When he’s not roughing it up in the wilderness, survival expert and TV favourite Bear Grylls is loved-up with his wife18:37, 12 Aug 2026Bear Grylls is a household name thanks to his televised adventures in the wild - but who is his rarely-seen wife?‌The thrill-seeking survival expert, whose real name is Edward Michael Grylls, has been a staple on screens for years. From stints on shows like Man vs. Wild, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, and Netflix’s recent Celebrity Bear Hunt, Bear has remained booked and busy.‌When he’s not getting down and dirty in the wild though, Bear is loved-up with his wife Shara Grylls, née Cannings Knight. But what does she do? How many kids do they share? And what tragedy almost broke their marriage? Here’s everything you need to know about Bear and Shara’s romance.‌When did Bear and Shara meet?Bear and Shara met in 1998, just before Bear became, at the time, the youngest Brit to climb Mount Everest. After deciding to go skinny-dipping, Bear locked eyes with his future wife.Recalling that fateful evening, he once said: "It was freezing on the north coast of Scotland, and a wave came and took my clothes. I was running around naked, trying to find my trousers." Bear also said: “She [Shara] saw this ridiculous sight, probably felt sorry for me – this weird man running around – [and] she came to help me.”‌As for Shara, she once recalled how she remembers opening the paper one day and seeing the naked man, aka Bear, from the beach. She said: “He was on the front page of quite a few newspapers and [I remember] going – sitting at the bus stop – going, 'Oh my gosh, that's so weird!“This is the guy I just started going out with and he's on the front [page], the youngest Brit to climb Mount Everest."Bear’s cheeky engagement to Shara‌Bear and Shara quickly hit it off and soon enough got engaged just a few months after meeting. And paying homage to the cheeky moment that sparked their romance, the couple went skinny-dipping the day Bear popped the question.After getting down on one knee on the sand, Bear recalled: “She was standing there going, 'What are you doing?'. She was wrapped in a towel and a massive Atlantic roller [wave] came and I went 'Will you...?"Then in 2000, the smitten couple tied the knot. They went on to have three children: Jesse, Marmaduke, and Huckleberry.‌Bear and Shara’s double family lossTragically, just months after Bear and Shara got married, a double devastating tragedy hit their family. Shara’s father passed away a couple of months after their big day, while Bear’s dad Sir Michael Grylls died three months after his wife’s dad’s passing.Politician Michael died suddenly from a heart attack while recovering at home two days after having surgery to fit a pacemaker.‌Speaking candidly about the losses, Bear told The Times in 2019: “I didn’t really have a job – and that was a worry – and then her father died. Twelve weeks later my father died.“We were living on this rusty barge on the Thames and the boiler was broken. I felt overwhelmed. I couldn’t talk to Shara because I felt I had to be strong for her.”Bear then noted how the heartbreaking losses almost had a toll on their romance. He added: “For a young couple, a shared crisis can really make or break you. It certainly made us.”‌What does Bear Grylls' wife Shara do?Shara is an author and philanthropist. She's written two books on marriage—Marriage Matters (2006) and Never Stop Holding Hands (2012).Earlier this year, she revealed how she and her famous husband have weathered tough times, sharing that it is through constant "communication."Article continues belowShe told Woman Alive: “We spend a lot of time apart. In the early days it was much harder—satellite phones, very little contact. But now we talk all the time. We make decisions on the phone or on WhatsApp."When asked about advice she would give newlyweds, Shara said, "It's not all a picnic. You have to work at it. You have to be kind. You have to be patient. Don't be afraid to lean on each other."Watch Bear on Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning at 6:30 on BBC Two