Celebrity Race Across the World: Anita Rani's new boyfriend after husband split, family life and thoughts on children
It's not Anita's first rodeo...Celebrity Race Across the World will see Anita Rani and her father adventure across Central America – but will she beat her competitors to the finish line?
The Countryfile star teamed up with her dad Bal for the ambitious challenge, which sees her trek 5,900 km across undiscovered landscapes.
The duo spent six weeks travelling thousands of miles with a small budget of £1,900 and no mobile phone or internet access. They would have to manage moving between countries like El Salvador to reach the finish line at the remote La Guajira in Colombia.
Who is Celebrity Race Across the World’s Anita Rani?
The award-winning British presenter is known for hosting Woman’s Hour and Countryfile. She also presented on BBC shows like The One Show and Watchdog across her incredibly 20-year career in television. Anita also took part in Strictly Come Dancing back in 2015 and reached the semi-final with pro dancer Gleb Savchenko.
Aside from her time on the silver screen, she is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nationals High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and has published two books. Anita’s memoir, The Right Sort of Girl, came out in 2021, followed by Baby Does a Runner two years later.
Growing up in Bradford, her journalism career began as a teenager when she hosted her own radio show Sunrise Radio at 14 years old. Anita, who was born on October 25, 1977, studied broadcasting at the University of Leeds before working as a researcher for the BBC.
Her on-screen roles started with Channel 5, with The Edit, back in 2022. Then she worked at the BBC Asian Network before nabbing the part as a reporter for The One Show and co-hosting Watchdog. Anita Rani also hosted several travel shows – something that will definitely help her in Celebrity Race Across the World. From 2011 to 2015, she hosted India on Four Wheels, followed by other countries with the same format, such as China and Russia.
Anita Rani’s family
The star has been open about her family, including presenting a two-part programme in 2017 called My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947. In the docuseries, she explored the impact of the Partition on families, just like her own.
Anita also took part in Who Do You Think You Are? to find out more about her heritage. She uncovered her family history in Series 12 of the show. Her mother, of Sikh descent, met her father, a Hindu, while in Britain but both were born in India.
The 48-year-old was told of how her maternal grandfather was caught in the conflict during the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan. Anita didn’t know much about her grandfather, because he died when she was just two years old. Her mother, also only knew he married twice and that his first wife passed away in 1947. He also lost his daughter at the time of partition. Her grandfather, Sant Singh, was a soldier for the British Indian Army, and was stationed a thousand miles away. Tragically, he was unable to help his family at he time.
For her parents, she compared her dad’s family and upbringing to the social realism film East is East.
She told The Guardian: “He was only 19 when he married, 20 when I was born. My mother came from a middle-class army background, and had lived all over India. I felt sorry for my mum: her dad died just six months before she came to England, and she was expected to establish a new life in an alien culture with a new family.”
Anita also has a brother Kuldeep, two years her junior. She described ‘Kul’ as ‘shy and thoughtful’ and admitted she was the older sibling who was ‘bossy’ and had a ‘loudmouth’. Their uncle, Govinder Nazram, passed away at Christmas in 2008 from an epileptic fit.
Who is Anita Rani’s partner now?
Anita was married to husband Bhupi Rehal for 14 years. The pair parted ways in 2023.
They met at a rave in east London and married in 2009 in a Sikh ceremony. It’s not known why they split, but it’s believed it could be down to their hectic schedules.
Celebrity Race Across the World star Ania Rani told The Sunday Times her family thought divorce was a ‘cardinal sin’. While she confessed it wasn’t ‘easy’ to talk about, she found ‘freedom’ after splitting with her husband.
She said at the time: “Becoming single in my mid-forties has made me re-evaluate everything. It has made me see how much I have been conditioned to be a dutiful woman, rather than a free woman.”
A year later, she admitted to Love Sunday Magazine that “life is good”. She said she felt she was entering the second chapter of her life. She said: “Life is good, I’m in a good place. I’m focusing on myself and my own wants.”
In September 2025, Anita confirmed her romance with new boyfriend Alex Lavery. The duo were seen walking hand-in-hand during London Fashion Week. Alex runs the immersive sonic experience company Frqncy Ldn, and performed sound meditations at Glastonbury Festival’s wellness programme.
Does she have any children?
No, Anita does not have any children. But she has bravely opened up about her experience with miscarriage while speaking to The Sun.
It happened before the covid-19 pandemic, and she explained the lockdown gave her time and space to reflect on the tragedy.
She said: “It’s difficult to talk about, because it’s bereavement. It’s a loss, and that will never change. But it’s too exhausting not living truthfully and I also thought it was too important not to use my voice.”
Anita also told Hello! magazine the support she received from fans was overwhelming. “So many women – and men – got in touch to say: ‘We’ve carried this as a secret, but well done you for bringing it out into the open because it’s still taboo and it shouldn’t be,” she told the outlet.
“It felt cathartic to talk about it, I must say. I don’t talk about things that are personal. I’m not someone who constantly shouts about my darkest secrets, so it felt like a real moment when I was opening myself up, and I’m glad I did.
“This is a really important subject to talk about. I’ve been gifted this amazing platform and a voice, and I feel I should use them for the positive.”
Celebrity Race Across the World’s Anita Rani is embracing her ‘second chapter’ in life, and that includes not having children. She previously told Good Housekeeping: “I’m in uncharted territory – I’m a single, Asian woman with no children, and do you know what? I love it! I’ve sort of got a blank slate in front of me, and that feels really good.”
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What faith is Celebrity Race Across the World star Anita Rani – is she Hindu, or Sikh?
Anita was raised with a Sikh mother and Hindu father – and enjoys rituals from both religions. However, she has stated she herself is not religious, but does believe in karma.
She married her ex-husband in a Sikh ceremony.
In 2019, she posted on her Instagram about her beliefs. She wrote to her fans: “I’m not religious but I love a ritual and a good chant. I haven’t yet fully committed to meditation but I do believe in karma. That’s me.”
Read more: Celebrity Race Across the World 2025 line-up: Roman Kemp and Anita Rani join the adventure
