Meet the ‘BAPs' cheering on England's Lionesses in the Euros… from newlyweds who had IKEA first date to on-pitch rivals
TEAM MATES Meet the 'BAPs' cheering on England's Lionesses in the Euros… from newlyweds who had IKEA first date to on-pitch rivals
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THREE years on since they roared to victory in the Euros, England's Lionesses are hoping to retain their crown.
The team take on France in their opening match on Saturday night in Zurich, before facing the Netherlands on Wednesday.
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The Lionesses' squad will be led by captain Leah Williamson
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Chloe Kelly represented England in the Euros in 2022 and is back playing this year
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Ella Toone's boyfriend Joe Bunney was sued by Corrie star Ryan Prescott
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Once more the nation will be cheering on our girls - and no one more passionately than their BAPS - that's boyfriends and partners.
Here we reveal the proud other halves of England's Lionesses.
Alex Greenwood and Jack O'Connell
Man City fullback Alex, 31, one of England's most experienced players, is also known as the glamour puss of the Lionesses.
She is dating fellow footballer Jack O'Connell, 31, who played for Sheffield United.
The couple both grew up in Merseyside and are childhood sweethearts, having met at Savio Salesian College in Bootle.
Sadly Jack had to call time on his sporting career in 2023 aged just 29 due to a knee injury.
He shared an emotional message on social media announcing his retirement, and paid tribute to his supportive girlfriend.
Jack wrote: "To partner Alex, who has given me support through my lowest moments.
"She is a supremely talented footballer and it has been a great consolation to be able to watch her career go from strength to strength.
"I am her biggest fan.'
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Alex Greenwood is a defender for Manchester City
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Childhood sweethearts Jack O'Connell and Alex have been together for about a decade
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Alex has been playing football professionally since 2010
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Inside England Lionesses' luxury Euro 2025 hotel with butler service, stunning pool and 2 Michelin star restaurant
Chloe Kelly and Scott Moore
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Bombshell Chloe Kelly started her career playing for Arsenal in 2015
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Chloe on her wedding day with her husband Scott Moore and her Toastmaster
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The 26-year-old currently plays for Manchester City
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Man City ace Chloe, 26, from Hanwell, west London, married Scott Moore, a greenkeeper, on a stunning country estate in Cheshire last July, with Chloe's teammates Ruby Mace and Steph Houghton as bridesmaids.
Chloe stunned in a sheer lace Galia Lahav bridal gown and matching veil for the ceremony which she teamed with Jimmy Choo shoes.
Chloe's dogs Otis and Rolo also joined the couple on their big day and were suitably dressed in tuxedos.
The couple met while Scott was working as a groundsman at Everton while she was playing there.
She recalled: "One day I held the door for him, and ever since that day he kept saying he was going to message me. When he did slide into my DMs I didn't see it for ages, because it was in my requests folder, and then when I did see it I was like, 'Who is this?'
"But when I saw a few people that I knew had followed him, I realised, I must know him."
The lovebirds had their first date at IKEA as Chloe was moving home at the time, and have been inseparable ever since.
Scott proposed in December 2023 during a trip to Lapland and reportedly caught Chloe totally off-guard.
She said: 'It was such a surprise for me, despite all the clues he gave me. Before we went out on the husky ride he played all the songs that we'd always said that we'd play at our wedding.
"When we were going through the snow, he said, 'Oh it looks like diamonds.' I should have known!'
Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema
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Beth Mead plays for Arsenal as a forward
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Vivianne Miedema and Beth have been together since 2022
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The pair will be play against one another in the Euros 2025
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Arsenal forward Beth, 28, has been dating her Dutch teammate Vivianne Miedema, also 28, since 2022.
And the couple, who share a cocker spaniel called Myle, will face their biggest challenge yet when they face each other in the group stages of the tournament.
Vivianne has been selected for the Netherlands' squad - making this her third European Championships.
Beth told the BBC: "It was inevitable. When the [Euros] draw was made, we both sat there and said, 'Of course that's happened!'"
She added that while they keep in regular contact, when it comes to the clash the topic of football is off the table.
"When it gets closer to our games, we don't talk football whatsoever," Beth said. "Obviously we want each other to do well but not against each other!"
Beth has previously been in relationships with Liverpool goalie Rachael Laws when at Sunderland, and Dutch player Danielle van de Donk.
Lotte Wubben-Moy and Tao Geoghegan Hart
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Lotte Wubben-Moy is an Arsenal defender
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Lotte and her partner Tao Geoghegan Hart
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The adorable couple have been together since 2021
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Arsenal defender, Lotte, 26, is in a relationship with Tao Geoghegan Hart, 30, a British cyclist who currently rides for UCI World Team Ineos Grenadiers.
Tao was also the winner of the 2020 Giro d'Italia, taking the pink jersey following the final day time-trial and becoming the first winner in the history of the Giro never to wear the maglia rosa until he had won it outright.
