Clare Ratcliffe, also known by her married name Clare Stokes, is a British dance and cheerleading coach, trained teacher, company director, and the wife of England cricketer Ben Stokes. Although much of the public attention surrounding her comes from her husband’s cricket career, Clare has her own professional and educational background that is often overlooked in shorter profiles about her life.
Born in October 1989, Clare is 36 years old as of July 2026. She lives in England with her family and has spent years balancing professional responsibilities, parenthood, and life alongside one of England’s best-known cricketers. She has qualifications in dance and primary education and has also held business responsibilities connected with BAS Promotions Limited.
Clare and Ben Stokes married on 14 October 2017 after several years together. They have two children and had already established a family before their wedding. Their relationship has developed alongside the changing demands of Stokes’ international cricket career.
Who Is Clare Ratcliffe?
Clare Ratcliffe is a British dance and cheerleading coach who became widely known through her marriage to Ben Stokes. After marrying, she became known as Clare Stokes, although her maiden name continues to appear frequently in online searches and media coverage.
Her public profile is different from that of many spouses of professional athletes. Clare has not pursued a career based mainly on television appearances, interviews, or social media promotion. Instead, her background includes dance, coaching, education, and business responsibilities.
Clare holds a BA Honours degree in Dance and also completed a PGCE in Primary Teaching. These qualifications reflect two areas of her professional development: performing arts and education.
Her career has included work connected with dance and cheerleading coaching. She has also been listed in business roles as a director and company secretary of BAS Promotions Limited.
Despite being married to a highly recognised international athlete, Clare has maintained a comparatively private lifestyle and shares only selected parts of her family life publicly.
Clare Ratcliffe Age and Date of Birth
Clare Ratcliffe was born in October 1989. As of July 2026, she is 36 years old.
The exact day of her birth is not as widely documented as the month and year. For that reason, October 1989 is the most relevant information when discussing Clare Ratcliffe’s date of birth.
Questions such as “Clare Ratcliffe age” and “how old is Clare Ratcliffe?” frequently appear in online searches because many people know her through Ben Stokes but are less familiar with her personal background.
At 36, Clare has spent a considerable part of her adult life balancing her professional interests with marriage and raising two children. Her relationship with Stokes began before some of the most important periods of his cricket career, meaning the couple have experienced significant personal and professional changes together.
Clare Ratcliffe’s Nationality and Life in England
Clare Ratcliffe is British and lives in England.
Her family life is closely connected with England because of Ben Stokes’ professional cricket commitments. Although Stokes was born in New Zealand, he moved to England as a child and later built his domestic and international cricket career there.
Clare’s own education and professional activities have also been based in the United Kingdom. Her work in dance, cheerleading, teaching, and business reflects a career path that developed independently of her husband’s international sporting reputation.
While overseas cricket tours have regularly taken Stokes away from home, England has remained the main base for the couple and their children.
Clare Ratcliffe’s Education
Education has played an important role in Clare’s professional background.
She completed a BA Honours degree in Dance, demonstrating a formal academic commitment to performing arts. A university-level dance qualification can involve practical training as well as the study of performance, choreography, teaching methods, and the development of movement skills.
Clare later completed a PGCE in Primary Teaching. A Postgraduate Certificate in Education provides training for people preparing to work within the education sector.
Her combination of dance and teaching qualifications created a foundation for a career involving coaching and working with younger people.
Rather than becoming publicly known through entertainment or professional sport, Clare developed practical qualifications that could be applied within educational and coaching environments.
Clare Ratcliffe’s Career in Dance and Cheerleading
Clare Ratcliffe has worked as a dance and cheerleading coach.
This professional background is one of the most important parts of her identity outside her marriage to Ben Stokes. However, it is often given limited attention because media profiles tend to focus more heavily on her husband’s cricket career and their family life.
Dance coaching requires more than performance ability. Coaches may be responsible for teaching technique, developing routines, improving physical coordination, and preparing participants for performances or competitions.
Cheerleading also combines several physical disciplines, including dance, teamwork, strength, timing, and structured routines.
Clare’s academic background in dance and her teaching qualification provide a relevant foundation for this type of work. Her experience in education may also support her ability to coach younger participants and communicate instructions effectively.
Clare Ratcliffe’s Teaching Background
Clare’s PGCE qualification has led to public interest in whether she worked as a primary school teacher.
Earlier media profiles often described her as a primary school teacher. However, her professional background also includes dance and cheerleading coaching.
The combination of these areas suggests that education and coaching have both played important roles in her career.
Teaching young children and coaching dance groups require several similar abilities. Communication, organisation, patience, lesson planning, and adapting instruction for different skill levels can be important in both environments.
While the complete timeline of Clare’s employment history has not been widely documented, her qualifications provide clearer information about the professional areas she trained to enter.
