Exclusive: Dani Dyer reflects on changing WAG culture and Euros 'chaos' with 3 kids and boyfriend Jarrod Bowen
This summer is certainly keeping Dani Dyer on her toes. In between raising three kids under three and juggling her own career, you will find the former Love Island winner on a plane back and forth to Germany as she supports her football star boyfriend, Jarrod Bowen, in the Euros.
Now as the reality TV star with the famously sunny demeanor lifts the lid on her experiences of motherhood to celebrate the final episode of A Parent is Born with Johnson's Baby, HELLO! gets the lowdown live from Germany on how the mum-of-three goes about performing the ultimate balancing act in an age when pressures on WAGs, she says, are changing.
Dani's motherhood journey
The 27-year-old has come a long way since the baby challenge on the 2018 series of Love Island when she was crowned champion. Dani is now a doting mother to Santiago, three, and twins Summer and Star, one, whom she is raising with her West Ham forward boyfriend Jarrod Bowen, also 27.
For Dani, the joy of teaming with Johnson's Baby for A Parent is Born is showing the raw and relatable side of motherhood - something her fans have always relied upon the ITV star for.
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"I remember when I first became a mum to Santi, you just never know what is going to happen on this amazing incredible journey where you grow [so much] as a person," Dani recalls.
"Their first birthday is a celebration of you," she shares. "Everyone is always like, 'Why are you doing such a big party?' but I'm celebrating that we got through it. Especially with the twins, that was a completely different journey I was on."
Life as a mum of three
Raising a young family is no mean feat for any mother, but Dani had a more unusual circumstance to adapt to having given birth to twins last May after the birth of Santiago in January 2021.
"I've always said it was as hard as I thought it was going to be," she candidly admits. "People who I've met that have had twins have had twins first so never knew any different. Going from one to three was a massive, huge jump."
Dani was supported not only by Jarrod, but by his family, as well as her EastEnders star dad Danny Dyer, and her mum Joanne. "I've always worn my heart on my sleeve but the crying in the first few weeks I always found really difficult," Dani shares. "I thought surely that wouldn't happen again, but it happened with the twins."
She says being able to predict how she may feel helped her adjust to the newborn stage, while her mum supported her through the night feeds.
Dani will also readily admit that breastfeeding wasn't always easy, even if it was rewarding. She tells us: "With Santi, I was obsessed with wanting to breastfeed. Whereas the twins, I did it for so long until I had nothing left. But I love it, I think it's such a lovely moment but I also do love using a bottle!".
For Dani, any parenting struggle is outweighed by the joy of raising a young family and her personal highlight - seeing her baby for the first time. "I always say to people I meet who are pregnant that I absolutely envy them," she admits. "When people share their horrible labour experiences, I could never share that because the moment you meet your baby - I would do that a thousand times again... not that I ever will!".
It is her frank attitude towards struggles as a new mother that keeps her fans engaged. "I always say being a mum is so hard and your life changes so drastically so if you can have easy options, just choose the easy option," she says.
Supporting Jarrod in the Euros
Alongside raising Santiago, Summer, and Star, the Celebrity Gogglebox star's summer is consumed with supporting Jarrod and his fellow Three Lions teammates. In fact, as HELLO! sits down with the TV star, she is relaxing in her German accommodation following England's match against Denmark.
Dani says Jarrod is the epitome of a doting dad. "He's always so good, when he came into our lives Santi was just eight months and I knew then that he was the one," Dani says.
"I want to be as chilled as Jarrod, he's so laid back and I think that works because I worry and he's not like that at all."
Taking the children to watch Jarrod play alongside the likes of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham has meant taking the twins on a plane for the first time. "The first game, I flew out on my own," Dani explains. "This game, I wanted to bring the kids out so he can see them so that was chaotic. There were moments where I thought 'I can't do this again!' but now we're here, it has been lovely."
The thrill of the game also keeps her on a knife's edge, not knowing until the day whether Jarrod has been selected to play. "You find out when everyone finds out," she reveals. "It's like a job interview - I think I get more nervous than he does! I'm the one losing sleep and Jarrod is so laid back."
