Remember 2006? A time long before Covid-19, Netflix and The Traitors, when Leona Lewis won The X Factor, Big Brother was still on Channel 4 and when a certain group of women caused a real stir in Germany.
That summer saw the whole nation pin their hopes on the England football team once again. Forty years after their historic World Cup win on home turf, the Three Lions, under the leadership of the late Sven Goran Eriksson, headed to Germany for the 2006 tournament.
After winning their group, with two wins and a draw, as always, supporters dreamt that football might just have been coming home, only for the team to crash out yet again on penalties, this time to Portugal in the quarter finals.
While the players on the pitch certainly grabbed their share of headlines, so did their significant others, with the England WAGs, whether in the stands or out on the town in Baden-Baden, attracting plenty of attention. From racking up huge bar and hotel bills to singing and dancing on tables and even a drug scandal, it is widely believed that the 2006 WAGs' behaviour was the reason behind partners being completely banned from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
So now, as all eyes turn to England under the guidance of new manager Thomas Tuchel at the 2026 World Cup, we look at what happened to those iconic ladies from 20 years ago.
Victoria Beckham
As wife of captain David Beckham, Victoria was the Queen Bee of the set and always had a pair of designer sunglasses ready to cheer her husband on, as well as a straight off the catwalk outfit to face the glare of the paparazzi.
She hasn't done too badly at all since the World Cup 20 years ago. A year later she reunited with her Spice Girls bandmates for a string of huge reunion shows at London's O2 Arena. She teamed up with them once again in 2012 for the closing ceremony of the London Olympics and, away from music, she is still a well-respected fashion designer and creative director of her own luxury brand, which now also includes sister company Victoria Beckham Beauty and was featured in her fly on the wall Netflix documentary last year.
She was in the headlines for rather sad reasons at the start of this year, as eldest son Brooklyn blew social media apart with a series of damning allegations against his mum and dad, with the accusations causing a nuclear family fallout that is still to be repaired. Last week, the Beckhams, minus Brooklyn, were in LA to see David get a star on the Walk of Fame.
Cheryl
Often by Victoria's side during the 2006 tournament, like Posh Spice, Cheryl was already firmly a star in her own right, having been a member of Girls Aloud for nearly four years. By that point the band had scored two number 1 singles with Sound of the Underground and I'll Stand By You and two sell out tours.
The Geordie star was there to cheer on her then fiancé, defender Ashley Cole, after he popped the question in Dubai at the end of 2005. The two married in July 2006 and were together for nearly four years, before Cheryl filed for divorce after a string of cheating allegations against Ashley.
She married Frenchman Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini in 2014 but the two called it quits just over a year later. Cheryl started dating Liam Payne at the start of 2016, giving birth to son Bear in 2017, before the couple called it quits a year later, with Liam sadly dying after falling from a hotel room in Argentina in 2024.
Away from her personal life, now 43-year-old Cheryl's career rocketed after the World Cup. After landing a spot on The X Factor panel, she forged a massively successful solo career, kicked off by million selling debut single Fight For This Love. Her other solo number 1s to date include Promise This, Call My Name, Crazy Stupid Love and I Don't Care.
In 2023, Cheryl received very favourable reviews for her star turn in London play 2:22 A Ghost Story and, a year later, much to the delight of Girls Aloud fans, she joined her bandmates for a massive reunion tour in arenas across the UK and Ireland.
Coleen Rooney
Coleen was still Coleen McLaughlin in 2006 and there to cheer on her then 20-year-old other half, striker Wayne Rooney. Also said to have been 'in with' Victoria Beckham over in Germany, Coleen married Wayne in a luxurious wedding in Portofino, Italy in 2008 and sold rights to OK Magazine, for a reported £2.5 million.
The couple have four sons: Kai Wayne, born November 2009; Klay Anthony, born May 2013; Kit Joseph, born January 2016; and Cass Mac, born February 2018.
Due to her relationship with Wayne, Coleen was already well known before the World Cup, thanks to her best-selling workout DVD and ITV programme Coleen's Real Women. After the tournament, she penned an autobiography - Welcome to My World - in 2007, released her own perfume and landed a £3 million campaign with George at Asda.