Clare Ratcliffe’s Business Role
In addition to her background in coaching and education, Clare has held business responsibilities.
She has been associated with BAS Promotions Limited as a director and company secretary.
A company director generally has responsibilities connected with business management and decision-making. The role of company secretary can involve administrative and organisational duties, although specific responsibilities vary depending on the company’s structure.
This part of Clare’s background adds another dimension to her public profile. She is not known only for being the spouse of a professional cricketer but has also been connected with formal company responsibilities.
Detailed information about her daily work within the business is limited, but her position demonstrates involvement in professional activities outside public appearances and cricket events.
How Clare Ratcliffe Met Ben Stokes
The full story of how Clare Ratcliffe and Ben Stokes first met has not been discussed extensively in public interviews.
What is clear is that their relationship began before they married and continued through the earlier stages of Stokes’ development as an international cricketer.
Their relationship became serious while Stokes was still relatively young. The couple eventually became parents, adding significant responsibilities to their lives before their wedding.
At the same time, Stokes’ cricket career was developing rapidly. Professional sport required frequent travel, long periods away from home, demanding training schedules, and increasing public attention.
Clare remained part of his life as he progressed through international cricket and became one of the most recognised players in the England team.
Clare Ratcliffe and Ben Stokes’ Relationship
Clare and Ben have been together through major stages of their adult lives.
Their relationship developed before some of Stokes’ biggest achievements in cricket. They experienced parenthood, engagement, marriage, international travel, and the pressures that come with a professional sporting career.
Stokes has previously spoken publicly about how becoming a father at a young age changed his approach to responsibility.
For an international cricketer, balancing professional and family life can be difficult. Players may spend weeks or months travelling for overseas tours and tournaments.
Clare and Ben’s relationship has continued within these circumstances. While Stokes has focused on professional cricket, Clare has managed her own career interests and family responsibilities.
Clare Ratcliffe and Ben Stokes’ Engagement
Ben Stokes and Clare Ratcliffe became engaged in 2013.
By this stage, the couple had already developed a serious relationship and started building their family life.
Their engagement lasted several years before they married in 2017. During this period, Stokes’ cricket career continued to develop, bringing greater media attention to both him and his family.
The couple’s relationship attracted increasing public interest as Stokes became a more established member of the England cricket team.
Despite this attention, Clare generally avoided extensive interviews about their engagement or wedding preparations.
Clare Ratcliffe and Ben Stokes’ Wedding
Clare Ratcliffe married Ben Stokes on 14 October 2017.
The wedding was held in Somerset and attracted considerable media attention. By that time, Stokes was already an established international cricketer, and several people from the sporting world attended the celebrations.
Reports suggested that the wedding had a large guest list, including friends, relatives, and Stokes’ cricket teammates.
Well-known England players were among those connected with the occasion, reflecting the friendships Stokes had developed through professional cricket.
Clare wore a white wedding gown with decorative details and a traditional veil. Ben chose formal wedding clothing for the ceremony.
Photographs from the event later appeared publicly, giving cricket followers a look at an important moment in the couple’s relationship.
Following the wedding, Clare became known as Clare Stokes, although Clare Ratcliffe remains the name commonly used in online searches.
Clare Ratcliffe and Ben Stokes’ Children
Clare and Ben Stokes have two children.
Their son is named Layton, while their daughter is named Libby.
The couple became parents while still relatively young. Parenthood arrived during an important stage of Stokes’ cricket career and added new responsibilities to their lives.
Stokes has spoken in interviews about the impact becoming a father had on him. He has explained that raising a child required him to mature and pay greater attention to areas of his life outside cricket.
Clare has played a central role in raising their children while also managing the demands created by Stokes’ professional schedule.
The family has occasionally shared photographs from holidays, birthdays, cricket matches, and other personal occasions.
Raising a Family Around International Cricket
International cricket creates a lifestyle that can be difficult for families.
Players regularly travel between countries and may spend long periods away from home. Test series, limited-overs competitions, training camps, and overseas tournaments can create demanding schedules.
Clare’s family life has developed around these professional commitments.
While Stokes has travelled for England and other cricket competitions, Clare has continued managing responsibilities connected with their children, her career, and their home life.
The situation requires flexibility from both partners. Important family events can take place during cricket tours, while sporting commitments may reduce the amount of time players spend at home.
Clare and Ben have managed these circumstances throughout much of their relationship.
Clare Ratcliffe Instagram Activity
Clare Ratcliffe’s Instagram presence has attracted interest from cricket followers who want to learn more about her personal and family life.
She has used social media to share selected photographs involving Ben, their children, holidays, weddings, birthdays, and cricket-related occasions.
Her account has also included supportive messages about her husband.
