The Moment
Newlyweds Holly Ramsay, 26, and Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty, 31, have both been very open about hitting rock bottom with alcohol and then getting sober.
So when photos from their ultra-luxe wedding dropped – complete with each guest receiving a 190 (around $240) engraved bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila – people did a double take.
In the wedding spread, the handcrafted bottles are etched with “H & A 27.12.25,” and the couple’s “Ramsay Peaty’s Bar” reportedly served spicy margaritas and martinis all night. Guests also walked away with a cute wedding T-shirt showing the pair driving off into married life.
The tequila pick has a very specific celebrity flavor: Don Julio 1942 is famously Victoria Beckham’s drink of choice, a brand she’s promoted at fashion events and parties. So yes, the wedding favors came with a side of Posh energy.
All of this from a couple who have both said alcohol left them at their lowest points. That’s the moment we’re sitting with.
Holly Ramsay and Adam Peaty gifted wedding guests £190 engraved bottle of tequila after previously admitting alcohol left them both at ‘rock bottom’ – and the lavish present has a hidden link to Victoria Beckham.. pic.twitter.com/oY7knDz2fv
— 🚨Instant Feed (@InstanteFeed) January 6, 2026
The Take
On the surface, it sounds wild: two sober people who credit ditching booze with saving their lives, sending everyone home with fancy tequila and keeping the margaritas flowing.
But once you sit with it, it actually feels very 2026. This is “my sobriety, your choice” culture.
Holly has talked about how alcohol wrecked her mental health – PTSD, anxiety, depression, a three-month stay in a London mental health hospital, and then a full reset where she went teetotal in her early 20s. Adam has described his own spiral after elite-level pressure and personal heartbreak, leaning on alcohol during a long mental-health crash before stepping back from competition to heal.
Given that history, some folks expect a totally dry wedding, herbal mocktails only, and a sign on the bar saying “No shots, we’re healing.” Instead, they threw a high-glam party and let their guests drink while they stayed sober. Honestly? That’s a pretty modern, nuanced way to handle it.
To me, it reads less like hypocrisy and more like boundaries. Holly and Adam are saying, “We’re done with this stuff for ourselves. You can still enjoy it – we just won’t be joining you.” It’s not so different from a former smoker gifting someone a designer lighter: it’s about the aesthetic and generosity, not a secret wish to join in.
There’s also the branding piece. Don Julio 1942 isn’t just booze; it’s status. It’s the bottle you see on a marble bar cart in a celebrity kitchen tour. The Victoria Beckham tie-in makes it feel even more like an aspirational accessory than a hangover waiting to happen.
Could it be confusing for people who only know the old “once you quit booze, you avoid it like the plague” model? Absolutely. Especially for readers who grew up in a time when sobriety meant quietly slipping out of the party early. But younger celebrities are rewriting the script: they can go to the party, keep the bar open, and still draw a clear line for themselves.
Does that mean this choice will work for everyone in recovery? No. Some people need alcohol completely out of their orbit, and that is just as valid. Holly herself has said sobriety can feel lonely in a culture that revolves around drinking. If anything, the fact she can be surrounded by tequila bottles and still stand firm tells you how far along in her own journey she probably is.
So yes, it’s a little ironic. It’s also very on-brand for where celebrity wellness culture is now: high luxury, high awareness, and very personalized rules.
Receipts
Confirmed
- Wedding photos published in a Vogue feature show Don Julio 1942 bottles engraved with “H & A 27.12.25” as part of the couple’s celebrations (accessed January 2026).
- The wedding bar menu included spicy margaritas and martinis, as described in that same feature.
- Holly has publicly marked one-year and two-year sobriety milestones in Instagram posts (December 2021 and 2022), writing that alcohol harmed her mental health and that she chose to go teetotal.
- On her podcast “21 and Over” in 2021, Holly discussed being diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and depression after university and spending three months in a London mental health hospital.
- Adam has described a period of “three years of hell,” turning to alcohol after the 2018 Commonwealth Games and later taking a competitive break in 2023 to focus on mental health, in multiple on-record interviews in the UK press.
- Don Julio 1942 has been publicly promoted by Victoria Beckham at fashion events and parties, including during Paris Fashion Week collaborations.
Unverified / Reported
- Reports that every guest received both the engraved tequila bottle and a custom T-shirt with a cartoon of the couple driving away are based on unnamed “sources” quoted in UK tabloids and have not been independently confirmed.
- Claims that Holly’s father, chef Gordon Ramsay, spent around 50,000 on flowers for the wedding also come from anonymous sources and remain unconfirmed.
- Suggestions of unspecified “turbulence behind the scenes” at the wedding are gossip from unnamed insiders; no one involved has publicly supported those claims.
Sources: Vogue digital wedding feature on Holly Ramsay and Adam Peaty (accessed January 2026); Holly Ramsay, “21 and Over” podcast episode discussing PTSD and sobriety (2021); Holly Ramsay Instagram posts marking one- and two-year sobriety milestones (Dec 2021 and Dec 2022); Adam Peaty interviews on depression, alcohol use, and post-Commonwealth burnout in UK print and broadcast media (2020-2023); public brand collaborations and social content linking Victoria Beckham with Don Julio 1942 (various appearances 2020-2024).
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you’re not living on British Instagram, a quick catch-up: Holly Ramsay is a fashion and lifestyle influencer and one of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s daughters. Adam Peaty is a British Olympic swimmer, famous for dominating breaststroke events and breaking world records.
The two met in 2021 on Strictly Come Dancing – the UK show that’s essentially their version of Dancing With the Stars. Adam competed on the show the same year as Holly’s younger sister, Tilly Ramsay. Over time, Holly and Adam’s friendship turned into a relationship.
Before they got together, both had been through it. Holly has spoken openly about a traumatic experience at university, the mental health fallout, and how alcohol dragged her lower until she finally stopped drinking in 2020. She’s shared that she’s been in therapy up to three times a week and that sobriety, while tough and sometimes lonely, made her “more present” and in control.
Adam, meanwhile, went from unbeatable champion to struggling with pressure, a painful split from the mother of his son in 2022, and a serious loss of form in the pool. He’s admitted he turned to a “hedonistic” lifestyle and alcohol to cope before eventually stepping away from competition to focus on his mental health. By 2024, he was back in the water and publicly crediting Holly with helping him become “a better man every day.”
So their love story is very much wrapped up in rebuilding, recovery, and trying to create a healthier life. That’s the context behind why tequila wedding favors caught so much attention.
What’s Next
Will Holly and Adam explain their thinking about having alcohol at a sober couple’s wedding? They might not feel they owe anyone that – and they’d be right. Still, given how open both have been about mental health and sobriety, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Holly address wedding choices in a future podcast episode or Instagram Q&A.
Holly has already positioned herself as someone who wants to “take control of my narrative and use that to make something good.” There’s a real chance she leans even further into mental health and sober-living conversations for people in their 20s who don’t see themselves in the old-school “never go near a bar again” recovery model.
For Adam, the next chapters are likely in the pool and at home – continuing to balance elite sport with the quieter, more stable life he’s said he wants with Holly and his son. How openly he keeps talking about mental health in such a macho sports world will matter to a lot of younger athletes watching him.
And culturally? Expect more of these moments. Weddings where one partner is sober, the bar is still open, and the gift bags have $200 tequila bottles are probably going to become a new normal in celebrity land, right alongside mocktail menus and mindfulness apps.
How do you feel about a sober couple serving and gifting pricey tequila at their wedding – healthy boundary, mixed message, or simply none of our business?
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