Who is Alex Scott?
Born on 14 October 1984, Alex Scott is a famous sports pundit and a former football star. During her career, she was recognized as one of Arsenal's most long-standing players with three separate spells with the London club between 2005 and 2018. At club level, she also spent a season at Birmingham City in 2004 and three years with Boston Breakers in the American Women's Professional Soccer. As a right back with impressive pace and agility, Alex played 218 games, scoring 15 goals for her clubs.
Discover our latest podcast
Alex also represented England in various international tournaments and won silver at the 2009 UEFA Women's Euros and bronze at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup with the Lioness. In 2017, she decided to retire as England's second most-capped player with 140 first-team appearances.
After her retirement, Alex has forayed into the media, with prominent roles in BBC Sport, BT Sport, and Sky Sports.Since 2017, the former football star has focused full-time on television broadcasting and went down in history as the BBC's first female pundit at an international football tournament when she covered the 2018 FIFA World Cup. As a TV star, Alex also participated inStrictly Come Dancing 2019, in which she and partner Neil Jones finished in fifth place.
Alex Scott's first romance
During her years at Arsenal, the former football star experienced many ups and downs, which included a previous secret romance with a teammate. The BBC reporter, 37, confessed that Kelly Smith, 43, was her first love while they were teammates for both England and Arsenal, reports theExpress.
The BBC personality, now 37, will be open about their affair in her new book, How (Not) To Be Strong, and about the grief, she felt following their breakup. The book, which is released on Thursday according to The Mirror, details every aspect of her life including her traumatic upbringing with her estranged father Tony and her football and broadcasting careers.
Speaking at the book's launch in London, Alex admitted that it would be 'cheating' not to include the ill-fated romance in the book.
Alex, watched from the audience by her mum, explained:
I went back and forth on whether I’d actually be writing the chapter. But then it was one of those moments, I’m writing this book and I want to tell everything. I thought I’d be cheating you all if I didn’t put that in there.
The BBC star added that she 'fell madly and deeply in love', admitting there's heartbreak:
And for me, it’s like that first love story, I fell madly and deeply in love. And yes, there’s that heartbreak and those things, but it’s a huge part of my life and I wouldn’t go back and change that. Because that feeling of love and that excitement and what it gives you, it needed to be in there.
Alex and Kelly met after they both signed for Arsenal in 2005. Alex had been playing for Birmingham when Kelly, at 24 years old, came after years of playing in America. The former couple moved back to the UK in 2012 after leaving Arsenal together in 2009 to play for the Boston Breakers, one of the seven teams in the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer League.
Both ladies had their demons at that moment. Alex's difficult upbringing with her domineering father had left her vulnerable, while Kelly, who is six years older than Alex, was suffering from a medical condition.
Read more:
⋙ The Lionesses: How much are the footballers getting paid for the Women's World Cup?
⋙ Kyle Walker: The Manchester City star is soon to be a father of 6 after recurring infidelity
Sources:
The Mirror: TV star Alex Scott reveals how she fell in love with ex-Lionesses and Arsenal teammate
Express: Alex Scott opens up about relationship with teammate Kelly Smith: ‘I fell madly in love’
