A WAG has revealed she stopped attending her footballer husband's matches after tech tormentors created a deepfake porn site in her name. The woman, who spoke to sports psychologists, said the fake images and videos left her feeling too ashamed to go to games in case fans had seen them.
Deepfake Porn Site in Her Name
The tormentors stole her photos and used them to create bogus sex snaps and videos, then set up a porn website in her name. The woman said she was 'really upset' and her husband was also distressed. She avoided matches, fearing fans might have seen the fake content.
The ordeal was shared during a study by sports psychologists at Leeds Beckett University, which examined the experiences of players' wives and girlfriends. The experts were so shocked by some accounts that they called for football clubs to offer counselling to partners.
WAGs Face Trolling and Rivals
The women, aged 23 to 34 and including partners of Premier League stars, described battling vicious social media trolling, love rivals, and deepfake porn attacks. One said strangers had opened an adult site in her name without consent, packed with fake images and videos.
“It made me feel so uncomfortable I did not want to go to the games with people thinking they have seen videos of me doing God knows what,” she said. “It was not nice for him either. I was really upset about it.”
Pressure and Sacrifices
The study found WAGs feel they don't get enough credit from clubs or fans for keeping players on the straight and narrow. Five couples have children, and relationships ranged from four to 16 years. The women spoke of frustration at other women trying to 'pinch' their partners.
One said: “I'm stood there like, 'the wife is here'. I know girls who sleep with players and then take their watches or ask for a pay-out so they don't tell their wives.” Another added: “I had been sent a picture of a back of someone's head kissing a girl and they said, 'have you seen what he's been doing?' I showed him. It wasn't him. But I have learnt people will go so far out of their way to stir the pot.”
Calls for Counselling
Some WAGs received death threats or faced online attacks over their appearance. One said: “You do lose yourself. You see all the other wives and girlfriends, they're having work done and you're like, 'oh, do I need to?' But I think as I've gotten older I'm like, 'who am I trying to impress?' Being a woman is hard but there's just an added pressure of being a partner of a player 100%.”
One told of a nanny who 'robbed us' and 'took everything' including her engagement ring, handbags, and shoes. Others spoke of loneliness during partners' injuries or loss of form. The study, published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health, found being a WAG could be an 'invasive force that could threaten or harm their identity and self-esteem' and suggested clubs consider funding counselling.
