The 2022 is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than by looking back on the antics of the wives and girlfriends in the Baden-Baden resort in 2006?
It really was an iconic era – the tiny shorts, the vest tops, the big sunglasses… it’s safe to say the likes of, ,, and had their own moment alongside the football.
England crashed out of 2006 World Cup during the quarter finals, but the Wags (a term coined by the Mail on Sunday) made headlines themselves, to the point where former England manager Fabio Capello later ‘banned’ partners from visiting their other halves during training.
Described by as a ‘circus’, there were wild parties galore in the German spa town, not to mention expensive shopping sprees, sky-high hotel bills and drunk dancing on tables. Honestly, we’d love to have been a fly on the wall.
‘If I’m honest, we became a bit of a circus in terms of the whole Wags situation. It seemed like there was a big show around the whole squad. It was like watching a theatre unfolding and football almost became a secondary element to the main event,’ the former pro said two years later.
‘People were worrying more about what people were wearing and where they were going out, rather than the England football team. That then transposed itself into the team. That’s said in hindsight…
‘At the time, we were caught up in the bubble ourselves. Being somewhere like Baden-Baden, walking around the town, there were paparazzi everywhere, our families were there. When you step back and look back at that, it was like a circus.’
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The Wags stayed at the Brenner’s Park Hotel, which cost £1,000 a night, Baden-Baden’s Hermes and Gucci branches apparently ordered in £200,000 worth of extra stock ahed of the Wags’ arrival.
And that extra stock was definitely worth it, as the girls splashed the cash, with Alberts sunglasses, boutiques Monica Schol and Gero Mure, and jeweller Bijou Brigitte being just some of the stores that raked it in as a result of their spending sprees.
In 2006, out of the 23-man England squad, only 19-year-old Aaron Lennon chose not to bring a partner – so 22 wives and girlfriends ruled the laid back town of Baden-Baden.
Wives and girlfriends keep a much lower profile these days, with admitting she’s ‘happy’ for it to be that way, as their role is ‘to be supportive.’
But, we couldn’t let this year’s World Cup pass us by without taking a trip down memory lane. No, we can’t remember any of the scores or who did what on the pitch, but we’re here to give you the goss on where our Baden-Baden gals are now…
Victoria Beckham
Of course, we know Victoria Beckham now as a connoisseur of all things style and sophistication. She’s a mum of four and has built a multi-million pound empire, with her marriage to still going strong.
But, while she might be a fashion queen, the Spice Girl was also once queen of the Wags.
In 2006, she’d been married to Becks for seven years.
Then 32-years-old, VB remained close by the side of Cheryl, guiding her through life as a newbie Wag.
With the breast implants and fake tan, strappy tops, teeny shorts, massive shades, and glossy lips, Victoria looked worlds away from the woman we know today, admitting in 2013 that she’d ditched the fake tan and had her implants removed.
‘Twas also the year her reign as the Wags queen came to a close, as David retired after quitting as England captain following their defeat against Portugal on penalties.
She may not be a Wag anymore, but 2006 Vicky B will always have a place in our hearts.
Cheryl
Yes, before she was the Call My Name hitmaker and judge we’ll always love, Cheryl was a Wag too.
The star married days after the 2006 World Cup finished, and we all remember the sour ending that came to that romance following the former England player’s infidelity, thus ending Chez’s time in Wagville.
Following Ashley’s first cheating Scan**l in 2008, Cheryl admitted her friendship with Victoria had also fizzled out, despite them being extra close in Baden-Baden.
The Fight For This Love singer told Vogue in 2009 that Victoria didn’t contact her after the allegations were made public.
‘David’s mum is friends with Ashley’s mum, she (Victoria) was in my hotel room the whole time during the World Cup – we’ve had barbecues together — so I was quite shocked by that.’
Alas, we never got the Spice Girls x Girls Aloud collaboration we deserved, but it’s safe to say Cheryl is doing just fine following life as a Wag. Well, she’s managed to become so iconic, we only refer to her with one name.
Now 39, Cheryl is a mum to five-year-old son Bear, whom she shares with ex-boyfriend and star .
She’s remained largely out of the limelight since becoming a mother, but there’s no denying Cheryl is still the nation’s sweetheart.
Coleen Rooney
Long before the Wagatha Christie drama and her career as a TV presenter and author, Coleen Rooney was a 20-year-old party girl.
In her first Wag outing, she joined the rest of the gang in Germany, then going by her maiden name of McLoughlin before marrying in 2008 in Portofino, Italy.