"Jarrod has always only wanted to play football since he was young that was always all he wanted to do so it's definitely [inspirational] for kids to follow," Dani adds. She says Jarrod is a shining example of a 'you can achieve it if you keep going' attitude.
Dani's support system
Supporting Dani through solo parenting when Jarrod is away is her mum who she often brings along to baby group. "She says she never thought she'd be doing this at 47 but she loves it," Dani jokes.
The Danny Dyer: How to Be a Man star is also every bit the doting grandfather. "His relaxed Sundays are not relaxed anymore!," Dani confesses. "We're always round there for a roast but I love how close we are and I so want that with my girls and Santi - to be able to tell me everything."
"It's having a nice support system around, all my friends have babies as well so my house is like a creche 80 percent of the time", Dani says. It is clear that she has built a tight unit with Jarrod whom she says has remained consistently humble through every well-deserved sporting success.
Seeing Jarrod in the girls is also a joy for Dani who says her daughters are the spitting image of their father, while Santi is like her in his affectionate nature.
Changing WAG culture
Inevitably, as the eyes of the world turn to England's most talented players this summer, they also fall on their partners. In 2024, it feels increasingly outdated to even use the term WAG, which is so inextricably tied up in misogynistic gender norms of the early 2000s where glamorous size 0 women were expected to be an attractive side-piece to their athlete beaus.
It was a time when Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, and David Beckham reigned supreme, and yet their partners – the then-Cheryl Tweedy, Coleen McLoughlin, and Victoria Adams – were scrutinised as heavily as their male counterparts by the media.
But WAG is a term that Dani, who navigates the current media attention placed on her as Jarrod's girlfriend, is remarkably unfazed by. "It honestly doesn't bother me, I don't think it's used as much now," she admits. "I feel like it was very heavily focused [in the 2000s], like what they were wearing. I love Cheryl so much! And Coleen Rooney, I was doing her workout videos when I was like 12!".
"But I think things change, The X Factor was massive back in the day and [WAG culture] was back in the day," she adds, explaining that she doesn't necessarily feel subjected to the same level of intrigue and pressure as her noughties predecessors.
The mum-of-three does recognise, however, that it isn't always easy and though she may not feel the intense scrutiny, the same isn't true for everyone. Lauren Fryer, the girlfriend of West Ham and Three Lions star Declan Rice, was thrust into the spotlight earlier this summer after she deleted her social media account following a bout of appearance-based trolling.
Dani speaks in support of women like Lauren whom she has grown close to as a result of Jarrod's high profile status. "Lauren [Fryer] is an absolute beauty, inside and out," Dani says. "I remember she was one of the first people I spoke to because Declan [Rice] was at West Ham and she is just absolutely amazing.
"I don't think you should ever feel a pressure to look or act a certain way," she continues. "You're always going to be trolled [based] on who you are. It doesn't matter how you look, what size you are, someone is always going to comment on you."
The former Sorted with the Dyers podcaster adds: "It doesn't make it any easier, I don't think your skin can ever get thicker, but you have to ignore it. You have to be yourself, why are you going to change for someone else? My dad has always said to me: 'Never ever change for anyone else, just be you'."
Catching up on villa antics
As Dani looks forward to a busy summer she finds occasional moments for me-time which largely involves catching up on this season's Love Island. Even after starring in the ITV show herself, she confesses to still being obsessed with it.
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"I absolutely love Mimii [Ngulube], she's absolutely stunning," Dani reveals. "I love Nicole [Samuel] and Ciaran [Davies], I think they're going to go all the way. But I love Harriett [Blackmore], she is pure entertainment and we need to keep her in it the whole time."
Dani adds that the inclusion of established reality TV stars like Joey Essex will also keep the show feeling fresh and unpredictable. "The producers are working hard!," she jokes.
But for the most part, this summer is all about Jarrod and the kids. She tells us: "At the moment it's chaos but it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience so I think it's going to be a really lovely summer."
To watch the JOHNSON’S Baby ‘A Parent is Born’ docuseries, visit johnsonsbaby.co.uk/aparentisborn and keep up to date with the families featured by following @johnsonsbabyuk on Instagram.
