Gary Barlow couldn’t help but laugh as he was once again outshone by his son Daniel’s towering height, which has made the 24-year-old a viral sensation.
Although the 53-year-old usually keeps family matters private, a recent Instagram family photo had fans amused by the noticeable height difference between him and his son, sparking a flurry of light-hearted comments online.
In a resurfaced clip from 2019, the Take That singer joked about the height contrast as the two worked out together.
Standing at 5’7”, the Rule the World hitmaker humorously pointed out he was stepping away from his 6’2” son and his hefty weights to make their “size gap” seem a bit less extreme.
Sharing the clip to Facebook at the time, the British popstar captioned it: “There’s nothing I love more than spending time with my kids. Here’s a little video of Dan and me having a Father and Son training session.
“I’m very proud of my boy and his commitment to his fitness.
“Don’t look at the difference in weights. Don’t notice that I’m stood a little further forward to make the size gap smaller. Lol”.
Barlow’s viral family photo, initially shared in June for Father’s Day, was a rare glimpse into his private life.
In the snap, his posed with his wife of 25 years, Dawn Andrews, their son, and their youngest daughter, 15-year-old Daisy, during a recent holiday.
In his caption, Barlow joked about his family’s low-key lifestyle, writing: “Father’s Day is the one day I’m allowed to post pics of the fam, hey???”.
The picture playfully highlighted his 5’7” frame against his towering 6’2” son, who nearly dwarfs him.
The image recently resurfaced on X (formerly Twitter) and has since been viewed over six million times, sparking a wave of memes about the medical student’s height. Though Daniel is only a bit taller than the average British man, at 6’2” he stands out even more beside his “short king” dad.
Barlow, who shares three children with Dawn—a former backup dancer he met on tour with Take That in 1995 and married in 2000—has mentioned that his kids have steered away from showbiz, choosing academic paths instead.
Gary Barlow standing in front of his son's new cardigan... pic.twitter.com/NIxnzPLmCm
— Noel Anthony Conway (@noel360) November 5, 2024
Gary Barlow standing next to his son eating a croissant. pic.twitter.com/YanxH1hhjr
— Barrie White (@BarrieGWhite) November 5, 2024
He told The Mirror: “The two oldest ones [Daniel and Emily] have kind of gone into medicine and physiology - studying strength and conditioning - and my youngest one, Daisy, I'm not too sure what she's heading for but again, she's very studious… unlike me and my wife.
“I don't think they will follow in my music footsteps but I wouldn't have discouraged them though if they did want to, it's been a good business for me.
“Every day I still enjoy what I do and when you realise you're making a living from it, it's a great, great place to be. Many roles in 'showbiz' are just wonderful, there's definitely a much harder world out there than the one I'm in I think”.