Lotte and Tao went public with their relationship in March 2021 and have since shared lots of adorable pics together.
The couple both grew up in East London and attended Stoke Newington School.
Lotte is half Dutch and fluent in the language. Her dad is Antonius Wubben, the Dutch owner of Kaizen Furniture Makers.
In January she dedicated an Instagram post to her boyfriend ahead of his racing season, writing in Dutch: "I love you. We love you."
Ella Toone and Joe Bunney
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Ella Tooney is a midfielder for Manchester United
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Ella playing around with her boyfriend Joe Bunney
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The pair originally met through mutual pals
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Manchester United midfielder Ella, 25, is dating Joe Bunney, 31, who, awkwardly, is a devoted Manchester City fan.
However Joe maintains he is Ella's "biggest cheerleader", with a source previously telling The Sun: "Ella and Joe are very much in love and have been together for a while now.
"They are both from Manchester and have mutual friends who introduced them. Those who know them think they are the perfect pairing."
Joe, who has two children from a previous relationship, is also a footballer and currently plays for Stalybridge Celtic.
Ella's other half made headlines in March after Corrie star Ryan Prescott sued him for branding him "disgusting" on Instagram.
Joe Bunney accused Ryan and actress partner Amy Lythgoe of squatting in a flat they rent from him last June.
The former Bolton Wanderers player, 31, said the tenancy is up and he wants to move in his widowed grandad, 78, who had been left homeless.
Ryan, 36, who plays Ryan Connor on the soap, and Amy, 30, deny the claims and have filed a £60,000 libel and defamation lawsuit at the High Court.
They claim Joe's post, which was widely circulated before it was deleted, had a devastating impact.
Jess Carter and Ann-Katrin Berger
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Jess Carter is a defender for Gotham FC
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Jess and her partner Ann-Katrin Berger have been together since 2017
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The pair announced their engagement last year
Credit: Instagram/@_jesslcarter
Gotham defender Jess, 27, has been in a relationship with German goalie Ann-Katrin Berger since 2017.
The pair first met while signed for Birmingham City in 2016, and they also played together at Chelsea three years later.
Ann-Katrin, 34, recalled thinking Jess was "arrogant" when they first met, but they went on to become housemates and good friends before things became romantic between them.
Jess said: 'I had broken up with my boyfriend when I moved in, but as far as I knew I was straight."
In August 2017 Ann-Katrin took Jess out for a dinner date, and a few days later they were chilling at home when she went in for a kiss.
Ann-Katrin said: 'I was quite nervous because I didn't know what her reaction would be. I always knew she was quite an open person, and she'd never ruled out being with a woman.
"At the same time, I heard her talk about guys, so I wasn't sure.'
Initially they dismissed the kiss, but it didn't take long before they gave in to their feelings for each other.
Shortly after becoming a couple Ann-Katrin underwent treatment for thyroid cancer. She battled the illness again in 2022, with Jess by her side.
In May last year the pair announced their engagement with a social media post that read: "7 years down forever to go."
It came two months after former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who left the Blues to manage the US women's national team, claimed player relationships were "inappropriate".
In response, Jess liked a series of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, including one which described Emma's comments as "beyond bonkers".
Emma has since backtracked on her claims, admitting she'd "let herself down", and cleared the air with Jess.
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The only thing that mattered to him was our popularity rating and our good image.' There was a feeling by some players that the French FA was using the women's team to restore its reputation after the catastrophic 2010 World Cup when the men's team went on strike and refused to train by staying on the team bus. A lack of ambition is no longer true today, says Eric Blahic, who was assistant coach to Corinne Diacre and then Hervé Renard (2023-24) and was delighted to see the latter end the 'famous semi-final complex'. 'For years, the girls were told that they had to be in the sem-finals,' he says. 'That doesn't mean anything. Third or fourth is not the same thing. You have to say: the objective is the final.' He also rejects the idea that France have failed to go all the way because of a mental block. 'In 1982, when the French men's team played in the semi-final in Seville, when we led 3-1 and ended up being eliminated, people were already saying that it was mental problems. If that's all it was, the federation would have taken action a long time ago.' Laurent Bonadei was appointed as Renard's successor in August 2024 and since then a full-time mental performance coach, Thomas Sammut, has been part of the team 'to break this glass ceiling'. He has made other changes too, dropping three key players – Le Sommer, Renard and Kenza Dali – just before the Euros, saying that 'if it doesn't work you have to try something new'. Bonadei will also have to deal with Les Bleues' misfortune when it comes to penalties in major tournaments. Bussaglia says of the Olympics semi-final defeat to Japan in 2012: 'At the Olympics, in the semi-final, we were 2-1 down and I missed the penalty to make it 2-2. I'd never missed a penalty in my life but I missed that one.' Blahic, meanwhile, recalls the shootout loss to Australia in the 2023 World Cup, when Kenza Dali missed her spot kick against club teammate Mackenzie Arnold not once but twice as it was retaken. 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