‘Our life is very normal and chaotic, just like every family’
The cast of Married To The Game on breaking stereotypes and Prime Video’s new docuseries...by
Irish singer Cat Harding has opened up about the“lovely”experience of being a part of the docuseries Married To The Game — and what she hopes the audiences take away from the show. The six-part series begins on Prime Video on February 23. It follows the lives of Cat, Sara Gündogan, Samantha Tarkowski, Ash Turner and Taylor Ward — five women who are the wives and girlfriends of renowned Premier League footballers — during the summer break and the transfer window.
The docuseries follows the women as they juggle their own careers, families, relationships — all while maintaining that work-life balance, alongside supporting their partners’ careers.
And Cat, who recently started her styling business Cat Cavelli Curates with her pal Harriet, told Chic how there were“definitely”some nerves about the idea of letting cameras into their day-to-day lives — but that the overall experience was“amazing in different ways”.
She said,“the opportunity was presented to me and I was a little apprehensive at first — I didn’t want to be involved in anything that was going to create drama or anything with other wives and girlfriends in a fake situation.
“But when they explained how it was going to be, I thought it would be like a good opportunity to kind of show how our life actually is — and I was setting up a business, so I thought it would be good exposure.
“And I just thought it’d be something fun and could bring good opportunities and I was like, ‘why not, let’s try it’.”
And the Tipperary native, who is engaged to Arsenal’s Jorginho, shared what she hopes audiences take away from the series — and how viewers might see a different side to each of the women and their lives.
She said,“i hope that maybe the audience sees that these women, they’re not just ‘WAGS’; they have their own lives, personalities and ambitions.
“They’re successful in their own rights, and are all doing different things.
“And it’s not all super glamorous. Obviously, there are moments of glamour and amazing things that we get to do — there’s no denying that that’s part of the life.
“But our day-to-day life, it’s very normal and chaotic, like every family.
“And seeing that side of things, as well, I think will be quite interesting for people.”
Taylor Ward added that she hopes audiences feel that they get more insight into them as people, rather than“just what they see on social media and online and newspapers and stuff like that.”
The co-founder of Astalia added,“i hope it gives people a better insight into who we are as people — and kind of what goes on behind the scenes rather than just this gorgeous, glamorous life that people think you live 24/7.”
Taylor, who is the daughter of The
Real Housewives of Cheshire’s Dawn Ward, told how the idea of having their day-to-day lives on camera wasn’t nerve-wracking for her.
She said,“i think for me, it was quite easy because I’ve done it before with Housewives.
“The show is a little bit different, because it’s very... everything’s very real, that you see — whereas Housewives, it’s obviously reality but it’s filmed differently.
“A lot of the times, I would actually just forget that [the cameras] were there — which is a bit scary, because you’re thinking, ‘oh my god, have I said something? Have I done something?’
“But it was quite easy for me. I think it was a lot more difficult for Riyad [Mahrez, Al-ahli Saudi FC] because while he’s in the public eye a lot more than I am, he’s a way more private person.
“All of his fame, and what people know about him, is for what he’s done on the pitch rather than off the pitch.
“And so I think it was a bit more overwhelming for him, rafter than me — but it was really enjoyable.”ash Turner told how she initially felt“very apprehensive”about joining the show — but a chat with one of the“marvellous” producers changed her mind.
She recalled,“the way she was speaking about the show and what she had gone through as a female in business, as a mother and all the things that she’s overcome and how they wanted to kind of bring a light to the reality of what it’s like to be a partner of someone who plays football.
“It’s the realistic side of things, and not just what people might perceive — and to focus on what the women do.
“So much of our lives can sometimes feel like it’s in the shadow compared to our partners.
“That’s not a bad thing, it’s what we’ve kind of come to expect.”
The founder of the non-profit Miss Pink Organisation added the idea of being able to“focus a little bit”on the things going on in her co-stars’ lives, as well as their accomplishments, left her feeling“really excited”to enjoy the project.
She continued,“but again, at the time I was early on in my pregnancy with my second baby.
