James Tarkowski's wife, Samantha, and Jorginho's partner, Catherine Harding have lifted the lid on the struggles of dealing with what people think should be the ideal look of a footballer's wife.
Samantha Tarkowski and Catherine are two of the stars of Prime Video's new series titled “Married To The Game”, which encapsulates the lives of five football WAGs, aiming to provide insight into the reality of dating a notable footballer.
James Tarkowski recently tied the knot with Samantha, while Catherine Harding became engaged to Jorginho in December 2023.
Harding even teased her partner during the early episodes of the show about possibly asking the big question.
The series details various journeys of the women and their husbands, with body image being a topical issue for conversation.
This has led to a variety of emotions on display, particularly from Tarkowski and Harding when they can be seen talking about their daughters.
During the second episode of the series, Samantha Tarkowski can be seen getting emotional in a gym when expressing her desire to help her daughter feel empowered by a strong and capable mother.
Speaking during the second episode on what many presume should be the ideal look of a footballer's wife, she said:
“Everyone seems to think a footballer has to be with a very stereotypical, super skinny, really glamorous, gorgeous woman, whereas actually, he's just my husband, he's just James to me. I don't think of him as a footballer at all.”
Samantha touched on the constant battles being a footballer's wife comes with, saying:
“You're constantly fighting against people that want to bring you down, it's hard work, and social media plays a huge part in that.
“It's so dangerous and being a mother of a daughter, that makes me feel... I want to keep her away from that as much as possible.
“I want to make her feel empowered, and that was actually- I'm getting emotional, sorry, I don't know why I'm crying.”
James Tarkowski joined Everton in 2022 from Burnley, and he has made 71 appearances for the Merseyside-based club.
James got married to Samantha in mid-2023 having been together since 2015, with Samantha being with her husband from his days at Brentford to Burnley and currently Everton.
The Everton defender also spoke highly of his wife during the series, terming her as an “amazing” person “physically and internally”.
“I think she's opened her eyes a bit more to it over the years but I think initially when we first met she had no self-love or self-worth but over time she's realising more and more.”
Samantha Tarkowski also shared during the series that she puts particular attention to people's perceptions of her.
James Tarkowski's wife said: “I'd like to think people's perception of me isn't a thing to me, but it is.
“I want to be liked, I put a lot of pressure on myself fitness-wise, body-wise, because I want people to think, "Yeah, she looks good, I'd like to look like that".”
Meanwhile, Jorginho's partner, Catherine Harding expatiated on her frustration over the Arsenal star sharing a picture she accidentally took on his Instagram page.
Catherine said that she had to “be quite good at taking a joke” or their relationship would have ended a long time ago.
“I think there's quite a lot of pressure on partners of football players to look a certain way. I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to try and look good.”
Catherine Harding pointed out a worrying trend with filters being used to modify looks in the modern day, saying:
“It annoys me a lot because I've got a daughter who is eight years old, and I look at sometime filters and certain things people use, and you can't even tell they're using that filter and it completely changes their face.
“You think, "How are children, girls, going to grow up thinking that's the beauty standard they need to look like?" It's actually something really worrying.”
Jorginho joined Arsenal from Chelsea in January 2023, and he has made 40 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 1 goal and providing 2 assists in all competitions since his arrival.
Meanwhile, Married To The Game is available exclusively on Prime Video and it can be streamed from Friday, February 23, 2024.
Samantha Tarkowski and Catherine are two of the stars of Prime Video's new series titled “Married To The Game”, which encapsulates the lives of five football WAGs, aiming to provide insight into the reality of dating a notable footballer.
James Tarkowski recently tied the knot with Samantha, while Catherine Harding became engaged to Jorginho in December 2023.
Harding even teased her partner during the early episodes of the show about possibly asking the big question.
The series details various journeys of the women and their husbands, with body image being a topical issue for conversation.
This has led to a variety of emotions on display, particularly from Tarkowski and Harding when they can be seen talking about their daughters.
During the second episode of the series, Samantha Tarkowski can be seen getting emotional in a gym when expressing her desire to help her daughter feel empowered by a strong and capable mother.
Speaking during the second episode on what many presume should be the ideal look of a footballer's wife, she said:
“Everyone seems to think a footballer has to be with a very stereotypical, super skinny, really glamorous, gorgeous woman, whereas actually, he's just my husband, he's just James to me. I don't think of him as a footballer at all.”
Samantha touched on the constant battles being a footballer's wife comes with, saying:
“You're constantly fighting against people that want to bring you down, it's hard work, and social media plays a huge part in that.
“It's so dangerous and being a mother of a daughter, that makes me feel... I want to keep her away from that as much as possible.
“I want to make her feel empowered, and that was actually- I'm getting emotional, sorry, I don't know why I'm crying.”
James Tarkowski joined Everton in 2022 from Burnley, and he has made 71 appearances for the Merseyside-based club.
James got married to Samantha in mid-2023 having been together since 2015, with Samantha being with her husband from his days at Brentford to Burnley and currently Everton.
The Everton defender also spoke highly of his wife during the series, terming her as an “amazing” person “physically and internally”.
“I think she's opened her eyes a bit more to it over the years but I think initially when we first met she had no self-love or self-worth but over time she's realising more and more.”
Samantha Tarkowski also shared during the series that she puts particular attention to people's perceptions of her.
James Tarkowski's wife said: “I'd like to think people's perception of me isn't a thing to me, but it is.
“I want to be liked, I put a lot of pressure on myself fitness-wise, body-wise, because I want people to think, "Yeah, she looks good, I'd like to look like that".”
Meanwhile, Jorginho's partner, Catherine Harding expatiated on her frustration over the Arsenal star sharing a picture she accidentally took on his Instagram page.
Catherine said that she had to “be quite good at taking a joke” or their relationship would have ended a long time ago.
“I think there's quite a lot of pressure on partners of football players to look a certain way. I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to try and look good.”
Catherine Harding pointed out a worrying trend with filters being used to modify looks in the modern day, saying:
“It annoys me a lot because I've got a daughter who is eight years old, and I look at sometime filters and certain things people use, and you can't even tell they're using that filter and it completely changes their face.
“You think, "How are children, girls, going to grow up thinking that's the beauty standard they need to look like?" It's actually something really worrying.”
Jorginho joined Arsenal from Chelsea in January 2023, and he has made 40 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 1 goal and providing 2 assists in all competitions since his arrival.
Meanwhile, Married To The Game is available exclusively on Prime Video and it can be streamed from Friday, February 23, 2024.