Unlike full-time social media influencers, Clare has not built her main professional identity around online content. Her Instagram activity has generally provided occasional glimpses into family experiences rather than constant updates about her daily life.
She has also shared photographs from cricket events where she attended matches to support Stokes.
Because social media usernames and privacy settings can change, people looking for Clare Ratcliffe’s current Instagram account should confirm that they are viewing an authentic profile.
Clare Ratcliffe’s Support for Ben Stokes
Clare has been seen supporting Ben Stokes during different periods of his cricket career.
She has attended matches and travelled to cricket events, including competitions outside England.
Photographs from sporting occasions have sometimes appeared on social media and in newspaper coverage.
Her support has also been visible through personal messages posted for birthdays and other occasions.
However, Clare has generally remained outside the professional cricket industry. She is not widely known as a broadcaster, sports agent, or cricket administrator.
Instead, her role has remained personal, connected with marriage, family life, and supporting her husband during his career.
Ben Stokes on Marriage and Fatherhood
Ben Stokes has discussed the influence of marriage and parenthood on his personal development.
He became a father in his early twenties and has acknowledged that the experience brought responsibilities that required him to mature.
Professional athletes often enter demanding careers at a young age. Success can bring financial opportunities and public recognition, but it can also create personal pressure.
For Stokes, family life became an important part of his development outside cricket.
He has also discussed the importance of maintaining relationships with Clare, their children, and his close friends while managing long periods away from home.
These comments have offered some public insight into the couple’s relationship without revealing every aspect of their private lives.
Clare Ratcliffe’s Public Profile
Clare has taken a relatively controlled approach to public attention.
Although she is married to a famous international cricketer, she has not developed a separate celebrity career based on that connection.
Most newspaper articles about Clare focus on her marriage, children, career background, social media posts, and appearances at cricket matches.
Searches involving phrases such as “who is Ben Stokes wife Clare Ratcliffe DailyMail” show how readers often discover her through articles connected with Stokes.
However, Clare’s own background includes education, coaching, and business responsibilities that extend beyond her marriage.
Why Clare Ratcliffe Attracts Public Interest
Interest in Clare Ratcliffe is closely connected with Ben Stokes’ position in international cricket.
Sports followers often want to know more about the families of successful players. This creates interest in spouses, children, careers, education, ages, and social media accounts.
Clare attracts additional attention because she has been part of Stokes’ life through many stages of his career.
Their relationship existed before his biggest professional achievements. They became parents at a young age, got engaged in 2013, and married in 2017.
At the same time, Clare has maintained enough privacy that many details about her daily life remain outside the public record.
Clare Ratcliffe Beyond Her Marriage
Describing Clare Ratcliffe only as Ben Stokes’ wife does not provide a complete picture of her background.
She has a BA Honours degree in Dance and a PGCE in Primary Teaching. Her professional experience includes dance and cheerleading coaching, while her business responsibilities have included roles with BAS Promotions Limited.
These details show that Clare has developed professional interests outside her husband’s sporting career.
Her public recognition may largely come from her marriage, but her education and work history remain important parts of her biography.
This distinction is particularly relevant because short celebrity profiles often focus almost entirely on family relationships while providing little information about education and professional experience.
Quick Facts About Clare Ratcliffe
Clare Ratcliffe was born in October 1989 and is 36 years old as of July 2026. She is British and lives in England.
Her married name is Clare Stokes. She holds a BA Honours degree in Dance and a PGCE in Primary Teaching.
Professionally, she is known for work as a dance and cheerleading coach. She has also held responsibilities as a director and company secretary of BAS Promotions Limited.
Clare married England cricketer Ben Stokes on 14 October 2017. The couple have two children.
She is known publicly for her coaching career, educational background, business responsibilities, and marriage to Stokes.
Conclusion
Clare Ratcliffe, also known as Clare Stokes, has built a life that combines family, education, coaching, and business responsibilities.
Born in October 1989, she is 36 years old as of July 2026. Her academic background includes a BA Honours degree in Dance and a PGCE in Primary Teaching, while her professional experience includes work as a dance and cheerleading coach.
Clare has also held business responsibilities as a director and company secretary of BAS Promotions Limited.
Her relationship with Ben Stokes has brought significant public attention. The couple became engaged in 2013, married on 14 October 2017, and have two children.
Despite being connected with one of England’s most recognised cricketers, Clare has generally maintained a measured public presence. Her social media activity has offered selected views of family life and support for her husband, but she has not built her identity around constant publicity.
Clare Ratcliffe’s story is therefore about more than her marriage to Ben Stokes. Her background in dance, education, coaching, business, and family life provides a broader understanding of the person behind the name frequently seen alongside one of England cricket’s most prominent players.
