Michael Owen’s wife Louise has revealed she’s the reason the footballer only stayed at Real Madrid for one season, sharing her ‘guilt’ at his abrupt departure from the club.In 2004, after eight years playing for Liverpool, Michael was offered the chance to join the Spanish club – widely regarded to be the best team in the world at the time – with the couple and their young daughter Gemma moving into a Madrid hotel. The couple, who met in primary school aged five and have been married for 21 years, reflected on the move in their upcoming Prime Video series Meet The Owens, with Michael musing: ‘Life was great but then Real Madrid came in.’To see a different country, team, food, weather, language, I thought, “I’ve got to try that”.’Louise then shared: ‘I was excited for him and what he was achieving. I’m grateful for those times, but I wouldn’t say I missed it. I like where we are now ‘When I look back at his career I look back at it fondly, but Madrid was quite a testing time for me personally.’ Michael Owen’s wife Louise has revealed she’s the reason the footballer only stayed at Real Madrid for one season, sharing her ‘guilt’ at his abrupt departure from the club In 2004, after eight years playing for Liverpool, Michael was offered the chance to join the Spanish club, with the couple and their young daughter Gemma moving into a Madrid hotelReflecting on moving abroad with their first child, who had only just turned one, she continued: ‘I’d just had Gemma. Having your first child then moving to a foreign country where you don’t have your support network – it was so lonely. ‘I didn’t even have Michael, he was away half of the week. Michael had to try and embed himself in a new team and get to know everybody and I was kind of stuck in this hotel with a young baby by myself.’ Yet it was a different story for Michael, who loved playing for the club and spending time with his new teammates. ‘I was loving it,’ Michael confessed. ‘I was scoring goals and having a great time and enjoying it. But in the back of my mind constantly I knew my wife was hating it. ‘I was fine. I had David Beckham and Luis Figo, Ronaldo – but she was just on her own. It was so hard for me to see her getting drained of life and how sad she was when it should have been such an exciting thing.’I knew there was no coming back from that. I knew if I’d stayed another year, Louise wouldn’t have. She didn’t say the words, “I’m going, you can stay here but you’ll be on your own.” She didn’t need to say them. And obviously with a young family that’s the last thing I wanted.’ Louise mused: ‘He felt pressure from me being unhappy and that probably brought that chapter to a close earlier than it might if I hadn’t been there. ‘I feel a bit of guilt. If he had been completely selfish about his career would he have made that decision to come back when he did? I don’t know.’ Join the discussionShould family happiness ever come before a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity?What’s your view? Michael met wife Louise when they attended Rector Drew Primary School together in Flintshire, Wales, with the pair starting to date when they turned 17 Meet The Owens follows a year in the life of Michael, wife Louise, and their children Gemma, James, Emily and Jessica, as they juggle a horse racing business and chaotic home lifeMichael met wife Louise in 1984 when they attended Rector Drew Primary School together in Flintshire, Wales, with the pair starting to date when they turned 17. The couple tied the knot in 2005 at their family home with daughter Gemma present, and they went on to also welcome James, 20, Emily, 18, and Jessica, 16.However, their relationship has not always been smooth sailing, with their marriage allegedly under strain in 2021 when the Mirror claimed the former striker had been sexting former Big Brother contestant Rebecca James.Neither Michael nor Louise publicly commented on the allegations at the time.Prime Video’s Meet The Owens follows a year in the life of Michael, Louise and their four children as they juggle a horse-racing business while contending with a chaotic home life.At home, Michael and Louise are preparing for life as empty nesters: youngest Jessica dreams of becoming a showjumping Olympic champion, while Emily is trying to become the first Owen to go to university and James is considering joining the family business. All six episodes of Meet the Owens will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video from August 28, 2026.