We Finally Know How Prince William and Kate Middleton Got Back Together Following Their 2007 Breakup

A close friend allegedly played a major role in getting the royal couple back together.

By Nashia Baker April 14, 2022

Credit: CHRIS FLOYD/CAMERA PRESS/Shutterstock

Kate Middleton and Prince William's love story began over 20 years ago when they met as college students at the University of St. Andrews. Their road to marriage, however, wasn't entirely bump-free. According to People, the pair briefly broke up in 2007—and while we don't have many concrete details about this pause, we officially now know more about how the royal couple reconciled. As it turns out, a mutual friend played a major hand in them getting back together.

Prince William and Kate recently celebrated their close friend, Sam Waley-Cohen, a jockey, after he won his last career horse race at the Grand National at Aintree, despite being up against 50-1 odds. "Huge congratulations to @swaleycohen for winning the Grand National," the duo wrote on Twitter. "What a way to retire!" Sam—who was a guest at the royal wedding—allegedly also helped Kate and Prince William beat the odds; the jockey reportedly threw the party that ultimately reignited their relationship 15 years ago.

According to the Daily Mail, the pair separated in 2007 because they were on different pages; they weren't able to commit to their relationship and decided to part ways. Shortly after, however, Sam invited both Kate and Prince William to a party at his family's 17th-century mansion in Oxfordshire—and at the event, the couple resumed talking. A few weeks after that party, they were seen abroad, while vacationing in the Seychelles together.

As for how Sam feels about playing a role in the couple's love store? "There's an idea that I was like Cupid with a bow and arrow," he said in 2011, the Daily Mail reported. "People love the idea that somebody put them back together, but they put themselves together far more."