VIDEO: At home with the Adcocks

For most husbands the thought of spending every working hour with their wife and being forced to wear pink in the process is the stuff of nightmares.

But Chris Adcock and his wife Gabby – England’s premier badminton duo from Ravenshead – are no ordinary couple.

And the Adcocks have big plans – first they’re looking to emulate Cyril and Dorothy Wright – Britain’s last Olympic married couple to win gold at the 1920 Games in sailing, while standing on the top step of the podium at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games is high priority.

And, while Gabby might force a reluctant Chris out onto court in a pink outfit with some regularity, the pair remains ambitious and driven.

“Chris always says, ‘which kit do you want to wear’ and I always say the pink one – I know he’s not happy but he goes along with it,” said Gabby. “I don’t think he has much of a choice.

“We’re used to spending a lot of time together because we’ve done it from such a young age.

“I think we’re quite lucky that we get to travel the world together because there are a lot of people in the squad that miss their partners while they are away.

“Chris is a lot more laid back than me so he keeps me chilled, which is good because I think I need that. We seem to work on and off court well so we’re quite lucky in that way.

“We’re very ambitious on the court and obviously have big plans to be successful and win medals but we understand we need to have a good balance away from competition as well.”

Despite the obvious dangerous fashion decisions; Chris explained why the relationship is successful and why their world rankings continue to improve.

“We both started playing together when we were about 15 or 16,” said Chris, speaking ahead of the pair’s victory at the Swiss Open, where they beat China’s Chai Biao and Tang Junhua in the final.

“We spent a lot of time together as juniors and we spent a lot of time together at Milton Keynes and the romance developed from there.

“It brings an extra element of trust and honesty, which is very important to our game and that’s the reason why it is developing.”

While the secrets to balancing two seemingly incompatible facets of life are lost on many; for Chris and Gabby the key is simple – it’s all down to their dog Bowser.

After an intense day of training the couple turn to Bowser to help them relax and bring them back down to earth.

“We both think it’s important that after training – because it is so intense – that we have a switch off and that is our little dog Bowser,” said Gabby.

“We take him for a walk in the evening and switch off after that.”

But the rigours of being global badminton stars mean that sometimes Bowser is left behind while the couple play competitions worldwide.

And, as if Chris didn’t have enough to worry about, when he gets home he has the job of winning back Bowser’s affections.

“Gabby’s mum and step dad do an amazing job with him while we’re away, which is half of the year to be honest,” he said. “It’s like he’s their dog and we borrow him.

“He loves it there though, I think he sees it as a little holiday and so I’ll try and bribe him round and give him a few more treats so he likes it at ours more.”

The couple started playing together when they were just 15 and romance soon blossomed.

A shared passion and ambition mean the pair is always on the same page and Gabby doesn’t have to drag Chris out of bed in the morning.

“We have that drive in common and I think that is something that brought us together both on and off the court,” Chris said.

But for all their similarities it is only their kit choices that divide them – with Gabby having final say on all fashion choices.

But Chris doesn’t seem to mind the choice of colour as long as they can keep making progress on the court.

Badminton England has a great range of ways for you, your friends and family to play badminton. Find your way to play at badmintonengland.co.uk/waystoplay

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