of.
“We had each other, we had our kids. We had money, fame, glory — and inside he was torn to shreds. That was it, end of the line.”
Tyson admits he aborted his suicide bid at the last second because he thought about the damage to his family.
In the programme he recalls how he drove his Ferrari at 190mph towards a bridge.
He had even told Paris not to expect him back.
He says: “I heard a voice saying, ‘Don’t do this. You’re going to destroy your family’s lives’.”
Tyson credits Paris for helping to restore his mental health, adding: “My happiness is dependent on my wife.
“If I go back to being an idiot, to that low, low place where I don’t want to go, I won’t recover this time. I’ll definitely die.”
Now he is hell-bent on reclaiming his titles and winning a rematch against US fighter Deontay Wilder.
Their first fight in Los Angeles in December 2018 was declared a draw despite Tyson, who shed an impressive 10st to compete, appearing to have edged it on points.
But as excitement over the rematch grows, Paris harbours nerves that Tyson could be seriously injured or relapse into his depressive cycle.
She says: “Somebody lost their life to it just a few weeks back. It’s just a nightmare really.
“You don’t get more animalistic than two men fighting.
“When Tyson had his comeback fight it was a horrible experience. We did know the power the man (Wilder) had.
"You knew at any minute that he could get hit the way he got hit. I was so scared.
“I was heavily expecting, I was about five months.
“I was stood on a chair trying to watch and I could see he wasn’t himself.
“I grabbed his brother Shane, who was massive, and I said, ‘Go to him, go get him’, because I thought, ‘It’s over. He’s out’.”
Like Tyson, Paris is from a traveller background and is proud of her roots.
And she says wherever Tyson’s career takes them, they will always carry the same values.
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She adds: “I was brought up like a traveller and I want my kids to be brought up as travellers.
“There’s no way of hiding it because my husband’s gone out there and said he is the Gypsy King.
“When you have a giant billboard with ‘Gypsy King’ across it, you’ve got to go with it. Be proud of the heritage.”
- Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King is on Thursday at 9pm on ITV.
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