Coleen was amongst the big spenders in Baden-Baden as, on June 19, a day before the final group game, £57,000 was spent in just one hour, with Coleen specifically forking out £900 on designer goodies.
It’s no secret that her marriage to Wayne has been a rollercoaster, with numerous cheating Scan**ls putting them to the test.
However, they’ve stood the test of time and share four boys – Kai, 12, Klay, nine, Kit, six, and Cass, four, and reside in a £20million Cheshire mansion.
Most recently, Mrs Rooney captured the country’s attention with her legal battle against Jamie Vardy’s wife, Rebekah, when she accused her former friend of leaking stories about her to the press.
After a highly-pulicised trial and Rebekah’s attempt to sue Coleen for libel, the court ruled in Coleen’s favour.
Alex Curran
Model Alex Curran – now Alex Gerrard – married in 2007 at Cliveden House hotel in Buckinghamshire, after five years together.
They’re now settled with four kids – Lexie, 16, Lilly-Ella, 18, Lourdes, 11, and Lio, five.
But, before her life became much more tame, Alex, a former nail technician, was raising eyebrows with her spending habits.
In Baden-Baden, she ran up a £25,000 hotel bill, which included 60 bottles of £75 pink champagne.
Following her Baden-Baden stint, Alex has done a fair bit of relocating and was once sunning herself Stateside, as she and her husband moved to America in 2015 when Stevie G joined LA Galaxy.
After several collaborations with clothing brands and writing weekly columns for the likes of OK! and the Daily Mirror, Alex now largely remains out of the limelight.
Abbey Clancy
Before she married in 2011, Abbey Clancy openly admitted that it was her dream to marry a footballer – something she can definitely tick off her list.
The couple now share three children – Sophia, 11, Liberty, seven, and Johnny, four, but the 36-year-old’s marriage to the 6 foot 7 former striker hasn’t always been a smooth ride.
In fact, model Abbey was sent home from Germany amid the World Cup after photos surfaced of her appearing to snort cocaine two years prior.
‘Whilst I do not ordinarily comment upon matters relating to my private life, I have read with dismay various recently articles and reports about my “relationship” with Abbey Clancy,’ Crouchie said at the time.
‘In light of this, I wish to make the situation absolutely clear: Abbey and I were in the very early stages of a relationship which, for a number of reasons, I decided a few weeks ago to end, and I accordingly informed Abbey of my decision.’
But, they rekindled their romance, and Pete got down on one knee in June 2009 while on holiday in Sardinia.
Like plenty of Wags and their footballer partners, they also faced cheating rumours when Abbey was pregnant with the couple’s first child in 2011.
She later described the ‘heartbreak’ as ‘horrendous,’ but they later tied the knot and, well, the rest is history.
As for her own career, Abbey is known for her winning stint on in 2013 and presenting Britain’s Next Top Model since 2015.
Elen Rivas
Of course, is now happily married to TV presenter , but he dated Elen Rivas before they split in 2009.
Fortunately, their romance lasted long enough for Elen to enjoy the wild Wag life of Baden-Baden, as she famously belted out Gloria Gaynor’s hit I Will Survive while standing on a table at a bar.
It was also previously reported that the Spanish model threw a strop when she was stopped from taking six items of carry-on luggage to the plane to Germany.
Having dated from 2002 until 2009, Elen and Frank share two daughters. Their first, Luna, was born in 2005, while second daughter, Isla, was born in 2007.
She and Frank split in 2009, much to the shock of the public.
‘It was by mutual agreement, but break-ups are never good, especially when you have children,’ the now 47-year-old told the Daily Mail at the time.
‘We also had plans for the future: one minute we were planning another baby, the next we parted. Luckily, our girls were young enough to be spared the agony of seeing their parents split up.’
Elen went on to date Mysterious Girl popstar , while Frank married and host Christine Bleakley in 2015.
Vanessa Perroncel
Vanessa Perroncel actually steered clear of alcohol in Baden-Baden, due to being pregnant with ’s son, Jaydon, at the time.
But despite swerving the drunken Scan**ls, it all came crashing down following her split from Wayne in 2009.
Vanessa, now 46, was accused of having a four-month affair with Wayne’s teammate, , which she denied.
Things became very frosty between the two players, as Wayne quit the squad because he didn’t want to play alongside him, and even refused to shake his hand when they faced one another on the pitch.
French Model Vanessa was later linked with Cheryl’s ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, while Wayne has been happily married to star since 2014.
Wayne and Frankie also share sons Parker, nine, and Carter, seven.
