When the white-and-green crowd floods into TD Garden, you’d think all eyes would be on the players. Think again. For part of the audience, the real spectacle isn’t on the court—it’s in the stands, where the wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of Celtics players sit. This season, the “it” girl is influencer Emma MacDonald—now Emma Pritchard—wife of point guard Payton Pritchard.
The 23-year-old and the Celtics star tied the knot last summer in a Cape Cod wedding straight out of a magazine. But Emma was already a name long before becoming an athlete’s wife. Her YouTube channel, where she shares weekly vlogs of her life in Boston, had a dedicated following long before basketball entered the picture.
Now, her content often gives fans a glimpse into life on the road during the NBA season, blending her personal brand with her new chapter. Meanwhile, Payton has been making moves on the court—and off it, too. His recently launched loungewear line, Pritch Collective, feels like a natural result of Emma’s influence, showing how WAGs today aren’t just spectators—they’re shaping brands behind the scenes.
The acronym WAG first came around in 2002, coined by the staff of a Dubai hotel to refer to the wives and girlfriends of players—something the Sunday Telegraph later picked up in an article. But it wasn’t until years later that the WAG phenomenon truly took off.
By the time the 2006 World Cup rolled around, WAG culture had taken center stage. The English squad’s wives and girlfriends—a total of 22 women—turned the quiet spa town of Baden-Baden, Germany, into their personal playground.
While the team battled it out on the field, the press had its sights set elsewhere. Tabloids feasted on stories of late-night partying, luxury shopping sprees, and champagne-fueled celebrations, capturing the WAGs parading through town. Personalities included pop star Cheryl Cole (then Tweedy), Coleen McLoughlin, Abbey Clancy, and, most notably, the original WAG herself, Victoria Beckham.
But over the years the meaning of WAG has shifted—or rather, the WAGs themselves have. Once shorthand for athletes’ so-called “trophy wives,” the term now more frequently describes a group of powerhouse women who had their own spotlight before they met their partners. And no one embodied that transformation better than Victoria Beckham.
The former Spice Girl started dating Manchester United star David Beckham at the height of her career. With the band’s skyrocketing success and David’s rising stardom in the football world, the relationship demanded effort—and they made it work. As revealed in the Beckham documentary on Netflix, David would “drive four hours to spend 10 minutes with her.” Now, that’s dedication.
Victoria was never just “David Beckham’s wife.” She was a global pop star, performing in front of sold-out crowds and dominating the charts. While the media fixated on their relationship, she was busy cementing her legacy—balancing life in the spotlight, an ever-growing career in both music and fashion, and the attention that came with being one-half of Britain’s most popular couple.
While Posh Spice was redefining what it meant to be a WAG, Gisele Bündchen began to do the same in the world of American football a decade later. The “übermodel” started dating NFL quarterback Tom Brady in late 2006 and got married within three years—but she wasn’t just there to cheer from the sidelines.
A longtime wellness guru, Bündchen had Brady fully embracing a lifestyle centered around plant-based eating, meditation, and recovery. Their household restricted processed foods, sugar, caffeine, and other inflammatory ingredients, sticking to a strict regimen designed for longevity.
According to Brady, it was the Brazilian model who instilled the mindset that kept him playing well into his 40s. This regimen ultimately shaped the training and nutrition philosophy behind the TB12 Method—built around anti-inflammatory, alkaline foods to optimize health and endurance. She was coaching in the kitchen.
As Brady continued extending his football career, Bündchen remained at the top of hers. After seven years as a Victoria’s Secret Angel, she didn’t just maintain her status—she elevated it, becoming one of the highest-paid and most recognized supermodels in the world. But her ambitions stretched far beyond the runway.
She built a name for herself as a businesswoman and activist, championing sustainability long before it became a trend, writing a best-selling book on wellness, and using her platform to push for environmental change. She did this all while balancing high-fashion campaigns and motherhood, proving that being a WAG didn’t mean fitting the stereotype.
A more recent addition to the WAG community is none other than the singer of this generation: Taylor Swift. Fresh off receiving iHeartRadio’s Tour of the Century award, Swift has spent the past two years dominating the global stage while releasing six albums in 10 years. In the summer of 2023, she opened up about her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. And just like that, the NFL had a new headliner.
Her presence at Chiefs games has sent ratings soaring, driven a surge in Kelce jersey sales, and even sparked debates about the intersection of sports and pop culture. Breaking the stereotype of WAGs, Swift proved that she is not adjacent to fame—she is the moment. Whether in the stands or on stage, Swift keeps doing what she does best: turning heads, setting records, and making history.
And Swift isn’t the only one proving that today’s WAGs are rewriting the playbook.
Social media sensation Alix Earle has also stepped into the spotlight, bringing her own brand of influence to the sports world. Earle and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Braxton Berrios were first romantically linked in May 2023. Since then, Berrios has become a regular fixture on the influencer’s multi-million follower TikTok pages, popping up in her signature “Get Ready With Me” videos and her incredibly chaotic and playful vacation vlogs.
While past WAGs were tabloid fixtures, Earle’s influence plays out in real-time on her own platforms. She doesn’t need paparazzi or magazine covers—though she’s had her fair share, landing features in Sports Illustrated and beyond. Instead, she shares her life directly with her audience.
Whether she’s documenting her nights out in Miami, bringing fans along for NFL game days, or unpacking her personal life on her podcast Hot Mess with Alix Earle, Earle has turned every aspect of her world into content—and it’s working.
Her relatability and unfiltered storytelling have made her one of the most sought-after influencers today—securing brand deals, sold-out collaborations, and a level of online engagement that rivals traditional celebrities.
Dating an NFL player might have made her a WAG, but Earle is far from just a football girlfriend. Like the women who came before her, she’s using the title as just one piece of a much bigger brand—at this point, she might be even bigger than Berrios himself.
So, are the WAGs the real MVPs? Looking at the ones who have defined—and redefined—the role, it’s hard to argue otherwise. From building fashion empires to launching wellness movements, and even inspiring their partners’ business ventures, they’ve proven that their influence extends far beyond the sidelines. Whether it’s turning the NFL into a pop culture phenomenon, or making content creation an extension of the WAG lifestyle, one thing is clear—these women aren’t just along for the ride.
The scoreboard might tell you who won the game, but if history has shown us anything, it’s that the WAGs are the ones shaping the narratives.
Update (4/9/2025, 5:00 p.m.): This article was updated to clarify a statement regarding the ages of Emma and Payton Pritchard.
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