The Rise & Fall of WAGs (these ladies deserved better) 

Another thing to point out is that Cheryl and Victoria already had established and highly successful careers before meeting their husbands with Victoria already a household name with the Spice Girls before she met David Beckham so the fact that the newspapers thought that they were spending their husbands' money and name to further themselves is ridiculous because they already HAD money and fame and didn't need the exposure from their football husbands to further their careers because they already had established themselves. Additionally, I think it would have been a lose-lose situation because if the girls had not gone out and enjoy themselves in Baden Baden then they would probably be labeled boring or not engaging with the culture or acting as if they didn't want to be there but then again they got ridiculed for going out even though that was something totally normal because what else were they gonna do? Go kick about with their boyfriends?? I don't really think we are going to get back the WAG era we saw in the mid-2000s because that era is so deeply associated with the troubling misogyny of tabloid media and pop culture and I think that the WAGs being focused on now are women who are highly established (Taylor Swift, Simone Biles, Gabrielle Union etc) as opposed to the likes of Colleen Rooney who had more humble beginnings and that these women are bringing more exposure to their husbands rather than the other way round. I think the WAG fashion will come back but that is more to do with the cycle of trends that is happening right now. Nostalgia has a funny way of romanticizing things and I think people are looking back to that time because it was a "happier" time in the sense when you look at COVID-19 and the recession we are going to right now. The hyper bling that was seen in these WAGS is something you don't really see anymore and 2006 was kind of the last year before the 2008 global economic crisis where people could be flashy and enjoy their wealth and look at life through rose tinted glasses.

obsessed with these video essays!

love the vid! don’t remember if u mentioned it but wags r also huge in f1. there are only 20 drivers and so any partners are often huge among the fans with breakups or new love interests often being bigger news than the races with certain fans. it’s only become bigger since social media etc

Knew this was going to be a class videoessay when the von Dutch remix intro played 😂x

Colleen Rooney is such an iconic genius she deserves allllllll the accolades and more. It was Rebecca Vardys ACCOUNT. You tell em 💅🏼

love thiss would love you to do the history of big brother

I remember 2006 very well, I was in the middle of my GSCEs when all of the wag stuff was going on and boy did I love it!!! Peak Nostalgia for me! ❤

18:17 “almost two decades later” …now hold on

So excited to sit down and watch this, wish I was old enough to have experienced peak wag culture coz wag Cheryl and Victoria are literally my idols!!! Also we need a video essay on Geordie shore

funny how not one kid today is able to recognise david beckham but will absolutely sing wannabe from the spice girls

This is what makes Alisha Lehmann so interesting - she herself is a premier league footballer and is also dating a premier league footballer, Douglas Luiz. On top of this (and this is what really takes her relationship status from coincidence, to hybrid feminist “wag-ery”) Alisha confidently wears designer brands, maximalist jewellery, bleach blonde hair extensions, etc. She’s iconic - combining her throwback look to the 2000s with being an excellent player for Aston Villa. Another fabulous video essay Lewys darling, thank you! Love you! P.S. Unsurprisingly, Alisha is still the victim of a lot of misogynistic jibes online. Like what more do you want from us girls?! She’s literally performing at the premier league level and her appearance is still up for contention and/or sexual objectification for football hooligan blokes, probably shouting their abuse down the pub with a Stella?!

screamed when i saw you had posted

thank you for covering this! i recently dove deep into wagatha christie and this was so so interesting

don't really watch video essays anymore but I love yours!! I think you're quite good at storytelling which make these way more enjoyable

this is a WHOLE first class dissertation

I can’t believe these don’t have more views! So good

Add these deep dives to the history curriculum 👏🏼

loved this vid!!!! when’s the pod back? xx

Yaaaass the show on Amazon Prime, Married to the Game that came out this year was about 5 different wags and it was so interesting!

Love this video essay! Subscribed! ❤

oh these videos are everything

I gotta click the bell now. Love the video, your perspective and the content.

Oh okay it's a british thing too. I thought it was exclusively Australian and was *super* confused why someone from up there was even aware of Australian Rules Football and the players partners.

Petition for a deep dive breakdown of wagatha christie!!

These women are interested, and the obsession the press has with them and other celebs, is also strangely interesting. But, one thing that shouldn’t happen is these women shouldn’t be overshadowed and their accomplishments shouldn’t be overshadowed by their husbands, and they should have their privacy etc respected when and if they want them. Their relationships shouldn’t be hated on for no reason too, and people who just want to be with athletes for the money and attention shouldn’t get that.

please do a video essay on big brother

I’ve BEEN wanting someone to make a video about this 😂

you should do a whole video on the rise and fall of cheryl cole lol

Love this video

Ahh yes appreciate the video essays

You just know what I want to watch.

13 year old me were obsessed with these woman I wanted to be a WAG so badly lmao

Being gay but also being into football this video is my dream! 🤣

Also Rebekah Vardy did say that to Piers Morgan so you were right

I'm seated ☺️

Cant believe im so early!

❤❤❤