The racist and misogynistic abuse she suffered from online trolls left her too scared to leave the house.
But three years later, Alex Scott says he has turned hate into motivation to keep working.
And the 39-year-old’s confidence has been boosted by her relationship with pop singer Jess Glynne.
The former footballer enjoyed a celebrated 13-year international career and dated Arsenal team-mate Kelly Smith for eight years before meeting Jess, 34, last year.
Alex said: ‘I’m in this bubble right now… I’m more open to accepting and being more vulnerable. I enjoy saying, “Okay, I’ll get on with this.”
The racist and misogynistic abuse Alex Scott suffered from online trolls left her too scared to leave the house.
But three years later, he says he has turned hate into motivation to continue working.
The sports presenter admits she consumed alcohol to try to forget the abuse she received in 2021 when she was incorrectly appointed as Sue Barker’s replacement to present the BBC’s A Question Of Sport.
It was actually Paddy McGuinness, but the mistake sparked an avalanche of abuse.
“I was afraid to leave the house even to go shopping,” she said.
“That’s the point we had gotten to: that the idea that someone black could be replacing a national treasure could cause so much hate.”
But in an interview with Women’s health magazine, Alex described it as “a little ammunition to go ahead and celebrate because you’re annoying people.”
The former Lioness, who is preparing to host Euro 2024 in June, said: “I’m going to continue to thrive, I’m going to continue to kill you with my kindness and doing my job at a level you can’t stand.”
It comes after Alex’s girlfriend Jess gushed that their high-profile relationship has only attracted “super positive” attention.
The singer, 34, who went Instagram official with the football presenter at Christmas last year, said she “didn’t know what to expect” when they got together.
And the 39-year-old’s confidence has been boosted by her relationship with pop singer Jess Glynne (Alex, left, and Jess, right, pictured in November last year).
The sports presenter used alcohol to try to forget the abuse she received in 2021 when she was incorrectly appointed as Sue Barker’s replacement to present the BBC’s A Question Of Sport.
In an interview with Women’s Health magazine, Alex described it as “a little bit of ammunition to keep going and celebrate because you’re bothering people.”
The former Lioness, who is preparing to host Euro 2024, said: “I’m going to continue to thrive, I’m going to continue to kill you with my kindness and doing my job at a level you can’t stand.”
Having always kept previous relationships “very private,” she happily revealed that the couple “haven’t received any negativity at all.”
She said The times: ‘For me it’s a different type of attention, but so far all that attention has been super positive.
‘I had never exposed my personal life to the public before, so I had no idea what to expect. Probably because I didn’t have relationships with anyone famous, I always managed to keep that side of me very private.
‘Interest was inevitable between us, but you know there’s nothing negative, because we haven’t had any negativity at all.
‘We both give so much to what we do that coming home to your friends, your family, your partner, that’s the ‘you’ moment. I never want to fall that short.’
It comes after Jess opened up about her relationship with her girlfriend Alex last month, sweetly saying she is in a “happy relationship”.
It comes after Alex’s girlfriend Jess (right) said their high-profile relationship has only attracted “super positive” attention (pictured last month).
The Take Me Home artist stated that their romance is going “very well” and that she “feels very comfortable” with the former Arsenal player.
Talking to Fearne Cotton about her Happy place On the podcast, Jess said: “The work I’ve done on myself has really settled me inside and allowed me to get into a relationship where I feel very comfortable and it’s just me.” It’s me unapologetically.
‘It has allowed me to be really happy in a new relationship. I think love is a really scary topic and it’s usually something I keep pretty distant.
“But it’s nice to be able to hug someone and have a relationship that feels really good.”
The full interview with Alex Scott can be read in the May issue of Women’s Health UK, on sale now.
However, Jess said that having a relationship in the public eye is still difficult and that she likes to try to keep her “personal life to herself.”
He continued: ‘It’s something I’m getting used to. I love to keep my personal life to myself somewhat. It’s very important.
‘Even though we are both in this public space, what we have is ours. I feel like that’s something I’ll always do.
“People love you so much and what’s so beautiful is that we both feel that way and it’s something we’ll hold on to and keep to ourselves.”
Alex and Jess were first photographed sharing a passionate kiss in November last year.
But Alex and Jess were first reported to be in a secret relationship in the summer of 2023.
About their relationship, a friend told him Sun at the time: ‘Alex and Jess have been slow and didn’t want to rush things or go public too soon.
‘But now they are officially a couple and seem very happy.
‘They are both strong, independent women who share a passion and respect for their respective careers, and support each other from the sidelines.
The full interview with Alex Scott can be read in the May issue of Women’s Health UK, on sale now.