“And we’ve gone through miscarriages in our past, so it was nerve-wracking to think about letting cameras in on our lives when it could be a very vulnerable
state for us. But my partner, Matt [Turner, Nottingham Forest], and I, we always tried to be transparent. And that’s a big thing for us.”
Ash added that she felt that if she was going to share her story, it was important that she be“completely vulnerable and be real and let people in on a little bit of our lifestyle”.
She continued,“every woman has a story. And I really believe that it’s nice to shed some light on that and help women support each other and see where you can take things to the next level with that support.”
Ash told how the last few years have been a“journey”— and opened up about how it feels to have the series almost on telly screens.
She continued,“so much happened when we’re filming that I forgot what we filmed. I just really — I want it to be real.
“So, I worked as if those cameras were never there.you got every bit of chaos in our lives, and the camera saw that.
“And so now that I have the opportunity to watch it back, it is nervewracking.
“Once filming started, I was eight months pregnant again and I had just flown back from America.
“I had a 14-month-old basically running around and it was hot.
“And I was sweaty. And I’m just like, ‘oh my goodness, what did we even film? And how is that going to come across?’ I’m definitely nervous to see it.
“But I’m excited — I’m really excited to see all of the other women’s stories.”
Samantha Tarkowski told how she wasn’t too sure about joining the series initially as she and her partner James are “very private”.
She said,“i don’t really post anything on social media, I’m really rubbish at that.
“We don’t post anything as a couple. We don’t post our daughter. It was a big deal to let anyone in.
“But once I’d had the conversation about what they wanted from the show, and that it wasn’t first to show,‘look how we live’ like, ‘look, here’s what you could have’ — that’s so not us at all.
“(The show) was to break that stigma on a ‘WAG’ and the whole stereotype of what ‘WAGS’ are.”
Samantha noted that it was the idea of breaking that stereotype that“piqued my interest a little bit”.
She continued,“i think the fact that that’s what they wanted to do, they wanted to break that whole stereotype was kind of what piqued my interest a little bit more.”
Samantha added that some of her favourite moments from the experience came when she and James [Tarkowski, Everton] did some of the pieces to camera together, as it allowed them to“show who we are as a couple”.
She continued,“it made me question things as well, like why did I feel so passionate about changing the stereotype and why was I so hung up on this whole ‘WAG’ thing?”
The personal trainer also shared what she learned about herself throughout the experience.
She said,“there’s a moment in the series when I get really upset about body image and my daughter. “And I had not actually openly said that until that moment on camera when I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is why I feel so passionate about it; about social media and why we need to change that whole toxic image and the tearing down of females’.
“I’m bringing up a female in this weird world of social media and pressures on females.
“So I think, yeah, it did really make me think, ‘wow, I want her to grow up strong and powerful — and this is why I’ve kind of changed my life and why I’m doing fitness as a career; I really want her to feel empowered’.”
Sara Gündogan told how while it was a “nice experience”to be a part of the show, the filming came at a“delicate moment for me”.
She said,“the show was after I’d given birth; it’s a complicated part of a woman’s life, when you have to find yourself again. “And also, it’s not easy to film your life when you’ve got a totally new life with no routine — it was a bit messy; a bit of a messy moment from me.
“I don’t know if people can feel that. But for me, having a baby and living far from my family and being by myself in another country — it’s been a bit of an experience. “I mean, you can see me find myself through all the episodes.”
Sara, who is married to Barcelona’s Ilkay Gündogan, added that it was“difficult to choose one”favourite moment from the experience — but it was the“simple” moments that stand out to her.
She said,“i’d say now that I’m not there anymore, it’s the moments I would think would be the most simple; the things that we used to do in Manchester.
“I think that my favourite moments are just me with my son at our home in Manchester. It’s already kind of part of my past — and I would not have imagined that, but I’m really happy I filmed it at the end. “One day, my son will see it. He was so small — he was born in Manchester, and when we left…
“I think my favourite moments were just at home in Manchester, because it has become precious because I live in Barcelona now and everything has changed.”
“(THE SHOW) WAS TO break THAT WHOLE STEREOTYPE Of WHAT ‘WAGS’ are.”