Bradley Wiggins has transformed his life over the past year after facing bankruptcy, divorce and drug addiction

Few British sporting heroes have experienced the highs and lows Sir Bradley Wiggins has endured throughout his life. The cycling legend was one of the most recognisable faces in the country 14 years ago.

He shot to fame by becoming the first Brit to win the Tour de France in 2012. A week later, Wiggins became a national hero by winning a gold medal in the time trial at the London 2012 Olympics.

The Belgium-born superstar was named Sports Personality of the Year and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to cycling. He would end his career in 2016 as one of Team GB's most decorated athletes, with five Olympic golds and three more medals to his name.

Yet, the period that followed his retirement was very different. A mixture of deep-rooted childhood trauma, the loss of the strict routine cycling gave him, financial mismanagement and substance abuse led to a downward spiral, which left him homeless, bankrupt, divorced and addicted to cocaine.

Within a few years of stepping away from the bike, Wiggins' companies, which had already been struggling in the preceding years, went bust. He had burned through his £13million fortune and owed creditors more than £2m by late 2024.

That led him to file for bankruptcy in June 2024, leaving him homeless and sofa surfing at friends' and family's houses. Wiggins' lawyer Alan Sellers offered a harrowing insight at the time, telling the Daily Mail: "In reality, Brad is sofa-surfing. He stays with friends and family. I don't know where he stayed last night, I don't know where he will stay tonight or tomorrow night.

"He doesn't have an address. It is a total mess. He has lost absolutely everything. His family home, his home in Majorca, his savings and investments. He doesn't have a penny. It's a very sad state of affairs."

Alongside that ordeal, Wiggins battled cocaine addiction, which he described as a coping mechanism. He later told The Observer in 2025: "There were times my son thought I was going to be found dead in the morning.

"I was a functioning addict. People wouldn't realise. Alcohol was never my thing, because my dad was an alcoholic, so I had to find something else.

"My proclivity to addiction was easing the pain that I lived with. They [his family] wouldn't hear from me for days on end. I can talk about these things candidly now. There was an element of me living a lie in not talking about it.

"I was not the person I wanted to be. I realised I was hurting a lot of people around me. There's no middle ground for me. I can't just have a glass of wine. If I have a glass of wine, then I'm buying drugs."

Wiggins also revealed his separation from his wife, Catherine, on social media in 2020. The pair had been together since 2002, welcoming son Ben and daughter Isabella during their relationship.

But as a result of his drug problem, Wiggins left the family home in 2019. Their divorce was finalised in January 2024.

Announcing their split, Wiggins wrote on social media: "It is with deep sadness my wife Cath and I have decided to separate. Our two children remain our priority, and we ask for privacy at this time. Brad and Cath."

Wiggins later reflected on the toll his struggles had taken on his ex-wife. "Cath is as big a casualty of the past 12 years as anyone. She paid the ultimate price for being my wife," he wrote.

In 2022, the 46-year-old also opened up about being groomed by a coach as a child. In an interview with Men's Health UK, he said: "I was groomed by a coach when I was younger - I was about 13 - and I never fully accepted that."

Asked whether he had been "groomed sexually" by the coach, he replied: "Yes. It all impacted me as an adult… I buried it." Wiggins received an outpouring of support for sharing such a traumatic experience.

In the aftermath of this tragic period, Wiggins, who had been a role model to countless aspiring cyclists just years prior, had to rebuild his life from the ground up. He began the road to recovery from addiction following his bankruptcy declaration in 2024, at which point his children were actively planning to check him into a rehabilitation clinic due to their severe concerns.

Once Wiggins committed to getting clean, former cyclist Lance Armstrong stepped in and offered to cover the full cost of his therapy and recovery. Wiggins checked into the top-tier trauma rehabilitation facility in Utah in November 2025 and returned to the public eye in early 2026.

"I still speak to him and see [Armstrong]," Wiggins said at the time. "I'm off to America on Friday. He's paid for me to go and see a top trauma counselling clinic in Utah, so I'm looking forward to that."

The two cycling greats have stayed in contact since, with a rejuvenated Wiggins travelling to the United States to appear as a guest on Armstrong's various podcasts earlier this year.

Wiggins also released his second autobiography, The Chain, late last year. It has been hugely successful, having been shortlisted for autobiography of the year at the 2026 Sports Books Awards. His raw, unfiltered courage to speak about heavy personal subjects resonated with readers and rounded out his redemption arc.

This year, he has focused on personal transparency and public speaking in Q&A sessions about his life, before and after getting back on his feet. He kicked off the prestigious Off the Shelf Festival 2026 at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield to huge acclaim and is currently on a highly anticipated multi-city UK book tour.

In his personal life, Wiggins and his ex-wife continue to co-parent their children and maintain a friendship. He also supports his family's rising cycling legacy, with this October being a particularly proud month.

Wiggins' 21-year-old son Ben recently followed in his footsteps by signing his first professional WorldTour contract with the prestigious Australian team Team Jayco AlUla ahead of the 2027 season. Ben enjoyed a successful 2026 season, winning the Under-23 national time trial title and securing a top-10 finish at the Tour of Britain.

While the cycling legend stays on the sidelines to let his son forge his own path, he remains a proud and supportive father, maintaining his sobriety, building a new career, and successfully turning his life around.