Rebekah Vardy now enjoys a glamorous life with footballer husband Jamie Vardy, but long before private jets, luxury homes and life in the spotlight, she was working a very different and normal job.
The couple are on the small screens this week after their new reality show dropped on ITV.
Viewers of The Vardys are watching Rebekah and Jamie as they relocate their family to Italy following the latest chapter in Jamie’s football career.
At the time of filming, Jamie had left Leicester City FC and signed for Cremonese in the Lombardy region.
These days, the family are associated with designer fashion, luxury travel and a lavish lifestyle.
However, Rebekah’s path to becoming one of Britain’s best known WAGs began far from the world she lives in now.
Here’s what we know about her journey.
What did Rebekah Vardy do before she met Jamie?
Rebekah Nicholson, as she was then known, met Jamie in January 2014. At the time, she worked as a nightclub promoter in Sheffield while he played for Leicester FC.
The pair first crossed paths when Rebekah was asked to organise a 27th birthday party for a celebrity client.
Speaking in Netflix documentary Untold UK: Jamie Vardy, Rebekah recalled: “I find out it was Jamie Vardy, and I’m like, ‘What’s the big deal?
“I don’t even know who he was, but when I learned that Jamie was a professional sports player it made me want to run in the other direction.
“There’s this preconception that they’re all idiots, they are all [bleep]holes.”
Rebekah had recently come out of a long term relationship with lower league footballer Luke Foster. During their six-year romance, they became engaged and welcomed a son, Taylor, who is now 15.
She was also already mum to daughter Megan, now 20. Rebekah gave birth to Megan while dating an electrician.
Rebekah remembered Jamie being carried out of the club drunk on the night they met. Despite that first impression, he continued to message her and ask her out.
“It got to a point where I was like, ‘Oh [bleep] it, just go and meet him and that would be the end of it’,” Rebekah said in the Netflix documentary.
She added: “The more I sat with him, the more I realised, actually, behind this crazy, alcohol loving wild party boy was a guy that was really kind, really good at listening and he was really good to talk to. We decided to go on a couple of dates.”
When did Rebekah marry Jamie Vardy?
Rebekah became pregnant with Jamie’s child early in their relationship and daughter Sofia was born later that year.
In 2015, Jamie proposed while the couple were on holiday in Portugal. They started planning a lavish wedding, although reports suggested it was postponed three times because of Jamie’s busy football commitments.
The pair eventually married on May 25, 2016, at the Grade I listed Peckforton Castle in Cheshire. Among the guests were Jamie’s Leicester City teammates, One Direction star Louis Tomlinson and musician Tinchy Stryder.
Why weren’t Jamie Vardy’s parents at his and Rebekah’s wedding?
Jamie’s mum Lisa and stepdad Phil Vardy, who he regarded as his father while growing up, were absent from the wedding. Jamie also does not speak to his biological father.
Talk of a family rift emerged before the wedding after it became public that Lisa and Phil would not be attending.
Reports claimed Jamie had not spoken to his mother for 18 months and chose not to invite either parent to the ceremony.
Phil later told The Mirror: “It’s not right to talk about it at such a time. It’s been going on ever since she came on the scene.
“It’s a shame and very sad. I don’t have anything directly to do with my son any more but I’m still his biggest fan from afar. I’m very proud.”
Phil was also quoted as saying: “We won’t be going to the wedding.
“It’s a real shame and very sad. I’ve given him 22 years of my life to get him to the pinnacle of his career and I can’t enjoy it. It really upsets me.”
Phil and Lisa were said to have declined taking part in Netflix’s Untold UK: Jamie Vardy. There have been no reports that Jamie’s rift with his parents has mended.
As The Vardys shines a light on the family’s latest adventure in Italy, it also serves as a reminder of how much life has changed for Rebekah since those nightclub promoter days in Sheffield…
