Footballer's partner lifts lid on deadline-day chaos: 'Owen was on the phone to his agent while I was in labour'

The reality behind the #waglife hashtag

For most football fans, deadline day is a frenzy of red-tops, breaking-news graphics and last-gasp loan deals. For Jessica Beaumont, it is something far more personal — and far more disruptive.

Her partner, League One forward Owen Dale, was on the phone to his manager and agent while she was in labour with their son Xavier. "They waited for me to give birth and then he went out on loan pretty much as soon as I was out of hospital," Jessica recalls.

The loan was not to a nearby club, but to Portsmouth — more than 200 miles from home. Jessica, who had never even been there, had only just got the keys to a house she and Owen had bought. They would end up staying in it for a single night.

"Since living together, we've moved five times in five years," says Jessica. "You have to be prepared for anything in the transfer window. But it's also a really fortunate position to be in at a young age."

A life built around the next move

Jessica met Owen when he was at Crewe Alexandra. A move to Blackpool soon followed — initially a loan with an option to buy, meaning that for six months, while Jessica was pregnant with Xavier, they did not know whether he would stay or return to Crewe. Blackpool eventually signed him, but he was soon out on loan again.

Loan deals are a routine part of the modern game, used by clubs to help young prospects gain first-team experience. But when the move to Portsmouth happened, the reality hit hard. Just before the loan, the couple had bought their first house together in Congleton — close to Jessica's family in Stoke-on-Trent and commutable to Blackpool. "We spent one night in there — we hadn't even unpacked," she says.

They decided a 10-hour round trip on Owen's only day off to see his newborn son was not practical. "We thought 'if he's not playing well because he's tired, what's the point in doing this'?" Jessica says. They rented the Congleton house out and have lived in rented accommodation ever since. She also had to abandon her own career. "I was finishing my law degree and had a job at the time — I had to say to them I wouldn't be coming back from maternity leave," she explains. Post-natal complications made travel difficult, and Owen would video-call her to show her the houses he had picked out. "In that moment I did feel really out of control," she admits.

Isolation, and the myth of the glamorous 'Wag'

Uprooting her life and leaving her family behind was challenging. Jessica spent long stretches alone in Portsmouth when Owen was away, though she found solace in a friendship with another player's partner. "I was so fortunate that she would often stay with me when Owen was away," she says. "I say to her all the time that I'll appreciate that time forever because I was just so isolated."

Now 27, Owen has spent most of his career in League One, with Championship spells at Blackpool and Oxford United. Last season he made 28 appearances on loan at Plymouth Argyle, and he is currently a free agent — able to join a new club without a transfer fee. Many of his moves have come on deadline day, and he is "very aware of the sacrifices" his family make. "There's always the risk that a move might not work," he says. "So I might uproot my whole family for this next venture and it all goes south. Over the years I've learned that until there's a contract signed on the dotted line, you could end up anywhere."

Jessica now works in social media and posts about her experiences on TikTok under #wag and #waglife. "My career can be picked up at any time — whereas his career is right now and you've really got to take every opportunity," she says. "As much as people say it's a glamorous lifestyle you do make sacrifices so your partner can have their dream."

She is keen to puncture the stereotype that surrounds the wives and girlfriends of footballers. "When you think 'Wag' and you think 'footballer', both of those terms come with this stereotype that our lives are easy. People also put League One players in the same bracket as Premier League players. In the Premier League they're often set up for life — we can't live in that way because we have to prepare for life after football."

The uncertainty is compounded by relegation and injury. "When we were at Portsmouth, Blackpool was still his parent club and they got relegated. Owen wasn't even involved that season, but his wage was still affected," Jessica notes. "You have to be prepared for everything. You just can't live outside of your means."

Planning a childhood around the transfer window

The instability now affects their children — four-year-old Xavier and two-month-old Etta. "Now that Xavier is growing up — he's fast approaching school age — another thing that will have to be added into the mix is his stability," says Jessica. Even his recent fourth birthday party could not be planned in Plymouth, because they did not know if they would still be there. Instead they held it near family in Stoke-on-Trent.

"As much as I worry about Xavier and Etta, I also think how amazing it's going to be for them when they're older to be able to tell their life story and say they've lived in all these different places," she reflects. "I think it's teaching them a good" lesson about adaptability — one that the modern footballer's family knows better than most.