With the rise of England's 'golden generation' of footballers came more interest than ever before in their relationships and personal lives, and few more so than Steven Gerrard and Alex Curran.
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Now married to the former Liverpool captain and known as Alex Gerrard, the Merseyside-born model and media personality received plenty of coverage around the 2006 World Cup as the so-called England 'WAGs' (wives and girlfriends) accompanied their partners to Germany.
But how did her relationship with one of the country's greatest players come about?
WHO IS ALEX GERRARD?
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Alex Gerrard was born in Aintree, Merseyside and raised in Maghull, attending Maghull High School.
She married Steven Gerrard in 2007 at Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire. By that point they already had two daughters, Lily-Ella (born 2004) and Lexie (2006), and they have since had another, Lourdes (2011). In October of 2016, Alex revealed she was pregnant again.
Alex has modelled and written columns for the Daily Mirror and OK! Magazine and also released her own clothing and perfume lines.
WHAT IS ALEX GERRARD DOING NOW?
As mentioned, Alex is currently pregnant with the couple's fourth child, who should arrive sometime this summer.
Prior to that she had been living with Steven and their children in Los Angeles as he played two seasons with the LA Galaxy in MLS. They lived in a six-bedroom house in Beverly Hills while in California that is valued at £18 million and cost them £35,000 a month to rent. Luckily, the midfielder was pocketing a handy £74,000 a week.
The Gerrards are now back in Liverpool and Steven has been appearing at charity events and as a television pundit as they await the arrival of the sixth member of their family.
HOW OLD IS ALEX GERRARD?
Alex Gerrard was born on September 23, 1982 and is currently 34 years old. She is two years younger than Steven, who was born on May 30, 1980 and is 36.
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HOW DID SHE MEET STEVEN GERRARD?
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Steven and Alex appear to have crossed paths on the Liverpool social scene and began dating in 2002 - though Alex admits she turned him down to begin with.
"I did say no but I'm glad I did because he was used to all the girls saying yes to him," she said. "I think because I didn’t come across as overly keen like all the others, it made him like me more."
Controversy swirled around the relationship due to the fact that Alex had been dating businessman Tony Richardson while Steven was seeing actress and model Jennifer Ellison. They then swapped partners, reportedly creating a feud between Alex and Ellison, though who moved first has remained unknown.
After the arrival of Lily-Ella and Lexie they married at Cliveden House, an enormous mansion in Buckinghamshire that was previously occupied by Stanford University and is now run as a five-star hotel.