Joe Wicks found the online criticism to taking his daughter out of school ‘hard’ (Picture: Instagram @thebodycoach)
Joe Wicks has shared the reasons he took his five-year-old daughter out of school.
The nation’s PE teacher became a national treasure when he kept us all fit during lockdown, and he’s now spreading his reach to further corners as he travels the world with his family.
Joe shares daughter Indie, son Marley, four, and baby Leni, 11 months, with wife Rosie, and the family of five are currently in America, with Joe saying the round-the-world trip is part of the reason they’ve taken Indie out of school for the foreseeable future.
‘It’s not a permanent thing, but we want to have another year together,’ he says, adding he ‘just loves being with my kids.’
He clarified in his interview with The Times however: ‘It’s not like I’m saying, I’m going to home school my kids and go and live on a farm in the middle of nowhere. It’s really just about our lifestyle.’
Joe received some criticism for removing his daughter from school, but points out that elsewhere in the world schooling starts later, such as in Scandinavian countries.
He and wife Rosie have three children, aged five, four and 11 months (Picture: @thebodycoach)
Joe said he simply loves his children and wants them all to be together for another year without having to worry about school (Picture: thebodycoach / instagram)
That said, he admits he found the backlash difficult, and ‘if I was getting attacked [online] every day, that would be hard.’
It’s not all one big holiday either, as Joe has previously shared snaps of his children doing schoolwork on what appeared to be a ferry, while Rosie held the baby and admired the view.
Indie was busy working on sums, while her younger brother Marley coloured in a picture teaching him the alphabet.
The children are being homeschooled, with Indie and Marley snapped doing work while on a ferry trip (Picture: Joe Wicks/ Instagram)
He said in a Q&A with fans that the homeschooling decision came as they ‘just love being together as a family and want to spend more time with the kid while we can.’
‘[Indie] had a great year in reception but we have always loved teaching the kids at home and want the freedom to travel more and explore the world.’
However, he insisted his plans are not set in stone.
‘She might go to school next year,’ he said.
‘We have no idea long term but want to do at least a year of home educating.’
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‘If I was getting attacked [online] every day, that would be hard.’