Zara Tindall surprises in plunging dress with very new boyfriend Mike Tindall

Nichola Murphy
·3-min read
Zara Tindall in a pink geometric dress and sunglasses
(Rebecca Naden - PA Images)

Zara Tindall and her husband Mike are well-versed in making joint appearances today, but we've dug through the archives to find one of the first times they ever stepped out together in matching outfits.

Back in July 2004, just months after they made their relationship official, the new couple were pictured looking very in love at La Dolce Vita Ball at Stowe House in Buckinghamshire. Cuddling up to her boyfriend, Zara chose a much more daring look than she would sport today.

Zara Tindall in a pink sheer dress with Mike Tindall
Zara looked pretty in pink as she attended La Dolce Vita ball in 2004 with her new boyfriend Mike (Richard Young/Shutterstock)

Princess Anne's daughter wore a pale pink dress with a strapless plunging underlay, topped with a sheer halterneck. The Grecian gown gathered at the navel with darker salmon panels on either side of the skirt.

Continuing the pink theme, Mike wore a patterned rose-hued shirt with a statement collar layered underneath a blue pinstripe suit.

Zara had tied her blonde hair into an updo to reveal her drop earrings, while Mike sported a cropped haircut.

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Officially dating

Mike and Zara Tindall laughing together.
Mike and Zara met in 2003 and immediately hit it off (Getty)

The pair crossed paths at the Manly Wharf bar in Sydney during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, and Mike jokingly credited his friend Austin Healey for setting them up.

"Later on, Austin gave me her number and said, 'She wants you to text her, to say where you're all going out after the final so she can come along," former England rugby player Mike told the Daily Mail in 2011.

They dated for five months before going "official" with their relationship in April 2004.

"I think it was April 27 – that would be the official date we said we were going to go out with each other," he said.

He had a "relaxed" first meeting with Princess Anne, whom she described as a "legend", and was gradually introduced to the rest of the royal family.

Wedding request

Zara Phillips & Mike Tindall Attend Day One Of The Cheltenham Festival Race Meeting 2005
Mike revealed his future mother-in-law jokingly asked if he was going to get a nose job before his wedding (Mark Cuthbert)

The couple got engaged in December 2010 after Mike popped the question at their former Gloucestershire home. Ahead of their royal wedding at Canongate Kirk, Princess Anne reportedly asked Mike to make one change to his appearance.

Mike retired from rugby in 2014, but the rugby pro had broken his nose at least eight times during his sporting career.

Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall smiling and linking arms on their wedding day
The couple got married in Scotland in 2011 (Alan Davidson/Shutterstock)

He told producers and crew on the set of Sky One's A League of Their Own in 2011 that his future mother-in-law had asked him to have corrective surgery on his nose, but he politely turned down Anne's request as the surgery would have interfered with his training schedule.

In November 2011, a few months after his wedding, Mike defended Zara's mother. He said on the Radio Times that "it was a light-hearted, jokey comment" adding: "It wasn't a big deal, and look at my nose - can you blame her?"

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