The Secret WAG lays bare the reality of existence under the celebrity spotlight. It is about fashion and fame, sex and scandal, but, like the bestselling Secret Footballer books, is also an honest appraisal of life on and off the field of play which will change your preconceptions about footballers and their partners. It is sassy, outspoken, funny and above all, written from the heart.
Meet The Secret WAG.
I was both intrigued and excited to read this book and it didn't disappoint but it has left me with some conflicting thoughts. If you look at it less seriously and just take it for what it is, a quick and easy read for girls and women to read by the pool this Summer then on that level it works. It was definitely a fun read and told exactly what it's like to be a WAG, both the good and the bad sides of it. I have no idea who the WAG is! It's clearly someone big who had a front cover wedding, a cheating allegation in the papers and so is well known. That said people who know her reading this book will work out who it is unless events have been changed or described differently there's too many unique things that are talked about to have happened to someone else! It's the perfect beach read, on holiday you want something easy to pick up which requires minimal thought, this is that book.
For me though there were too many contradictory parts that it began to grate on me. First off the Secret WAG talks a lot about how hard it was to give up her career and basically live off her husband's earnings, perhaps I'm just bitter but I didn't feel a massive amount of sympathy here. She has had an amazing life, far better than the one she'd have working! She is also basically trying to change the WAG stereotype and make the reader like or understand them more but then on the other hand goes on to highlight the negativity of the WAG world. For example the 'Queen WAGs' whose foreheads she pokes fun at yet has had a boob job and loves Botox herself. And saying she detests bragging but then spends a chapter reeling off possessions and name dropping.
I've no problem with bragging and name dropping, to be honest it's the reason I wanted to read this book. I am unashamedly a huge fan of celebrities, and always read about them in magazines and the Internet. So I love the talk of how much money she has and all the things she's done with it. I just didn't like the fact she was trying to make herself sound above other WAGs and criticising the WAGs that have become famous off the back of their husbands. For me and this is just my opinion it felt that she does love the world of WAGdom and loves the privileges being a WAG brings her and is almost trying to defend that with some of the comments she makes. People picking up this book will mostly be fans of the celebrity world and there's no reason to justify loving being a WAG. If people don't like it that's their problem.
Where I did sympathise however is in some of the negative aspects the life has brought her. For example being attacked in a club, and this was at the start of the relationship! To their home being burgled. Both are terrible events that nobody deserves and so it's not nice for someone to live through. It's also clear the love her and her husband have for each other and the fear that she has once his career inevitably ends. For WAGs that crave the limelight their husband's career ending often means theirs ending too but the Secret WAG sees it as more of a positive thing as she can start to live her own life then. And overall she does come across as a decent person, from a good and privileged background had she not met the footballer she would probably have a successful career so yes it's a shame she has had to live in his shadow but again, hard to feel a huge amount of sympathy.
Ultimately it was a fun read and I would add it to your suitcase for reading this Summer. I loved reading about the bitchiness in the Players' Lounge and about the various different types of WAGs. I used to be addicted to Footballers' Wives which at the time was a very exaggerated version of that life but over the past few years I think we've found it wasn't that far off the mark and this book is the same. There's some brilliant anecdotes about fellow WAGs and some of the things they get up to, no names mentioned though. Famous WAGs are mentioned but nothing is said we haven't heard before. Just a few small niggles prevented me from enjoying this book as much as I wanted to.
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