Declan Rice's partner Lauren Fryer: childhood sweetheart, online abuse, and World Cup support

Declan Rice will have his long-term partner Lauren Fryer in his corner when England face Argentina in their World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, a relationship that has quietly endured more than a decade of football’s relentless spotlight.

Rice and Fryer both grew up in south-west London — Chessington and Kingston upon Thames respectively — and met as teenagers at Grey Court School. They began dating at 17, when Rice was working his way through West Ham’s academy, and have been together ever since. Their first child, Jude, was born in August 2022.

Despite Rice’s rise to become one of England’s most important players — he helped West Ham lift the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023 before completing a £100 million move to Arsenal — the couple have deliberately stayed out of the public eye. They have been spotted on holiday in Ibiza and at Reading Festival, but rarely court attention in the way some of English football’s biggest names have done.

Fryer deactivated her social media accounts at the end of 2023, a move that coincided with a period of relentless online abuse and body-shaming directed at her. Dani Dyer, who married Rice’s former West Ham teammate Jarrod Bowen, spoke out in defence of Fryer in an interview with HELLO! Magazine in June 2024.

“I think it’s harder when you are not in the celebrity world and you are being personally attacked,” Dyer said. “I found that hard. She is a really good mum, who keeps to herself. No one deserves to be criticised like that — it was so cruel.”

Dyer added: “We didn’t speak about it a lot, but what we did talk about is how she is so nice and so great and looks absolutely gorgeous. Plus, she’s Dec’s childhood sweetheart and you can see how much he adores her.”

Rice himself has been open about the importance of Fryer in his life. Speaking to The Sun in 2019, he said: “Lauren is the love of my life and there is no one better for me.”

On the pitch, Rice came off at half-time against Norway with a sickness bug but is expected to return for the semi-final against Argentina. He has been one of England’s standout performers at the tournament, operating alongside Elliot Anderson at the heart of midfield.