A fake press conference could have prompted the wave of vile abuse that led to Arsenal and England footballer Declan Rice’s girlfriend deleting her Instagram account.
Lauren Fryer, who met Rice at school in 2016 and raises a son with the footballer, had been routinely targeted by merciless online trolls, prompting her to delete every image on her grid.
The mother-of-one, 25, was thought to have been targeted from December, but the timing of a cruel sporting parody on social media suggests it may have played a part in her decision to withdraw from Instagram.
The post, which is completely fabricated and purports to relay Rice’s response to disparaging questions about his girlfriend during a fictional press conference, was shared on Saturday – just three days before her Instagram content was deleted.
In it, Rice, 25, is asked why he opted against dating stereotypical ‘glamour models and pop stars’ in favour of his childhood sweetheart.
A fake press conference could have prompted the wave of vile abuse that led to Arsenal and England footballer Declan Rice’s girlfriend deleting her Instagram account
Lauren, who is the childhood sweetheart of Arsenal player Rice, wiped all posts from her Instagram page in recent days after finding herself the target of abuse
Fans of the footballer have since jumped to her defence after she deleted her Instagram account over negative comments about her appearance.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday, outraged fans wrote: ‘I honestly worry about the mindset of some people. This is Lauren Fryer the girlfriend of Declan Rice who has suffered so much on line abuse recently. A beautiful woman, a couple in love, with a young family. Some within this world need to get a grip;
‘Appreciation post for this beautiful woman Lauren Fryer. We’re sorry to see that in 2024 women are still subject to so many disgusting comments;
‘Lauren Fryer you are a beautiful young woman. Stay strong;
‘Ar**holes!! Pathetic numpties who go after these fish lipped fake clones. Get a grip!!;
‘Lauren Fryer you are fabulous, don’t let the negativity get you down;
‘Lauren Fryer is a beautiful woman with a wonderful smile. The people who criticize her are sick people with zero empathy. They only deserve the worst of contempt and that life takes its toll on them and they receive what they deserve. All my respect to Declan and Lauren;
‘Lauren Fryer you are the most beautiful woman on earth. Declan Rice is lucky to have you… all power to you;
Fans of Arsenal and England footballer Declan Rice have jumped to the defence of his long-term girlfriend after she deleted her Instagram account over negative comments about her appearance
Rice has been romantically involved with Lauren for nearly eight years, but the couple prefer to conduct their relationship away from the public eye
‘I really feel for Declan Rice Mrs man she seems like a nice lass they met young and been together since they love each other people can’t seem to let em be.’ [sic]
While Lauren still has 64,000 followers on Instagram and has kept her profile public rather than private, she has deleted all her pictures and videos amid the abuse, prompting reality star Liberty Poole, 24, to speak out.
Liberty, who appeared on the seventh series of Love Island in 2022, wrote on her Instagram Stories: ‘I think she’s beautiful this is crazy.
‘What happened to celebrating different body types and embracing how we are all individually made.
‘Beauty standards these days are unrealistic and everyone’s gone mad because of social media.
‘I’m going to keep preaching about it till I die. Time for change, this can’t continue.’
The 25-year old has been vigorously defended by Rice fans over the comments – including one from an anonymous account that suggested the midfielder ‘could do better’
In December fans rushed to Lauren’s defence after a vile troll posted about Declan’s ‘low standards’.
The account responsible for posting the tweet has since been suspended after hundreds criticised the troll.
‘Declan Rice is a successful, professional football player. He has a beautiful girlfriend who he has been with since they were both 17. They are also the parents to a beautiful child. He is happy and blessed,’ one user wrote in a tweet that went viral, while others called the troll ‘a disgrace to this fanbase.’
More recently a false claim circulated online claiming that Declan defended Lauren during a press conference, which has only led to more focus on the couple’s relationship.
Rice has been romantically involved with Lauren for nearly eight years, but the couple prefer to conduct their relationship away from the public eye.
In August 2022, he appeared to confirm the birth of his first child with Lauren by revealing a tattoo dedicated to a newborn boy during a game when he played for West Ham United.
He prompted speculation at the time that he had welcomed a son, named Jude, earlier that month by exposing a tattoo of the child’s name and apparent birth date – August 7.
Jude’s star-sign, Leo – characterised as a symbol of self-confidence and attractiveness – also featured within the delicate inking on then West Ham captain Rice’s lower left arm.
