Category: Lizzie Cundy

They were the toast of the town at the turn of the century; splashed across the country’s magazines and newspapers on a daily basis. 

But being the wife or girlfriend of a footballer wasn’t all champagne and designer handbags, with drug use, jealousy and eating disorders rife among the partners of top players.

Few know the world of the WAGs better than TV personality Lizzie Cundy who was married to Chelsea star Jason Cundy from 1994 to 2012.

The former couple began dating when Lizzie was just 19 years old, bringing her into a world unlike any she’d ever known.

‘It took my breath away, that’s how glamorous it was,’ Lizzie told MailOnline as she looked back on the WAGs’ heyday. 

‘It’s like your first day at school and you’re like, “who’s going to talk to me?” They’ve all got their cliques. Are they going to like me? Some [WAGs] look you up and down.

‘Thankfully, with my character, I took a deep breath, went up to them and made friends. But it could be a very frightening experience to be honest. There’s the in crowd and those that aren’t so in. I sort of danced between both.’ 

The Players’ Lounge after the games was the place to be and it was there where Lizzie got to know her fellow wives and girlfriends.

While she struck up a friendship with many, jealousy and rivalry were rife. With the players earning millions, WAGs were regularly treated to luxury gifts by their men. 

This proved to be a recipe for disaster, with Lizzie recalling an incident where one woman was gifted a sports car by her husband – only for another woman to scratch up the car out of bitter jealousy.   

She said: ‘One girl was given a brand new sports car by her partner and then and another girl who was jealous scratched it. That was a big thing at the club, who scratched the car? It was like a whodunnit but we all knew who did it. 

‘The player denied it, it was all getting a bit embarassing. These cars cost a lot of money, more than most houses, so it was serious.’

The attention on the WAGs throughout the 90s and into the 00s grew and grew. Getting your photo taken at matches and other events was a given and many felt the pressure to always look their best. 

‘You’re conscious of people looking at you. Your husband scored and you know the camera will be on you,’ Lizzie explained. ‘There was pressure to stay slim, there wasn’t Ozempic in those days. I do think I went way too thin.

‘Girls would make huge effort, some outfits were really distasteful, some were splashed head to toe in designer and hadn’t got a clue. It was very competitive.’

Even worse than the pressure to look good was the stress that came with your husband’s performance on the pitch. 

Players were only as good as their last game and many feared the longterm impact it would have on their career if they went through a bad spell. Careers are often short and the fear of what came next was always there. 

Their wives felt the duress too, with drug use and eating disorders tragically prevalent as the wild lifestyle took its toll. 

‘There were girls who took it too far, sadly,’ Lizzie said. ‘Some girls, if their husbands weren’t playing, it was the pressure of that life. 

‘Most footballers come from humble beginnings and they’ve had their partners from childhood. To be thrown into this world, sometimes it’s hard to cope with. 

‘There were some eating disorders. I know some girls who went onto drugs who couldn’t cope; it was their way of getting through the day. I see some girls and I think, “how did I get through that?” 

‘It would show in the Players’ Lounge. They’d come in half-wasted. If your player isn’t doing well, it tended not to be a happy home because of the worries of, “what will happen next?” It’s a short career, believe me. One game can end your career with an injury. 

‘If your husband wasn’t playing well, the pressure would be on you and that’s when you saw marriages collapse. 75 per cent of marriages to footballers end after their career because it’s just very tough.’ 

To make matters worse, rivalries didn’t end at who had the biggest car or the nicest handbag. Lizzie didn’t hesistate when asked what the hardest part about being a WAG was. 

‘The other women trying to get your bloke constantly,’ she said. ‘They’d have an away game, girls would find out where the away game was and and they would dress up like supermodels, sitting at the bar as the boys entered the hotel. 

‘They’re red-blooded young men away from their partners so you had to have eyes at the back of your head.’

Lizzie and some of her fellow WAGs banded together to warn each other about unscrupulous husband hunters they suspected were trying to steal their men.  

‘We had a WAG bubble and we’d say, “watch her, she’s onto your bloke.” “Watch my seat while I go to the loo,” ‘ Lizzie said.

‘Girls thought, “I want this life. I’m not going to get a movie star but I could get a footballer and he’s probably on better money.” ‘

Equality among the WAGs however, was nonexistent. Where you came in the pecking order was down to your husband’s standing on the team and everyone knew where they stood. 

While the likes of Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Tweedy – then Cole – drew plenty of attention, it was Nancy Dell’Olio, wife of former England captain Sven -Göran Eriksson who reigned supreme.  

‘There was a hierarchy, don’t forget,’ Lizzie said. ‘Nancy Dell’Olio wanted to be Queen B. She was Queen B. I remember she said to me once, “my husband’s the manager and yours is a two bit player,” and I thought, “yeah OK”. I took that on the chin.’

Lizzie laughed at the memory, adding: ‘She said it with a smile. Me and Nancy get on.’

Lizzie noticed public interest in the footballers’ wives early on and suggested to England manager Sven it might be a way for them to take the pressure off the players.   

‘I spoke to Sven and I said, “look, everyone’s interested in the girls and that could take off the pressure from whatever the boys get up to.” He said, “this is genius, yes. Make the girls stars and it will take the pressure off my boys,” and it worked like a trick. 

‘The WAGs came to town and it went global but they were only interested in the English Wags, no other country got it like we did. It was like the Beatles had come to town. The players were the new rock stars,’ she said. 

WAGs these days are not as prominent in the public imagination as they once were, which Lizzie puts down to subsequent managers wanting to take things in a different direction. 

‘After Sven left, the other managers thought, “we don’t like this.” I thought it was sad, your husband is at the pinnacle of his career and you can’t be there to watch him score the winning goal.’

Looking forward, Lizzie thinks more needs to be done to help players when their time on the pitch comes to an end. 

‘Managers need to take a bigger responsibility for what happens to the players after football. I remember one player ringing me saying, “I don’t know how to pay a phone bill, what do I do?” 

‘Players go into gambling, drinking. That’s the bide side of it. They say it’s the beautiful game but it’s not, it’s the ugly game.’

And her advice to the new generation of WAGs? Make the most of it it while you can.

‘I’d say enjoy it because footballers’ careers don’t last very long,’ she said. ‘Footballers always think this money lasts forever but it doesn’t. Enjoy the ride but be ready because it could end at any time.’