Once the girlfriend of Chelsea star Wayne Bridge, French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel found herself at the centre of the glitzy WAG scene.
But this all came to a crashing halt in 2009 when it was alleged she’d had an affair with Wayne’s England teammate John Terry, with the fallout sending shockwaves through the world of sport.
While Vanessa denied the claims, she split from Wayne shortly afterwards and soon retreated from the limelight, keeping a low-profile while they continued to co-parent their son Jaydon, now 18.
Yet this week, nearly two decades on from the scandal, Vanessa found herself at the forefront again after rapper KSI used a press conference to mock Wayne with taunts about the affair, crudely jibing: ‘Aren’t you the guy that let John Terry smash your ex?’
Wayne, who had been due to take part in a boxing match with KSI, abruptly pulled out of the scheduled clash, saying that KSI had ‘crossed a line’ and that his ‘priority’ was ‘protecting the other families involved’ in the scandal.
Vanessa has not commented on the scandal outright, yet shared a cryptic post on Instagram in the aftermath that read: ‘The smallest minds often come with the biggest mouths.’
Who is Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel and what happened to her? How cheating scandal dramatically changed the model’s life
Once the girlfriend of Chelsea star Wayne (pictured 2008) Vanessa found herself at the centre of the glitzy WAG scene but this all came to a crashing halt in 2009 with her alleged affair
Wayne and John (right) were at the centre of a shocking fall-out, when it was claimed that the latter had an affair with his pal’s then-girlfriend (pictured in 2003)
It was a rare post for the model, who last posted on her grid in 2021.
Her page is adorned with glamorous selfies, bikini-clad posts and gushing tributes to the son she shares with Wayne.
Posts are captioned with motivational quotes, informing her followers to ‘Keep your chin up so the crown doesn’t slip’ and ‘It is less about what the eye sees, and more about what the mind thinks…’ among others.
In November, she marked son Jaydon’s birthday, sharing a sweet now and then picture that she captioned: ‘Happiest of birthdays to the love of my life, my son, my best friend.
‘The big 18 today! Time has flown by so fast, I love you to infinity. I’m so proud of you and so honoured you chose me to be your mum.
‘May all your dreams come true. To many many more years of adventures and laughter. Shine bright my love.’
Wayne did not mark the milestone on social media.
His wife Frankie Bridge – with whom he shares sons Parker, 11, and Carter, eight, previously explained why they chose to keep Jaydon out of the limelight.
When asked in an Instagram Q&A if she was a stepmother, Frankie replied: ‘True. I am indeed. It’s not something I talk about much as him and his mum aren’t in the same industry as us.
‘So I keep that part of our life private. I’ve also never really chosen to be called a step parent. He has his parents, I’m just a bonus family! Ha.’
While Wayne married The Saturdays singer Frankie in 2014, it is not known if Vanessa is in a relationship.
Vanessa has not commented on the scandal resurfacing, yet shared a cryptic post on Instagram in the aftermath that read: ‘The smallest minds often come with the biggest mouths’
It was a rare post for the model, who last posted on her grid in 2021. Her page is adorned with glamorous selfies, bikini-clad posts and gushing tributes to the son she shares with Wayne
Posts are captioned with motivational quotes, informing her followers to ‘Keep your chin up so the crown doesn’t slip’ among others
In November, she marked son Jaydon’s birthday, sharing a sweet now and then picture that she captioned: ‘The big 18 today! Time has flown by so fast, I love you to infinity’
Combined, Wayne and Frankie boast nearly two million Instagram followers.
In comparison, Vanessa has 6,501 followers – which includes WAG Rebekah Vardy.
It’s hardly surprising that she hasn’t commanded much of a social media presence, given her decision to retreat from the public eye.
In 2016, Vanessa made headlines again when Wayne took part in I’m A Celebrity, narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
It was alleged she was furious at Wayne for not telling her he was taking part in the show – which saw him miss son Jaydon’s 10th birthday while he hunkered down in the Australia outback.
A source told The Sun at the time: ‘Vanessa was offered the jungle six years ago and refused.
‘When she text Wayne to ask him if it was true or not he told her to ignore the gossip
‘The gloves could come off. Up until now she has refused many shows and interviews. That could be about to change.’
It never did change, however, and Vanessa continued to live her life away from the glare of paparazzi sets and reality TV stints.
Vanessa has retreated from the limelight, keeping a low-profile while they continued to co-parent their son Jaydon, now 18 (pictured at the 2006 World Cup)
Wayne married The Saturdays star Frankie Bridge in 2014, and they share sons Parker, 11, and Carter, nine
She did, however, briefly make headlines once again that year when she was briefly linked to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.
The story gathered traction because Jean-Bernard was famously married to Vanessa’s friend Cheryl – with the pair splitting the year before after just 18 months of marriage.
Vanessa and Cheryl became good friends while the singer was married to Chelsea football star, Ashley Cole, and the pair even holidayed together in the south of France.
Speaking to The Mirror, a source said: ‘They’re close. It’s fairly early days but there certainly seems to be something there.
‘No doubt it will come as a surprise to Cheryl to learn the romance is with someone she knows.
‘I don’t think she and Vanessa stayed friends but at one stage they were quite close.’
It was said Vanessa and Jean-Bernand had much in common as the brunette beauty grew up just a few miles away from the French nightclub entrepreneur’s home in Aix-en-Provence.
