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Aged 40, Alex Scott has already lived many different lives. When she was only eight years old, she signed with English football club Arsenal. This happened to be the start of a bright and successful career for the English player, who won 23 trophies with the club, and 140 caps for England. Alex Scott chose to retire from her active career back in 2017, but she has not left the world of football. Indeed, the former player has now become a BBC presenter, hosting shows such as Match of the Day, Football Focus, and The One Show.
During an exclusive interview with The Times, Alex Scott opened up several aspects of her life, including her daily routine, as well as her relationship with British singer Jess Glynne. She also touched upon the impact of the brutal death threats she has been receiving for years.
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Alex Scott opens up about her daily routine
During her sit-down with The Times, Alex Scott talked about the importance of having a daily routine. Indeed, she revealed that she wakes up early every day, and that she heads straight to the gym as soon as she gets out of bed. She said:
Staying in bed beyond 7.30am gives me anxiety. I like to be in the gym before eight, rather than checking my phone or sending emails when I wake up. It’s a deliberate act of self-care.
The athlete also explained having had a positive influence on her partner, British singer Jess Glynne, as she now follows the same strict routine. Alex Scott went on:
I wake up next to my partner, Jess, who has become the same person as me over the past year and a half — she can see what going to the gym does for me mentally, so she’ll do the same.
As most athletes do, Alex Scott follows a strict diet, as her breakfast usually consists of eggs, avocado, and spinach, but she happily admitted to having a soft spot for Hula Hoops. As she is hosting several different shows, the BBC presenter explained having two different types of days. She explained:
If I’m filming Football Focus on the weekend, the day starts early, but if it’s The One Show I have my mornings free, so after the gym I’ll be prepping for the guests and head into the studio for 3pm. I read scripts, prepare questions, get glammed up, rehearse, then we go live.
The BBC presenter speaks out about threats on her life
Alex Scott did not only speak out her daily routine during her interview with The Times. Indeed, the BBC presenter explained she sometimes felt tired of being a woman in a man's world. She said:
I love being part of pushing the dial forward on how women are viewed in certain spaces, although there are days when I’m like, why do I have to keep fighting the fight all the time?
The athlete also took the opportunity to open up about some more difficult parts of her life, such as the brutal death threats she has been receiving for some time, as well as suffering from racism and sexism. She said:
There are negatives to fame. I’ve had plenty of racism, abuse and even death threats. When I was reported incorrectly to be replacing national treasure Sue Barker as the host of A Question of Sport, people were saying, 'She’s only on TV because she’s black, female and younger. She’s just ticking boxes'.
Alex Scott talked about receiving extremely violent messages, with people saying they were going to physically harm her, to the point of death. She told The Times:
I was scared to go out of the house because these trolls were saying they were going to throw acid in my face, but luckily there are other people who keep me smiling.
Fortunately, the former athlete can count on the support of her fans, who seem to balance out the horrible things haters were telling her. She went on:
They’ll come up to me in my local shop and say, 'Keep going', and that’s what I do.
Alex Scott talked about her difficult childhood
The BBC presenter also opened up about her childhood, which was mostly spent living in fear. She said:
I grew up on an east London council estate witnessing domestic violence towards my mum, and I lived a lot of my early life in fear.
When she was only seven years old, Alex Scott's father left the family home, taking everything with him. He left behind her mother, Carol, a young Alex, and her brother, Ronnie. She explained how she felt at the time, during a previous interview with The Sun:
I remember it very clearly, we were all there together in our council flat. My dad said he was leaving. Then he said: ‘And if I’m going, I’m taking everything with me'.
Despite these difficult times, Alex Scott always looked up to her mother, who made ends meet as best as she could. The former footballer said:
I knew in that moment that even though we had nothing, we were going to be OK because we had her.
In her emotional and empowering memoir, entitled How (Not) to be Strong, Alex Scott recounted the first years of her life, during which she witnessed her father's abuse towards her mother. She remembers lying in bed at night, hoping her mother would live to see the next day. She explained:
All I could do was lie there and pray my mum would be alive in the morning.
While she was invited on Loose Women in 2023, Alex Scott talked about her relationship with her father, and the impact the abuse had on her as a young girl. She said:
I wanted to love my dad so much, I was daddy's little girl, but he had this dark side and that's a side we saw a lot of growing up. Drink helped it come out a lot more, you could see him turn, that's how he took it out on all of us, more so my mum. From a baby I could feel it, the environment we're in.
Read more:
Alex Scott: Here's the six-figure salary of one of the most influential voices in football
Alex Scott: The footballer reveals details about her romance with former teammate Kelly Smith
The Lionesses: How much are the footballers getting paid for the Women's World Cup?
Sources used:
The Times: Alex Scott: ‘Trolls said they would throw acid in my face’
Express: Alex Scott's heartbreaking confession as family 'lived in fear' during childhood
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