Declan Rice’s girlfriend Lauren Fryer talked with reality TV star Dani Dyer about a series of attacks she’s been subjected to from heartless social media trolls.
Arsenal star Rice stunned the continent last week with two astonishing free kicks against Real Madrid to put the Gunners on the brink of the Champions League semi-final. The Gunners are now going into a huge second-leg clash with Los Blancos on Wednesday evening, with Rice expected to play a pivotal role.
Yet, away from his on-pitch jubilation, the midfielder has recently had to contend with a slew of derogatory comments on social media aimed at his girlfriend.
Fryer, 25, and Rice, 26, have a two-year-old child, Jude. Amid the torrent faced by Fryer, one troll claimed Rice could “do so much better” while another said that he had “low standards”.
The abuse forced Fryer to wipe her Instagram account clean of all photos. Dyer, 28, who has been with West Ham striker Jarrod Bowen since 2021, has now slammed the level of abuse aimed at Rice’s girlfriend.
“It was so hard for her, the trolling, as she doesn’t put herself out there,” Dyer said. “I think it’s harder when you are not in [the celebrity world] and you are being personally attacked. I found that hard. She is a really good mum, who keeps to herself. No one deserves to be criticised like that.
“It was so cruel. We didn’t speak about it a lot. What we did talk about is how she is so nice and so great and looks absolutely gorgeous. Plus, she’s Dec’s childhood sweetheart and you can see how much he adores her.”
Rice and Fryer have been together for around eight years. The pair met at school and started dating when they were just 17. Fryer, who hails from Chessington, has over 64,000 followers on the social media site. Since deleting her photos, she has kept her profile public, but just one picture remains – an image of herself and Jude watching a football match in the stands.
Love Island star Liberty Poole has also come out in support of Fryer. “I think she’s beautiful, this is crazy,” she said. “What happened to celebrating different body types and embracing how we are all individually made.
“Beauty standards these days are unrealistic, and everyone’s gone mad because of social media. I’ll keep preaching about it till I die, time for change, this can’t continue.”
After the cruel comments, Rice publicly declared his love while backing his partner. Speaking at an England match press conference, saying: “She is the love of my life and I don’t need an upgrade.”
Rice will now head to Madrid with Arsenal as Mikel Arteta’s side look to finish the job against Madrid and secure a place in the Champions League last four.
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