WHEN Nicola McLean was single in the Noughties she was sure about one thing – when she found love it wouldn’t be with a footballer.
But fate had other plans for the then-glamour model, who tied the knot with footballer Tom Walker in 2009 - though she had plenty of reservations and she argues with good reason.
The 42-year-old mum of two boys says: “Back when I was a Page Three girl, loads of glamour models were hooking up with footballers.
“But I knew that so many of them were cheats and that wasn’t one for me.
“I used to bump into them all the time when I was out in London and saw how many of them ended up leaving the club with women who weren’t their wives.
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“I’d go as far as saying all footballers are cheats – or at least I’ve never known a faithful one. I hope there are exceptions but I’d be surprised.
Nicola even teased she still receives messages to this day but doesn't give the footballer in question the satisfaction of believing she's read them.
She said: “I still get married ones sliding into my DMs now... I quickly open them, screenshot, send them to Tom and then mark them as unread!
“I never engage at all. It makes Tom laugh because he trusts me and I guess he knows what footballers are like.
A game full of players
There’s a long history of footballers who’ve been accused of playing away, from David Beckham to Wayne Rooney and most recently Manchester City full-back Kyle Walker.
Walker, 33, met his wife Annie Kilner, 31, when they were still teenagers and they went on to have three sons together; Roman, 11, Riaan, seven, and Reign, five.
Lauryn Goodman, 33, had a son with Kyle, Kairo, now three when he was briefly separated from Annie because of a previous infidelity in 2019.
He fathered a second child with influencer Lauryn, a five-month-old daughter, who she hasn’t named publicly, after having a secret wedding with Annie in November 2021.
Annie is now pregnant with Kyle’s sixth child.
Nicola feels a lot of sympathy for Annie saying: “You don’t mess with a married man, whether he’s a footballer or a plumber.
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“But it’s Kyle who I really blame, he owed loyalty to his wife and he has repeatedly cheated on her and played both women.”
Nicola ended up with Tom, 43, after being set up on a blind date by a friend and having their first date at London Zoo in 2005.
She says: “I went along thinking nothing would happen. I remember my sister begging me to steer clear of any footballer.
I still get married footballers sliding into my DMs now
Nicola McLean
“But when we met I fell in love. Within three dates I was trying on wedding dresses, I imagined us as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, getting married virtually immediately.
“That didn’t happen – but within three weeks I’d moved north to be with him as he was playing for Barnsley then.
“And within nine months I was pregnant with Rocky – who’s now 17. I got my feet firmly under the carpet.”
Stiff competition
The couple went on to have their son, Striker, now 13, in 2010 but Nicola admits life married to a footballer hasn’t always been easy.
She says: “I’m only too aware how many women want to be with a footballer.
“In the early days we’d go out together, and women would literally push me out of the way to try to get to him.
“He was always brilliant and would tell them, ‘You’ve just moved my girlfriend out of the way, now p*** off.’
Women set out to sleep with footballers – they see WAG as a job title and a way of getting out of the daily grind
Nicola McLean
“I love football anyway so I’d go to all his games, if they won I noticed hordes of girls going along to the local club hoping to help them ‘celebrate.’
“They soon stopped targeting Tom when they realised I wasn’t one to be messed with.
“But women set out to sleep with footballers – they see WAG as a job title and a way of getting out of the daily grind.
“They deliberately go to the restaurants and clubs they know footballers will be at, some of them even get jobs there. They make friends with footballers’ friends to try to get closer to footballers.
“One girl is at a footballer’s beck and call. She waits for his text to say his girlfriend is out and goes and meets him for an hour to have sex – it’s crazy.
Nicola believes footballers behave 'appallingly' and does not approve of their behaviour, or of the women who fawn over them.
“Women should have more self-respect and not just accept it.
“I’m teaching my sons to be respectful to women, and if I had a daughter I’d be mortified if she behaved like some of the wannabe WAGS.”
All the wannabe WAGS is one of the reasons that 15 years after their wedding, Nicola still keeps a firm eye on Tom – freely admitting to keeping tabs on him wherever he goes.
Keeping tabs
Nicola says the only tool you need these days is social media and in her own words, she is 'a master at it'.
“If he goes on a boys’ night out, I will check which restaurant he’s at, then I will look at the restaurant’s Instagram, and then check anyone who’s boasted about being there.
Nicola keeps close tabs on hubby Tom when he's out and about, even going as far as checking his follower count to see if it rises.
“He now has a concierge company in Las Vegas and whenever he goes there I will check how many followers he has before, and how many he has followed and if the number changes I will check out the new person.
“Tom knows I do it, we laugh about it. But I think it’s sensible to stay on top of it and nip anything in the bud.
“But I’m not the clingy type, I’m not always on the phone, if anything he calls me much more and I’ll tell him I’m busy.”
There’s a huge amount of pressure to always look good
Nicola McLean
Nicola says that while being a WAG is a dream for many women, it can be far from easy.
She says, “The men move around to different clubs, and when they get there they have a ready-made team of friends. But for us WAGs it’s hard.
“We've completely uprooted our lives and have to find new friends and get used to a new place with very little support.
“Equally there’s a huge amount of pressure to always look good – though my work first as a glamour model and now as a TV presenter demands that too.
“I always want to be gorgeous for Tom. I even gave birth with a full face of makeup and didn’t moo like a cow as I didn’t want to put him off me.”
The only way is footballers
Despite her misgivings about marrying a footballer, Nicola says that she and Tom are stronger than ever.
If worst comes to worst and Tom hadn't walked into her life, she believes she would have ended up with another footballer.
She admits: “There’s something special about footballers. To play professionally you have to be very driven and determined, which is attractive.
Some of the top qualities she believes they possess are a good sense of humour, 'peak physical condition' and a certain 'arrogance' that makes them highly attractive.
“Admittedly the money is a bonus, though that didn’t play a part in our relationship – I’ve earnt very well and invested my money wisely.
Nicola, who is known for her candour, did not mince her words for women looking to bag themselves a premier league player.
She said: "Target a footballer, marry them if you’re in love with them.
“But leave the married ones alone. They probably won’t leave their wife anyway and if it hits the papers no one comes out of it looking good.
Advice from one WAG to another
In the wake of Kyle Walker's infidelity, Nicola advises Annie to stick to her own course and not to feel pressured into leaving her husband for fear of judgement or to appear 'weak' publically.
Nicola said: “The only person that is weak in this is Kyle who wanted to have his cake and eat it and couldn’t resist temptation and messed about his wife and kids – but so many men do.
“I think all men either cheat or have the capacity to and footballers just have a lot of opportunities."
Nicola believes marriage is much more than just sex, and that if Kyle truly believes Annie is his 'soul-mate', she must weigh up the pros and cons of staying with him for the sake of their family.
“She has to think about whether she would be happier without him or with him."
But just as she holds a close eye on her husband Tom, she admits provisions would have to be made so Annie would have peace of mind within their relationship, saying 'she’d keep very close tabs on him.
“For example if it’s an away game to show her the schedule and see whether he actually needs to stay away afterwards.
“I think the real shame is that it’s all been made so public but she mustn’t be swayed by public opinion – she needs to take the time to decide what she wants to do. I think it shows strength to stay.”
