More and more, we're looking back at the early 2000s and realizing that the media, particularly the British tabloids, had a pretty nasty way of portraying female celebrities. The emergence of the so-called "WAG" is a prime example. The partners of professional football players were painted as trophy wives and girlfriends who were only in it for the magazine covers and designer handbags. If we take a minute to look at the wives and girlfriends of footballers today, it's pretty clear that's not the case. Even if a beautiful woman marries a footballer and works as a full-time homemaker and mother, that doesn't maker her a lazy gold digger. In fact, she might have the hardest job of all.
Let's take a look at some of the most notable "WAGs" who have built successful careers and earned fame in their own right. Click through the gallery to see more.
Victoria Beckham was already a superstar in her own right by the time she married David Beckham. As a member of the Spice Girls, Posh Spice to be specific, she had a successful music career in one of the most popular girl groups of all time.
David Beckham was by far the biggest celebrity in football when the pair married in 1999. Once the Spice Girls broke up, Victoria Beckham was dropped into the category of WAG. But she has gone on to prove herself as a talented fashion designer and businesswoman.
Cheryl Tweedy, also known as Cheryl Cole, was married to Chelsea player Ashley Cole for four years. They were one of the most famous couples during the peak of the WAG era, but Tweedy already had a successful music career.
Tweedy was a member of the successful British girl group Girls Aloud. Once the group separated, she had a solo career and became a popular TV personality in the UK. She is best known as a judge on the talent show ‘The X Factor.’
Perrie Edwards is another girl group star who's been classified as a WAG. She joined the group Little Mix during the eighth season of 'The X Factor' in 2011. Little Mix have sold around 60 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time.
Edwards started dating Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2017, and the couple have been living together since 2019. They had their first child, baby Axel, in 2021.
Ana Ivanović is a professional tennis player from Serbia who played from 2003 to 2016. She won the French Open in 2008, which made her the number one player in the world.
Ivanović has also studied finance at university and has been a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia since 2007. She married German football player Bastian Schweinsteiger in 2016 and they now have two sons. No doubt those kids will be sporty!
Alex Curran has been married to Steven Gerrard since 2007. Gerrard is one of the most famous British footballers of the 2000s, playing for Liverpool and the English national team. Curran is a model, and many assumed she was a typical trophy wife.
In reality, Curran has managed successful careers as a model and writer, with her own fashion columns in publications like OK! Magazine and the Daily Mirror. That’s in addition to raising the four children she shares with Gerrard.
Christine Lampard is a Northern Irish TV presenter who has had a successful, high-profile career since her late teens. She has hosted hit shows for the biggest British networks, including BBC and ITV.
Lampard began dating Chelsea player Frank Lampard in 2009 and got married in 2015. They now have two children together. She continues to work as a successful TV host and supports multiple charities as an ambassador.
Izabel Goulart is a Brazilian supermodel, who is likely best known for her stint as a Victoria's Secret Angel between 2005 and 2008. She has also worked for other fashion houses like Armani, appeared on the cover of Vogue Brazil, and speaks three languages.
Goulart started dating German international goalkeeper Kevin Trapp in 2015, and the two have been engaged for several years.
Edurne is a Spanish celebrity who works as a singer, actress, TV personality, and model. She represented Spain in the 2015 Eurovision competition, and has produced six albums and appeared as a judge on 'Spain’s Got Talent.'
Edurne has been with Spanish footballer David de Gea since 2010. He plays for the Spanish national team and is goalkeeper for Manchester United.
Pilar Rubio is a Spanish TV presenter and model who has been married to Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos since 2019. The pair are a serious power couple in Spain, but Rubio was famous long before she met Ramos.
Rubio has worked on more than 10 different Spanish TV shows, and was voted the sexiest woman in the world by Spanish FHM in both 2008 and 2009.
Wanda Nara is a famous Argentinian media personality who works as a model, TV presenter, and as an agent to professional footballers!
Nara married Argentinian player Mauro Icardi in 2014 and became his agent at the same time. From 2008 to 2013, however, Nara was married to Icardi's friend and fellow professional footballer, Maxi López. To say there was drama is putting it lightly...
Sara Carbonero is one of the best known WAGs in Spain. She started her career as a journalist in the early 2000s, and began to work for the popular Spanish channel Telecinco as an editor and sports presenter.
Sara Carbonero was married to Spanish goalkeeper and former Real Madrid great Iker Casillas between 2016 and 2021, and the couple have two children together.
Melissa Satta is an Italian-American TV presenter and model. She has appeared in FHM and Sports Illustrated, starred in commercials, and presented multiple Italian talk shows.
Satta married the former Tottenham Hotspurs, Milan, and Barcelona player Kevin-Prince Boateng in 2016. However, the couple separated in December 2020.
Ann-Kathrin Götze is a German model, actress, and influencer. She has modeled for GQ and FHM, and campaigns for the animal rights group PETA.
She is also a successful influencer with more than 1.7 million followers on Instagram and has her own YouTube channel. She married German footballer Mario Götze in 2018.
Sources: (Goal) (24h Foot News) (Best Casino Sites)
See also: Dynamic duos: The biggest and baddest power couples in sports
Breaking the "WAG" stereotype: the successful partners of footballers
The spouses of professional football players were portrayed as trophy wives
CELEBRITY Sports
More and more, we're looking back at the early 2000s and realizing that the media, particularly the British tabloids, had a pretty nasty way of portraying female celebrities. The emergence of the so-called "WAG" is a prime example. The partners of professional football players were painted as trophy wives and girlfriends who were only in it for the magazine covers and designer handbags. If we take a minute to look at the wives and girlfriends of footballers today, it's pretty clear that's not the case. Even if a beautiful woman marries a footballer and works as a full-time homemaker and mother, that doesn't maker her a lazy gold digger. In fact, she might have the hardest job of all.
Let's take a look at some of the most notable "WAGs" who have built successful careers and earned fame in their own right. Click through the gallery to see more.