Like any young Premier League footballer and his girlfriend, Declan Rice and Lauren Fryer love sharing their special moments on social media — or rather they did.
Whether it’s meeting Liam Gallagher at Reading Festival or jetting off on a luxury holiday, until very recently the loved-up 25-year-olds have documented their good times without a care in the world.
This week, however, all trace of Arsenal and England midfielder Declan and his childhood sweetheart Lauren vanished from Instagram and Twitter.
Lauren was said to be “holed up” at the couple’s £2.6 million Surrey mansion, too distraught to face the world, while Declan is said to be “desperately sad” and trying to keep away from vicious comments thrown his way.
The reason for this sorry state of affairs, however, is not what you think.
Declan and Lauren are not the subjects of yet another sordid “kiss and tell”.
Quite the opposite, in fact. It seems the couple have fallen foul of rules surrounding the world of football, i.e. how WAGs are expected to look and behave and found themselves the victims of a cruel online bullying campaign over Lauren’s appearance.
The trolling started in December last year when an anonymous account told Declan he “could do better” than his childhood sweetheart, with whom he shares 20-month-old son, Jude.
Recently, Declan was told he had “low standards” for being in a relationship with Lauren.
This week matters became so torrid that Lauren decided to delete every image on her account.
It appears her only crime is that she isn’t the archetypal gym-toned and pumped-up WAG desperately chasing fame, fortune and the next designer handbag.
Other footballers’ wives have told me that Lauren is one of the “loveliest people you could meet”.
“There is a group, we all know who they are, who are in the stands at games worrying about when the cameras are on them rather than cheering their husbands or boyfriends on.
“Lauren is there for Declan, she is his rock,” one said.
“In a world where you have so many of these footballers’ wives desperately seeking fame and fortune, or when the next Gucci bag goes on sale, Lauren is a breath of fresh air,” said the friend.
“Yet because she is the antidote to the stereotypical WAG, she is getting all this abuse. It is disgusting.”
This week, it emerged that the situation which had been confined to social media had made its way to the real world after footage from Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Chelsea showed rival fans targeting Declan with vicious chants about his girlfriend during the game.
Video clips on X — formerly Twitter — showed supporters singing a derogatory chant that referred to Rice’s “bird” as he got ready to take a corner.
The England star ignored the chants.
Sources close to Declan say that Arsenal is investigating the fans and will take “appropriate action” which could see the culprits being banned from the ground.
Lauren is said to have been left “distraught”.
“She just wants all this to stop,” said a friend.
“It is desperately unfair. It has been the most difficult week of her life. Some really, really distressing things have been said.”
Others say that although Lauren has been “up and down” this week, she has been buoyed by the mass support and love from her family, friends, the football community and even celebrities.
Lauren is close to Harry Kane’s wife, Kate, and sources say she has been in touch to support her. Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan has also backed her.
One WAG said: “It has all been disgusting.”
James Corden is a friend of Declan and Lauren and “deplores” any kind of social media trolling.
He recently partied with Declan at London’s Chiltern Fire house and is said to be “almost like a big brother” to him, since he played for the comedian’s favourite football team, West Ham.
Presenter and radio DJ Roman Kemp is another star who has showed his support.
Love Island contestant Liberty Poole also jumped to Lauren’s defence, writing on her own Instagram on Wednesday: “I think shes beautiful, this is crazy.”
“What happened to celebrating different body types and embracing how we are all individually made?
“Beauty standards these days are unrealistic and everyone’s gone mad because of social media.
“I’m going to keep preaching about it till I die. Time for change, this can’t continue.”
In fact, many are hoping that what has happened to Lauren will have a positive impact, and prompt a serious change in how footballers’ wives and girlfriends are regarded.
In recent years there has been a shift towards them having their own careers.
England captain Harry Kane’s wife, Kate, has a degree in sports science; Anouska Santos, partner to Manchester United’s Luke Shaw, is a successful businesswoman, and his teammate Harry Maguire’s wife, Fern, is a physio.
As one WAG put it: “The days of Baden-Baden and the WAGs shopping and partying in tiny dresses and sky-high heels is a thing of the past. Social media needs to get used to that and stop judging.”
While Lauren is described as one of the “loveliest” partners, Declan is also universally regarded as the nicest man in football.
They started dating aged 17 after meeting at Grey Court School in Ham, South-West London.
Declan grew up in a modest semi in new Malden, Surrey, with his mum Stephanie, dad Sean and two brothers Connor and Jordan.
Lauren lived an eight-minute drive away in Chessington.
She has cheered him on throughout his career, which has taken him from West Ham, where he played in the academy, to his current team, Arsenal.
Lauren was seen cheering him on at the Euros in 2021 and joined Declan’s family in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.
While Declan became one of the most sought-after and highest-paid footballers in Britain, the pair remained down to earth.
Lauren trained as a make-up artist but is now a full-time mum to the couple’s son, Jude.
Their mansion, which they bought in 2020, is just six miles away from where Lauren grew up with her parents and younger sister.
“It has been a roller coaster for Lauren,” says a pal.
‘So many people have been supportive, and she has been pretty overwhelmed by it all. She is truly, truly grateful. She is now starting to see things go full circle and it has raised a really important issue.”
For the immediate future, however, Lauren’s friends fear that something she has loved doing for so many years —watching her beloved boyfriend play football — will now be marred.
“Lauren is always there when she can be,” says one.
‘She doesn’t get herself dolled up like some of the others, she turns up in a replica shirt a lot of the time with little Jude in a sling.
“But you have to wonder whether or not she will feel able to do that so freely any more.
“It’s such a terrible shame.”
A source close to her boyfriend says: “Declan is extremely sad. He loves to be able to close the front door and live a quiet life away from the world and, more than ever, that is what he wants to do now.”