Neither party commented on the claims and the rumours soon fizzled out.
Vanessa had also spent months refusing to comment on the reports of her affair with John. She spoke out eventually in 2010 to share her side of the story after the dust had settled on the illicit scandal.
Vanessa briefly made headlines again in 2016 when she was briefly linked to Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini (pictured with his ex-wife Cheryl in 2015)
Vanessa and Cheryl became good friends while the singer was married to Chelsea football star, Ashley Cole, and the pair even holidayed together in the south of France (pictured 2009)
She requested no fee to speak in an interview with the Observer, lambasting claims she was a gold digger and insisting she was only speaking out to ensure her son would know her side of the story was out there.
Vanessa denied all claims of an affair, insisting that she and John were nothing more than close friends and that he had comforted her after she split from Wayne.
‘It was based on good intentions, she claimed. ‘It was a friendship.’
It was clear from public mood that there was scepticism over her insistence there was nothing sexual between them.
Even Wayne was unconvinced, with Vanessa confessing: ‘You would hope, wouldn’t you, that someone you loved so much would know you better… I loved him very much. I still do.’
One aspect that threw doubt on Vanessa’s denial was John’s legal battle to seek a draconian gagging order to keep their relationship secret.
It backfired, however, when a High Court judge denied his request and said the footballer would have to deal with the ‘consequences’ of the news.
Asked why John had applied for a press gagging order if there was nothing to hide, Vanessa mused: ‘I don’t know! No one asked me whether or not I thought it was the right thing to do.
‘If they had, I’d have said no. Let them publish it, then sue. I suppose they were worried about negative press about John Terry.’
KSI made an X-rated dig at Wayne over the affair during a face-off on Saturday. The pair had been due to take part in a boxing fight in March, but Wayne pulled out following his comments
In another twist, Vanessa claimed that it was the court order itself that had resulted in the affair coming to light.
She told The Mail On Sunday that her ex contacted her after hearing the court order, claiming: ‘Wayne rang me last weekend and started shouting at me and accusing me of having an affair.
‘It was terrible. He was saying horrible things.’
She said she told Wayne that she wasn’t having an affair ‘but he wouldn’t believe me’.
Vanessa added: ‘Wayne was convinced I had been cheating on him because the court action had been taken. It was an agonising call and he was furious.
‘I am a close friend of his [John’s]. We don’t talk everyday, but we are in touch a lot. I have known him for eight years, I even knew him before Wayne.
‘He has been to my house. I am also a close friend of his wife [Toni] and I phoned her last weekend to arrange for us to go out together… It is a very close community of footballers and their wives here. I’m a single mother with a little boy to think about.’
Toni and Vanessa became close friends in 2006 and even went on a girls’ break together the year before the affair reports.
It was claimed that the ladies had an almighty fallout in the wake of the claims, resulting in a screaming match down the phone.
A source told the News of the World: ‘It was a real shouting match between the two of them. They were both ranting and swearing down the phone. But Vanessa just denied there was an affair.’
Another source told the Sunday Mirror that Toni told Vanessa: ‘Call yourself a friend? What sort of friend sleeps with their mate’s husband?’
Vanessa was said to have had a screaming match with John’s wife Toni in the aftermath of the affair (John and Toni pictured in 2023)
John previously admitted to being unfaithful to Toni before they married.
Speaking in 2005, two years before they wed, he confessed: ‘I’ve misbehaved and slept with girls behind her back. I’m not going to cheat on her ever again and I want to marry her more than anything.’
John, the former Chelsea captain and England international, is currently working as an academy coach at Chelsea. He is not believed to have mended his friendship with Wayne.
Although the scandal brought an abrupt end to their friendship, it was thought that both players had moved on from drama – until it was brought up again by KSI.
During a face-off in the ring with Wayne, KSI said: ‘Aren’t you the guy that let John Terry smash your ex?’ Wayne replied: ‘You want to go there straight away do you?’
‘I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re known for,’ KSI added, before riling up the crowd and starting a chant that went: ‘Vanessa woah, Vanessa woah’.
KSI proceeded to add X-rated words to his chant that directly referenced John and Wayne’s former partner.
In the aftermath, Wayne announced on Monday that he was pulling out of the fight, saying that he wishes to protect his family from such comments and will seek another challenge in the ring later down the line.
Following the scandal, Wayne famously refused to shake John’s hand during Chelsea’s clash with Manchester City in 2010
The statement read: ‘I’m sure a lot of you have seen what happened on Saturday night at the Misfits Boxing event.
‘Firstly, I think it’s important that I explain my reason for accepting the fight. I always like to challenge myself. This felt like a good opportunity to go up against an interesting opponent on a big stage.
‘I have always loved boxing as part of my everyday training routine. I was fully prepared to train hard and have some fun. Of course, I expected to face some criticism, but I feel like what was said on Saturday crossed a line.
‘These are deeply personal comments that affect mine and other families involved in the situation. I’m a family man first and my priority is protecting them.
‘My opponent is someone that many children look up to around the, including my kids. I hope one day he will look back on this differently. I personally don’t want to be involved in these exchanges. I will no longer be fighting on March 29.
‘I’m still looking out for my next big challenge and have some exciting things coming up in 2025. Thanks for all the love. The support has been overwhelming.
‘I want my friends and family to know how special they are. Deep down I know this is the right thing to do.’
