Mila, who has not yet turned two, receives a Chanel bag to play with while her mother, Taylor Ward, speaks to the camera.
The ‘tell me you’re rich, without telling me you’re rich’ scene indicates that Married to the Game is likely to become our next reality TV obsession.
The series focuses on football players’ spouses, who have long piqued the British public’s interest.
The phrase WAG (wives and girlfriends) first appeared in 2002, and Footballers’ Wives, an imagined depiction of what may happen to the ladies sitting at the stadium, quickly became popular. But it was the 2006 World Cup in Germany (won by Italy, with England reaching the quarter-finals, FYI) that sparked our passion to new heights.
While footballers sweated it out on the pitch to win, cameras were ready to catch the WAGs’ every move. Coleen Rooney, Victoria Beckham, and Cheryl merely had to go down the street wearing stilettos, jeans, and a lovely blouse to make the front page.
The country was captivated by the lives of these working-class ladies, including where they shopped, who they feuded with, and whose nightclub table they danced on. Rio Ferdinand subsequently stated that ‘football became a secondary part’.
Now, 18 years later, there is less strong curiosity but a yearning to learn more about these women’s lives. Sara Gündoğan, Cat Harding, Sam Tarkowski, Ash Turner, and Taylor have allowed Amazon Prime into their homes to share their real-life experiences as football wives in 2024. Is it as glamorous as Coleen going home from Germany merely to have her hair extensions reattached and then returning in time for the next game, or is it a tiring life of continually looking over your shoulder as numerous women strive for your position?
Footballers’ wives have been featured on reality TV before, such as Wags Boutique in 2007 and Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, a documentary about Becky Vardy. This time, there is no hooking or setting-up competition; the cameras are simply there.
As the series go, viewers will witness a slew of opulent parties celebrating everything from a non-milestone birthday to a new job, workday coffee shop dates while the rest of us are writing ‘as per my last email’, and stunning residences. However, there are several concerns about the unknown that comes with their choice of spouse, which some may dismiss as first-world issues, but isn’t that what reality TV is all about?
They, like many other women before them, are adept at maintaining their independence through their companies. Victoria is a co-founder of girl power, after all; Cheryl gave us Fight for This Love, and Coleen has her name associated with a variety of products, including fragrances, novels, television series, and clothing lines.
The next generation of partners is also juggling several responsibilities. Cat operates a styling firm, Taylor owns a jewellery line, Sam is a personal trainer, Ash runs a non-profit foundation that helps women with cancer, and Sara is a model/presenter.
Taylor cried when Riyad was signed for club Al-Ahli and had to leave Manchester, a place she’d lived all of her life, to move across the world to Saudi Arabia where she knew nobody. In the trailer, Riyad tells her rather abruptly: ‘It’s part of the game, init?’ as she dries her tears.
‘I appreciate that Riyad is straight-talking and these things don’t faze him. His career path has brought some amazing things but it has hard times and struggles. Loneliness is one of the toughest aspects. When we moved, Riyad got to meet all the footballers at training who became his friends, but I’m just at home alone.
‘I’ve got to organise everything such as finding a place to live, and getting Mila into a nursery. It’s not just the big stuff either – when we first arrived, we didn’t own a knife and fork, or know where to buy groceries.’ Even when the pair lived in the UK she suffered with these feelings as Riyad was away several days each week. ‘I was worried all the time that he wouldn’t be at the birth while I was pregnant. There is so much uncertainty.’
Ex-NFL cheerleader Ash, 27, who is married to Nottingham Forest goalkeeper and USA national team star Matt Turner, 29, understands this all too well. Her greatest concern was going into labour before a game. ‘I want him to be there,’ she earlier said. The couple scheduled an induction to assure his attendance for their daughter Everley’s birth in September. Everley has a one-year-old sibling, Easton.
Cat, 34, has discovered that even when they are around, they do not completely engage in everyday life. After Arsenal and Italian national team player Jorginho, 32, loses a game, he refuses to leave his house.
‘Jorginho would feel embarrassed being at dinner. Plus, fans are so passionate they’d wonder why he was relaxing after a loss. Instead, he puts on the TV and watches the game three times to work out what went wrong.’
