An American couple's move from the USA to Wrexham after watching the Welcome to Wrexham documentary has prompted a typically brilliant response from Wrexham AFC co-owner Ryan Reynolds. Jeff and Janice Ivy fell in love with the club and the city after watching the Disney+ hit series.
Reynolds' witty reply
Welcome to Wrexham gives an insight into Wrexham AFC following the surprise takeover by Reynolds and co-owner Rob McElhenney. The club have won promotion to the Championship since their takeover with eyes now on making the step to the Premier League.
The story caught the imagination of Jeff and Janice, with their story now catching the eye of Reynolds. Taking to X, he quote tweeted the story along with a message which read: "Thank god they didn't watch Chernobyl." The hit Chernobyl miniseries was a dramatisation of the 1986 nuclear power plant accident and the aftermath in Ukraine.
How the couple discovered Wrexham
Jeff and Janice were introduced to the Welcome to Wrexham series by Jeff's late brother: "My younger brother, who passed away last January, was a huge English football fan," he told the Daily Star. "We were both big Rob McElhenney fans too, so when the documentary came out, my brother was like, 'You should really watch this.'"
The next step in the chain was a delivery mistake from a local Wrexham band The Declan Swans. The band featured on an episode of the documentary, with frontman Michael 'Scoot' Hett sharing his fight with cancer, which led to Jeff buying two of the band's hoodies.
"I ordered a couple of the band's sweatshirts and when the package came there was only one in it," Jeff said. "They sent another, we kept emailing and Scoot said, 'You should come over.'"
First visit and growing attachment
Accepting the invitation, Jeff made the transatlantic trip in early 2024 to attend his first Wrexham match at the Racecourse Ground, a local derby against rivals Shrewsbury Town. "We went to the match and I met the other guys in the band. They're just great guys," Jeff said. "The football team's great, but we started to get a real sense of community."
From that moment onwards, the couple were utterly captivated. They began making frequent trips to North Wales, with each visit becoming progressively longer, until Jeff finally retired professionally in December.
"We didn't want to stay where we were. We started kicking it around and I said, 'What about Wrexham?' Our kids are all for it - they're all older and out of the house. We decided that life's an adventure, so let's take one."
Making the move
Jeff had already secured UK citizenship through his Scottish grandmother, which made the 4,800-mile relocation considerably more straightforward. However, back home in the States, explaining the decision hasn't always proved easy. "It's funny because a lot of Americans don't know where Wales is - they assume it's all England," Jeff said. "I don't know of any other Americans who have made the move yet."
The couple, both brought up in working-class Pennsylvania mining towns, instantly felt a strong bond with Wrexham's proud heritage and warm-hearted community spirit. "When Rob [Mac] said it reminded him of south Philadelphia and the working-class community, that's what it's like," Jeff said. "The pubs are centres of society. People are friendly and that's what's so different."
While friends back in Texas questioned trading sweltering temperatures for grey skies, Jeff maintains the benefits far outweigh the occasional drizzle. He said: "The weather is one that people always raise, but some of the pros were that the cost of living is less here and the healthcare is free."
Settling into the community
Jeff and Janice are now embedding themselves firmly into the heart of the local community, regularly volunteering at the Wrexham Miners Project and raising funds for the Hope House Children's Hospice in nearby Oswestry. Jeff has even put down a deposit on a season ticket having attended five home games and four away fixtures so far, and is additionally studying the Welsh language online. He said: "I'm taking a Welsh course online and it is amazingly difficult. I knew I was in trouble during the first lesson when they were going through the different sounds, but I would love to be able to have a small conversation in Welsh. That's my goal."
With their Texas property now formally on the market, Jeff is currently house-hunting in North Wales while Janice remains in the States awaiting visa approval. Local publican Wayne Jones, landlord of The Turf pub, has even been providing assistance to help ease their transition.
For Jeff, the bold move is already paying dividends - and there's no turning back. He said: "Even if Wrexham get relegated, that's my team and I'm going to support them. I'm excited about where Wrexham's going as a community."