Liberty Poole (pictured), felt compelled to speak out after Lauren was taunted for her appearance at the hands of cruel trolls
The bullying was thought to have started in December last year when an anonymous account told England international team member Declan he ‘could do better’
In August 2022, Rice appeared to confirm the birth of his first child with Lauren by revealing a tattoo dedicated to a newborn boy during a game when he played for West Ham United
The tattoo, which circled the England international’s lower left arm, revealed the name Jude, an apparent birthdate and a quote
Despite a preference for privacy, the couple let their hair down during a rare public appearance at the Reading Festival in 2021.
They were pictured rubbing shoulders with notorious former Oasis hell-raiser Liam Gallagher following his headline performance at the annual event.
Rice had previously admitted that his long-term girlfriend is jealous of his bond with Chelsea ace Mason Mount – a childhood friend from their time together at the west London club’s academy.
He told The Sun: ‘My missus is quite worried. I’m genuinely being serious. She’s quite worried. Oh she’s just always: ‘You two . . . you love him more than you love me’.
‘Honestly. We just get it in the neck all the time. But they need to understand the friendship.’
The footballer joined the famed West Ham Academy as a child and studied at the Robert Clack School, in the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, the largest secondary school in Europe.
When he was crowned Young Player of the Year at the London Football Awards, she wrote on social media: ‘Couldn’t be more proud of my Dec winning young player of the year. You deserve everything and more.’
When Lauren celebrated her 19th birthday, Rice wrote on his Instagram account: ‘Happy 19th birthday to my gorgeous girlfriend Lauren Fryer.
‘Looking forward to making many more memories with you, I love you.’
Rice had previously admitted that his long-term girlfriend is jealous of his bond with Chelsea ace Mason Mount – a childhood friend from their time together at the club’s academy
Despite a preference for privacy, the couple were pictured rubbing shoulders with notorious former Oasis hell-raiser Liam Gallagher at Reading Festival in 2021
Last month Harry Styles and James Corden threw a party to celebrate Rice claiming his 50th cap during England’s 2-2 stalemate with Belgium.
The Arsenal midfielder was also rewarded with the captain’s armband for the friendly tie at Wembley, in a gesture that Rice described as leaving him ‘speechless’.
When Gareth Southgate let him know that he would be leading the side out against Domenico Tedesco’s side, Rice said that he ‘stood up, shook his hand, gave him a hug and said ‘thank you so much’.’
‘Since I’ve come into the side, he’s put his trust and belief in me,’ Rice added.
And with cause for celebration, Corden – a vocal West Ham fan – and superstar Styles decided to commemorate the night in some style.
Choosing A-list hotspot Chiltern Firehouse as their location, the trio partied until 4am before heading out into the early morning, in a party which included international team-mates James Maddison and Jordan Henderson.
As well as a party hosted in his honour, Rice was also gifted a pair of bespoke adidas boots from fellow ex-Hammer Frank Lampard ahead of the tie.
Former England midfielder Lampard – who scored 29 goals in 106 caps for England between 1999 and 2014 – met up with Rice in collaboration with Adidas ahead of the game to present him with a one-of-a-kind pair of boots.
The design of the adidas Copa boot included the colours of England – red, white and blue – with a special 50 caps message on the side, while the national flag was also emblazoned across the bespoke design.
When presenting Rice with the boots, Lampard shared a few words with the Arsenal man and hailed him for reaching the milestone.
‘Declan shouldn’t underestimate this achievement,’ he said. ‘Every kid playing football growing up dreams of playing for their country, so to hit 50 caps is something very special.
‘I am excited to see what the summer brings for him and this young team going into the Euros.’
Last month Rice was handed a custom-made pair of boots by England legend Frank Lampard to commemorate his 50th cap
Rice echoed these thoughts and added: ‘It is a massive achievement for me to reach this milestone.
‘Those close to me, know how much playing for my country means, so to hit 50 caps is incredible. I am excited to wear my new boots on the field to celebrate the moment.’
At just 25, Rice is the fifth-youngest national team player to reach the milestone, behind boldfaced names such as Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, and Raheem Sterling.
But the player was unable to see out a win on his half-century, after England fell behind the visitors twice before seeing out a late draw through gritted teeth.
The Chelsea legend was keen to stress that Rice should not ‘underestimate’ his reaching the milestone at such a young age