If you don’t mind staying home on Saturday evenings and watching Netflix in your spare room, you might be wondering how to meet a footballer. Jorginho and Cat met through the elite dating app Raya.
They were first unable to converse since they did not speak the same language. Jorginho had been using Google Translate to draft his texts for three weeks and making excuses when it came to responding to voice notes, so Cat had no idea. When discussion proved hard, Jorginho invited Cat to dance, which she thought would work for them.
Cat was pursuing a music career and reached the knockout rounds on The Voice in 2020, and is honest about what she’s now given up for the benefit of her family. She has eight-year-old Ada from a previous relationship with actor Jude Law and Jax, three, with Jorginho. ‘It’s really important to have your own things, but I don’t perform as much now. It’s quite difficult with our children and Jay’s schedule. If I prioritised it then we’d be like passing ships. His work comes first.’
There is a long-held belief that players can have wandering eyes. Kyle Walker’s fathering of two children with Lauryn Goodman outside of his marriage to his current pregnant wife Anne Kilner is the latest in a long string of controversies.Cat and Jorginho have a rule that ensures no rumours may start: the recently engaged pair never goes out at night without each other.
‘Some people might say it’s unhealthy, but for us, it really works and we’ve mutually agreed to it.’
She continued: ‘Footballers have a lot of temptation because they are rich and often good-looking – you’d be surprised at some of the messages he gets. I don’t know if I should say it, but most men in their situation would probably slip up sometimes, but we have an amazing relationship.’
Taylor’s dad Ashley Ward – who was a Premier League footballer – didn’t even want her to date anyone in the same profession. ‘You can’t put everyone in the same bracket but my dad knows,’ she shared. However, when Ashley met Riyad ‘he fell in love with him too’. Now, Taylor can laugh at any advances from women seeking romance even when she’s in the room as it is apparent how uncomfortable and panicked Riyad becomes.
Sam, 31, has found it more challenging to be married to Everton centre-back James Tarkowski, as well as the expectations that come with it.
‘I struggled for years with eating disorders. I’m a woman in football. It’s tough,’ she honestly admitted.
The interest in their lives was a shock for Sara, 29, who grew up in Italy. The country doesn’t have the same fascination. ‘The word WAG doesn’t even really exist.’ Now, she finds herself accidentally reading about her friends, which is ‘super uncomfortable’, and not knowing whether to ask about reports she’s read.
Sara who began travelling the world as a model at 18 is keen to point out that her focus isn’t on being somebody’s partner, and never will be. ‘It’s really important to have my career, my passion, my projects because a woman has her independence, she is free.
‘When you lose someone or when things have to change, you always have the power to say “Yes, I want to be here. No, I want to be there.” But when you are dependent on someone else you can’t have that.
‘When I look in the mirror, I want to be proud of myself.’
Concerns about putting yourselves forth for judgement are understandable, especially for Taylor, who had seen her mother Dawn Ward on Real Housewives of Cheshire. Taylor was particularly concerned about competing against the other ladies. However, the episodes depict the ladies getting along well, which is a far cry from Coleen and Becky’s feud over leaked tales that made it all the way to court.
‘Being with a footballer can be lonely, and so the friendships you make with women who are in the same boat can be invaluable. There’s no competitiveness, we all just support each other,’ shared Taylor, who is part of many WhatsApp groups with other footballers’ partners.
‘I don’t have one bad word to say about any of the girls I’ve met and I’m not saying that because that’s what we’re supposed to say, but they are just good people.’
For the women, there was a greater goal – to show that they are more than the men they love. ‘WAG is such an outdated term, and it needs to go,’ stated Cat.
Taylor added: ‘It’s the perception behind it that needs to change. The show does a good job of showing we are multi-faceted. There’s glamour, but there’s also normality like popping to Nando’s or being on camera in no makeup and joggers.’
Behind every great player is an even amazing woman, and behind everyone of them is a fantastic reality show.
Married to the Game is available to watch on Amazon Prime.
Source My Celebrity Life.