Married to the Game: WAG Taylor opens up following husband Riyad Mahrez’s big move to Saudi

The life of a WAG may seem glamorous, but it turns out limitless designer gear doesn’t actually buy you happiness. For our entertainment, Amazon Prime has put together a reality-style series documenting the lives of premier League players and their partners. If you are new to this world, WAG stands for Wife And Girlfriend - so you don’t need to be married to be included. The six-parter is set to launch on February 23, and the trailer and teasers have already sparked a massive response.

Let’s look into why one WAG, Taylor Ward, wound up crying after her husband Riyad Mahrez delivered some unexpected news. Then we’ll get into the reactions this has sparked from viewers.

Taylor Ward cries over husband’s move

The first episode sees Taylor, a 26-year-old former model, chatting to fellow WAG Sara Gundogan - married to former Manchester City player Ilkay Gundogan - in her luxurious dressing room. Taylor’s 18-month daughter Mila is handed a couple of designer handbags to play with while the women chat. Taylor said that she’s always lived in Manchester and ‘her biggest fear is moving away’.

That set the scene nicely for the following bombshell. When Taylor’s husband Riyad Mahrez told her that he was transferring from Manchester City to Saudi Arabia, she burst into tears. The deal, it seems important to point out, is worth a reported £750,000 a week. Taylor has since commented:

That whole week was just an emotional rollercoaster. It was a huge shock and I had absolutely no idea. One day we were planning for Riyad to go back to pre-season with Man City and then overnight we were moving to Saudi.

When she complained that she’ll be ‘sat at home’ on her own, her dearly beloved responded:

It's part of the game, innit.

Well, Riyad, perhaps it is. Indeed, the response to Taylor’s reaction has been mixed.

Response to Taylor’s reaction

In another shot, Taylor is seen continuing this conversation in her six-figure Mercedes 4x4 G-Class SUV. As she cruises along a country road, she explains that this is the ‘brutal thing about football’ and says the move is still feeling like a ‘shock to everyone’.

Observers have already had strong reactions to these clips ahead of the show’s release. One X user, @wayne3078, wrote:

First world problems. Sat at home in a lap of luxury he’ll train about 2-3hrs a day. What would these folks do in the real world. Their bubble is a crazy place to be.

Another, @DingleBal, offered a silver lining perspective:

More like shopping like mad in all those expensive designer shops and popping off to Dubai for a cheeky Wags weekend.

A former WAG’s response

One former WAG even wrote an article about the WAGs featured in the show, painting a realistic picture for them. Lizzie Cundy was married to former Chelsea player Jason Cundy for 16 years. She quipped:

I'd been given more notice when my personal trainer moved an appointment than some of the club transfers my ex-husband landed on me.

Her advice? To ditch the 'poor me' rhetoric when you are a WAG - ‘you really do have to adopt the 'suck it up buttercup' approach to life’.

You might need a sharp inhale for this next part, because Lizzie explained that the reason you have to follow your husband as a WAG is to keep an eye on them and make sure their eyes - or hands - don’t stray. She references her own marriage, which collapsed when she discovered her husband was seeing a younger woman, and that of Victoria and David Beckham:

Look at Victoria Beckham. Despite being at the top of her own career as a Spice Girl, she circumnavigated the planet to follow David. She learnt her lesson early after making the foolish mistake of staying in Blighty during David's transfer to Real Madrid in 2003, when his alleged four-month liaison with PA Rebecca Loos took place.

Well, maybe it is a tougher job than we envisaged after all. Looks like we’ll have to watch the series to find out.

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Sources used:

DailyMail: I was a WAG for 16 years and this is my message to the sobbing snowflakes of Married To The Game: 'Suck it up, buttercup, this is the life you signed up for!'

Mail Online: Riyad Mahrez's wife Taylor Ward reveals what living in Saudi Arabia is REALLY like after tearful reaction to the shock move... as she opens up on the 'emotional rollercoaster' of leaving Manchester