tanding in the school playground, I keep my eyes focused on the classroom door, waiting to collect my son. ‘There she is – the footballer’s wife!’ I hear another mum snigger. They’d given me that nickname as I always look glamorous, my hair and make-up immaculate, even for the school run. I smile politely and pull my dark glasses down over my eyes. I don’t care what they think. It has taken me years to become this resilient though, and to realise that often, women just dislike me. I haven’t always been singled out for my looks. At primary school, I was outgoing and popular, and had lots of friends, but when I started secondary school, people’s perceptions of me began to change.
