Rachel Riley addresses 'banned' discussion at home with Strictly pro husband and daughters
Rachel Riley has opened up about her parenting style and the things she has banned in her home, as she hopes her two daughters will follow in her footsteps.
Countdown star Rachel Riley has said there is a particular topic of discussion that is "banned" in her house.
The 38-year-old shares two daughters with her husband, former Strictly Come Dancing professional Pasha Kovalev, whom she married in 2018. But she now says one concept in their home is off-limits.
Speaking on the Pathfinders podcast, Rachel expressed her desire for her daughters to grow up without the notion that certain "things are for girls" and other "things are for boys", while recalling her own love for football as a young girl.
Rachel hopes her children will follow her passion for mathematics. However, she acknowledges that her eldest daughter seems more inclined towards dancing, much like her father, Pasha.
Rachel stated: "I want to bring up my two little girls so they can do absolutely anything they want to do. I don't want them to have a notion that things are for girls, things are for boys, if they enjoy it, they can go and do it."
She continued: "When I was a girl I played football, so far my three-year-old likes dancing, she's following in her father's footsteps. But whatever she is open to, I hope she has the opportunity to try it."
Rachel concluded: "She doesn't have the notion that it's not for boys, it's not for girls, anything along those lines, it's just banned in my house.
"It would be nice if she follows in my footsteps, she likes numbers so far which is a good thing, but careers are a long way off."
Rachel and Pasha met when they appeared together on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013. Rachel gave birth to eldest daughter Maven in 2019, followed by the couple's second child, Noa, in 2021.
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Rachel has previously spoken about Maven's passion for maths. In a 2023 interview with Hello magazine, she revealed: "My three-year-old is literally asking for maths videos for kids on YouTube."
"There's one that's a dance with numbers up to 100. And she's looking for numbers on the side of the road, like the speed signs or the road signs and she's shouting the numbers out, you know, getting excited about it and counting. Even the baby's going '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11'."
Rachel can be seen on both Countdown and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, which air today at 2.10pm and 9pm respectively.
