Declan Rice & Lauren Fryer’s pals reveal toll of online abuse on relationship
AS Dani Dyer walks down the aisle to marry West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen later this month, it’s expected that a familiar - but rarely seen - face will be among the WAGs in the congregation.
A year has passed since Lauren Fryer, the long time girlfriend of Declan Rice, was forced off social media after being fat shamed by vile online trolls who cruelly suggested she ought to be dumped in favour of an “upgrade”.
Lauren, the mother of Declan’s toddler son Jude, has rarely been seen in public since she stepped back from the spotlight.
She was spotted a handful of times last year, including being briefly seen in the stands at the Euros in Germany when Declan ran into the stands to hug her after England’s victory over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
And friends say Lauren will never put herself in a position where she can be hung out to dry in the court of public opinion.
“The torment Lauren endured because of those pathetic people was horrific,” one confidante tells me.
“She had never lived a public life, so to be torn apart on social media felt even more unfair.
“Lauren wasn’t the kind of WAG you saw out and about, or going to big events or fashion shows. That wasn’t her style.
“She virtually lived in the shadows anyway. To then be attacked so viciously and with such fury left a lasting mark.”
Lauren is expected to be among the guests at Dani and Jarrod’s huge wedding but it’s unlikely she’ll be seen.
“Lauren has managed to carefully navigate life now where she is present at events but isn’t seen,” the friend continues.
“Those close to her know she doesn’t want to be shared in pictures unless they are on totally private accounts.
“She has her own private account which is just for her friends and family but she’d never share things publicly again.
“It’s not because she’s scared, it’s because she just wants a quiet life doing what she loves with Declan and their family.”
A quick glance at social media this morning shows the trolls have still not abated when it comes to stirring up egregious and unsubstantiated rumours and Lauren and her relationship with Declan - who she started dating as a teenager in 2017.
Lauren has managed to carefully navigate life now where she is present at events but isn’t seen
Friend
“It’s pathetic,” a friend says. “But it’s all nonsense.
“Don’t these people have something better to do? Get a life and stop typing out b*****ks on your iPhone.”
Lauren’s private Instagram account has 295 followers, showing just how tightly she keeps her inner circle.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka’s girlfriend Tolami Benson is among those who keep up to date with the account, along with Kennedy Alexa - the partner of Tottenham Hotspurs James Madison - and, of course, Jarrod’s fiancee Dani.
Relationship timeline
Rice and Lauren have been together for eight years:
2016 - Rice and childhood sweetheart Lauren get together as teenagers
May, 2017 - Rice makes his West Ham debut in a clash with Burnley
March, 2019 - The Hammers ace makes his England debut after switching allegiances from the Republic of Ireland
August, 2022 - Rice confirms the birth of his son, Jude
November, 2022 - Lauren heads to Qatar to support her man at the World Cup
July, 2023 - Rice leaves West Ham to join Arsenal, with Lauren regularly supporting him at games at the Emirates
April, 2024 - Lauren wipes her Instagram account after vile bullying by trolls
By contrast, Lauren’s old public account has almost 100,000 followers but features no photographs.
Previously Lauren liked to share posts, glamorous selfies and snaps of her and Declan with their beloved cockapoo Raffa covered her grid.
Declan would regularly comment underneath her photographs with fire and love heart emojis.
Underneath another picture he wrote: “Your support has been incredible, couldn’t ask for better.”
A year ago Lauren deleted the entirety of the photographs and memories she had shared.
My woman is the love of my life, and there is no upgrade that exists for me
Declan
The decision was a reaction to the brutal and downright disgusting barrage of hate aimed at Lauren after photographs of her and Declan on holiday four months prior.
A message on X in December 2023, which was reposted over 4,000 times, read: “Declan Rice is a multi-millionaire, athletic, 6'1 elite footballer and yet he settles for a fat girl.
“I don’t understand this world anymore.”
The comments on Instagram were far worse, and from behind their anonymous usernames the lowlife keyboard warriors went on the attack.
But while Lauren and Declan ignored the barrage of hate, it changed after quotes - purporting to be from Declan - started to circulate online with ferocity.
At the time, thousands believed the quotes from Declan - allegedly given at a press conference were real.
Cruel comments
During the work of fictional nonsense, an internet idiot claimed Declan had hit back and said:
“My woman is the love of my life, and there is no upgrade that exists for me.”
In truth, the press conference never happened. Declan never addressed what was being said and everything shared or written about it is completely false.
It didn’t stop the quotes from being shared thousands of times online - fuelling what had already become a painful and incessant barrage of nonsense.
Just three days after this rumour first started, Lauren deleted her entire account.
“It all got too much,” a friend explains.
“The hate and the awful comments was one thing. But this whole saga meant the conversation just kept rolling on and people started picking apart Lauren and Declan’s relationship.
“Bloggers started picking up the quotes as fact which meant it was being shared even more widely, even though the wider media ignored it because it was totally untrue.
“The sheer scale of it all became too ridiculous for words.”
She is a really good mum, who keeps to herself. No one deserves to be criticised like that
Dani Dyer
The deletion saw an outcry of love and support for Lauren, from the tens of thousands of people who genuinely took an interest in Lauren’s life and her posts.
“Lauren Fryer you are a beautiful young woman,” one wrote online. “Stay strong.”
Another added: “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.”
The damage was done however, and while Lauren is still occasionally active on the account - she only comments and posts within her private domain.
Her good friend Dani, who bonded with Lauren at last year’s Euro’s, spoke out in her defence after the competition and told us: “It was so hard for her, the trolling, as she doesn’t put herself out there.
“I think it’s harder when you are not in [the celebrity world] and you are being personally attacked. 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.
“Attacking a girl because of what she looks like, in this day and age, I don’t agree with it.
“She got a lot of support from all of us, which she definitely needed.”
Those close to Lauren say she’s no interest in ever putting herself into the public domain again - and after all of this, who could blame her?
