October 18, 2024, 10:20 am | Read time: 6 minutes
When a mega sporting event takes place, it doesn’t take long for the media to discuss the outfits, behavior, and hairstyles of the wives. Too short, too flashy, too shy? Take your pick. Just recently, Morgan Riddle, influencer and relationship partner of tennis player Taylor Fritz, came under close scrutiny. She capitalizes on his fame. This is not stupid; after all, there is a huge demand for female player content. But why are the men of successful sportswomen never the focus of attention? STYLEBOOK has investigated.
“Player’s wife” Cathy Hummels is already separated from her Mats, but she won’t forget him any time soon. Not only does she continue to bear his surname, but the relationship is also likely to have helped Cathy build up a foothold as an influencer. Since then, it seems as though the media has followed her wherever she goes. Are there similar examples of partners of famous female athletes? Since we could hardly think of any, we went in search of them and tried to explain this phenomenon.
Overview
Player’s wives: The case of Morgan Riddle
Overnight sports star: 26-year-old Taylor Fritz from California had already been dating Morgan Riddle for two years before he won the ATP World Tour in 2022 and has been celebrated as the star of the tennis world ever since. Morgan Riddle then had to make a quick decision: “Either I would hardly see my partner and continue to work in the business, or I would have to change something. I decided to take advantage of the situation and capitalize on it,” the current influencer explained in an interview with Elite at the beginning of the year.
She found a niche: On her Instagram account, she posts outfits that combine fashion and sport. The English literature graduate integrates sporty pieces into modern yet elegant looks. Well-known collaborations adorn her photos and videos – from Wilson to Heineken and Converse. As Riddle herself says, she also capitalizes on her boyfriend’s sport. Despite her transparency in this regard, she is constantly criticized.
Criticized without end and still present
There’s a German saying: If you don’t do anything, you don’t do anything wrong. This also applies to Riddle. She posts prolifically, goes public, and doesn’t hide. Instead of being a player’s wife, she has long since become her own brand. Many accuse her of pushing herself too far into the foreground, partly through her extravagant styling. The Minnesota-born fashionista may not seem particularly down-to-earth, but she has nevertheless found a way to combine her relationship and career with a great deal of creativity and brains.
There are also German examples of women who have made their image as a player’s wife their own brand. These include the aforementioned Cathy Hummels, Ann-Kathrin Götze, wife of Mario Götze, and Lisa Müller, wife of Thomas Müller. There are always more or less favorable headlines and comments under posts about these women.
Do you know these names?
You may have come across the names Servando Carrasco, P.K. Subban, and Sebastian Griesbeck before. They are all husbands (or ex-husbands) of sportswomen: Carrasco is dating US soccer player Alex Morgan, Subban is the ex-husband of ski racer Lindsay Vonn, and Griesbeck is in a relationship with German soccer player Kathrin Hendrich. However, you may also recognize the names because all of these men are well-known athletes.
In the year of the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship, Bunte wrote about the latter couple: “Kathrin Hendrich (30) has apparently found the perfect partner in Sebastian Griesbeck. Like Kathrin, the 31-year-old is a professional footballer and currently plays in the 2nd Bundesliga for SpVgg Greuther Fürth.” It’s not unusual for sportsmen to join sportswomen. However, one thing stands out: While many women have made their partner’s life their profession – with the exception of dressage rider Lisa Müller – the men remain independent in their activities and pursue professional goals independently of their partner.
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Why do the partners of female athletes often take a back seat?
We thought about why we know so little about the partners of famous female athletes and looked for three reasons that largely justify our lack of knowledge.
Assumption 1: Men’s sport (still) dominates
The report “Sport activity and sport consumption: a question of gender?,” which was commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and the Federal Institute for Sports Science, shows that women are still underrepresented in competitive and elite sports as well as in management positions. Although this is not a surprise, it is a valid reason why there is little interest in the relationship partners of female athletes. The popularity of female athletes must first grow through broader media coverage in order for the partners to become interesting enough.
Assumption 2: Women are influencers by profession
Popular content on social media platforms, such as fashion, make-up, and motherhood, still has a female connotation. As a result, many take the opportunity to create an account and fill it with lifestyle posts as a business model. On the one hand, they reach a community that is interested in beauty topics. On the other hand, there is a following that hopes to gain private insights into the life of their favorite athlete on aesthetic accounts.
There are also male partners of female athletes with a social media presence, such as Jace Peterson. The husband of US Olympic long-distance runner Brittany Peterson keeps his Instagram profile well-maintained. Still, you quickly realize that he is not an influencer by profession, but – who would have thought it – a professional athlete in Major League Baseball (MLB).
Assumption 3: Heterosexual couples more present in the media
Although we have already learned from openly queer people in the public eye that a sexual orientation that deviates from the hetero norm doesn’t have to be a secret, there is much more coverage of heterosexual relationships. A vicious circle: after all, the lack of representation is a major challenge for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and pansexual people, as stated in a report by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.
If we think back to the 2022 European Women’s Football Championship, it is striking that many players are in non-heterosexual partnerships. National player Svenja Huth and her wife Laura diligently shared photos online. Laura Schüller, also on the female national team, kept her (now ex-)girlfriend Lara Vadlau as anything but a secret at the time, and yet there was no great interest. So the gender of the partner seems to be less of a problem than the desire for a clear division of roles: the man is a sportsman, and if the player’s wife is nice and pretty, she can boast about his success – under constant criticism, of course …