A woman who was married to a Premier League footballer and is known as the “UK’s first WAG” has warned women not to follow the same path.
Suzi Walker, 53, had a lifestyle most girls would be jealous of – the glamor model was no stranger to expensive holidays, luxury homes and designer clothes.
She was married to Ian Walker, 52, a former Tottenham Hotspur and England goalkeeper, for twelve years; They also had a daughter together named Sophie, who is now 24 years old.
However, Suzi has since spoken out about the dark side of being a WAG and has spoken openly about the couple’s divorce in 2008 following the footballer’s affair in Las Vegas.
Suzi Walker, 53, had a lifestyle most girls would be jealous of – the glamor model was no stranger to expensive holidays, luxury homes and designer clothes.
The former WAG said Sun: ‘I’m not saying all footballers are the same, but when Cameron (his daughter) recently said that a young player had asked him out on a date, I was worried.
‘If he had said he was going to meet with a lawyer or a doctor, I would have felt better. She went anyway, of course. But she made me think: If she were to live my life again, would she have preferred to marry a doctor? May be.’
Recalling her past, she admitted: “There was a time when all I wanted was the newest watch or bag, but now I realize what’s important.”
‘There is nothing better than feeling happy and secure in a relationship.
‘I still have some wonderful memories of my marriage to Ian, but no amount of money could make up for the years of vulnerability and doubt.
“Besides, absolutely nothing is worth the pain of being betrayed so publicly.”
The betrayal Suzi is referring to is the moment her ‘world collapsed’ when she discovered her husband had slept with an erotic dancer in Las Vegas, leading the couple to divorce in 2008.
She is now married to businessman Mark Pitman, after the couple tied the knot in 2018.
Prior to this, she was in an eight-year relationship with Simon Jordan, the former owner of Crystal Palace, during which the couple had daughter Cameron.
Suzi was married for twelve years to Ian Walker, 52, a former Tottenham Hotspur and England goalkeeper; They also had a daughter together named Sophie, who is now 24 years old.
Suzi has since spoken out about the dark side of being a WAG and has spoken openly about the couple’s divorce in 2008 following the footballer’s affair in Las Vegas.
Recalling her past, she admitted: “There was a time when all I wanted was the newest watch or bag, but now I realize what’s important.”
She described her life as a “WAG fairytale”, enjoying “the best of everything” while watching her husband compete for England at Euro 96.
Suzi said she and her friends would buy luxury products from Gucci and Prada and insist on drinking expensive Cristal champagne.
He recalled buying diamond-encrusted Cartier watches, which were worth “thousands and thousands of pounds”.
But he also admitted that it was a “lonely reality”, since women always queued to take his place, without lacking “female attention” for the footballer.
She added: “As a footballer’s wife you feel like you have to stay on top and that can be exhausting.”
The admission comes just after the former Page 3 girl was forced to pawn jewelery worth thousands of pounds after ending up £500,000 in debt.
He pawned and sold “everything he could” to get by and even accepted cash offers that were much lower than the actual value of the items.
On top of this, he also had to fork out £60,000 on medical care after discovering he was suffering from a chronic illness that had gone undiagnosed for years.
It follows a new Amazon Prime documentary, Married To The Game, which premiered in February, a show that focuses on the lives of footballers’ wives.
Sara Gundogan, Cat Harding, Ash Turner, Samantha Tarkowski and Taylor Ward guide viewers through the trials and tribulations of their lives as members of this elite world.
The show challenges long-held conceptions of what it means to be a footballer’s partner: unlimited spending, indescribable glamour, a wedding courtesy of a fat check from Hello! that crystallized in the early 2000s, even in the face of evidence to the contrary.