Coleen, now 40, sent social media on fire in October 2019 when she accused the Instagram account of fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy of leaking stories about her private life. Those famous words "it was Rebekah Vardy's account" spawned a scandal which quickly became known as Wagatha Christie, with Coleen eventually coming out on top in the subsequent court case, with all the drama captured in her tell-all book My Account.
At the end of 2024, Coleen, having done very well in the Australian jungle and won the hearts of ITV viewers, finished second to McFly's Danny Jones on I'm A Celebrity.
Abbey Clancy
Abbey's World Cup was brought to an abrupt end after pictures surfaced in the press of her taking cocaine. Although the photos were from a few years earlier, her then boyfriend, Peter Crouch, ended their relationship soon after the tournament, saying: "I wish to make the situation absolutely clear: Abbey and I were in the very early stages of a relationship which, for a number of reasons, I decided a few weeks ago to end, and I accordingly informed Abi of my decision."
That same summer, Abbey appeared on TV in Britain's Next Top Model, finishing second and later going onto host the show nearly a decade later. She and Peter reunited and got married in Sardinia in 2009. They have four children: two daughters and two sons.
Abbey has been on TV regularly since 2006; as well as BNTM, she was a contestant on Hell's Kitchen and then even more famously on Strictly Come Dancing, which she won at the end of 2013. She and Peter now host their massively successful podcast The Therapy Crouch, which spawned its own spin-off book, released in late 2023.
Abbey, who has also penned autobiography Remember My Name, has hosted a number of series of her own show Celebrity Homes for ITV since it made its debut in 2023.
Alex Gerrard
Then Alex Curran, model Alex was in Germany to cheer on her boyfriend, central midfielder and Liverpool star Steven. She was the WAG famous for running up the colossal hotel bill of £25,000, which is said to have included 60 bottles of £75 pink champagne.
Alex and Steven got married in Buckinghamshire in 2007 and have four children. The Gerrards crossed the Atlantic in 2015 for a brief stint in LA after Steven signed an 18-month deal with LA Galaxy, which was reported to be worth £4 million a year, before returning to the UK after Steven became manager of Rangers.
Alex and Steven celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary, with Alex marking the same occasion five years ago, right before the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, by making a then and now post on her Instagram, where she now keeps a relatively low profile.
Vanessa Perroncel
While she enjoyed a scandal-free World Cup in 2006 as she was pregnant with other half Wayne Bridge's baby, Vanessa found herself at the centre of some massive drama three years later when, at the time of their split, she was accused of having an affair with Wayne's Chelsea and England teammate John Terry.
Wayne turned his back on an international career as a result and even refused to shake John's hand on the pitch. After their relationship ended in chaos, Vanessa was linked to Cheryl's ex Jean Bernard, while Wayne is now happily married to Saturdays singer turned Loose Women star Frankie Sandford, who he has two children with.
Vanessa's last post on Instagram was for Mother's Day 2025, which she signed off by writing: 'Here's to the strength, love, and unwavering spirit of every mother'.
Elen Rivas
Elen exhibited some peak England WAG 2006 behaviour when she was captured standing on a table belting out I Will Survive in a German bar. Elen and then other half Frank Lampard had a daughter before the World Cup and went on to have another before they split in 2009.
Speaking after their split, she said: "Going out with a footballer means you sometimes lose your own identity. It becomes all about them and no one else. But now my life is far more balanced. It is about me and my girls. And that's how it will remain."
Elen appeared as a contestant on Dancing on Ice in 2011. Ex Frank is now married to former One Show host and Loose Women anchor Christine Bleakley.
Carly Zucker
Carly was in the World Cup 15 years ago to cheer on Joe Cole, who she got married to three years later. She appeared as a contestant on I'm A Celebrity in 2008 and was the third to be voted out of the jungle.
Now 42, Carly has three children with Joe, who she founded the 11 Foundation, which works with charities on community projects. Carly's Instagram is set to private and she keeps a low profile on social media.
Melanie Slade
A few eyebrows were raised when Sven decided to call up young Arsenal forward Theo Walcott to the England squad in 2006, with the then 16-year-old being far less experienced than any other player for the Germany tournament.
Then just a school girl, Melanie has since worked as a blogger for Hello, with her and Theo marrying at the Castello di Vincigliata in Tuscany in June 2013. Their first son Finley was born a year later, with second son Arlo following in November 2016.
