There was a time when Chanen Johnson could say, "I’m making more money than an NFL player," referring to her husband, New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson.
While she now enjoys bragging about that, it wasn't always the case. She was initially conflicted about how much to share. But after growing frustrated with the hate she and other women in relationships with professional athletes received, being called gold diggers and accused of being spoiled while their husbands paid the bills, she decided to set the record straight.
"I was initially pretty scared to share that this was actually profitable for me," she tells The Hollywood Reporter of her social media career. "But I was getting so angry that people were saying I didn’t have a job." She has a job, creating content for nearly 4 million followers across platforms.
Chanen is among a new generation of WAGs who have reclaimed the once-demeaning term. The acronym first appeared in British tabloids in the early 2000s for English soccer players' partners like Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole. The term lumped these women together, reducing them to decorative fixtures of Premier League broadcasts and erasing their accomplishments.
Today, WAGs are taking power back via social media, showing what goes on in an athlete's spouse's life. This has led to massive followings, sometimes bigger than their husbands'. Chanen has 770,000 Instagram followers, 600,000 more than Juwan.
Every sport has WAGs, but in the U.S., the NFL reigns supreme in WAG star power.
At the top are A-list spouses like Taylor Swift (wife of Travis Kelce), Simone Biles (wife of Jonathan Owens) and Hailee Steinfeld (wife of Josh Allen). They have their own fan bases from their careers. But at a lower tier, WAGs are building empires via content creation, leaning into the label and proving their value beyond being a wife.
"Obviously people have these preconceived notions of what it’s like to be married to an athlete, so I kind of ran with it and just turned what hurt my feelings into a joke, and it turned into a career for me," she says of her early satirical content about being with Juwan, then an undrafted free agent, when she launched her TikTok in 2020.
If someone left a nasty comment about using her husband's money, she'd mock them by posting a video of her carrying a stack of cash. If called a trophy wife, she'd deliver a comedic clapback. She also mixed in straightforward videos offering a peek inside her relationship and routine, which she saw as an opportunity to "shut down all of the false realities that people think about our life."
Other partners, including Allison Kucharczyk (wife of former NFL defensive end Isaac Rochell), Ann Michael Maye (Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's wife), Sadé Vanessa (NFL wide receiver Robbie Chosen's partner) and Claire Kittle (wife of 49ers tight end George Kittle), have built followings, some in the millions.
Kucharczyk, with over 1.1 million followers, teases her husband about his lower follower count. Fans call him "Mr. Kuch." In 2022, she posted a TikTok showing a jersey the NFL sent with "Allisons Husband" on the back. "The NFL finally fixed his jersey," she captioned the video, featuring a shocked Isaac.
Kucharczyk's and Chanen's partners support their wives' endeavors, appearing in videos often humorously. But Chanen said it's "rare" to see a male athlete as supportive as her partner, as "a lot of times there are guys who don’t necessarily love their girls posting a bunch of stuff" about their personal life.
Some players are reluctant to let the public in, given how protective the NFL and teams are of their brands. But the league has recognized the positive impact of embracing partners and their fan bases, leading to collaboration opportunities.
Kristin Juszczyk (wife of Niners fullback Kyle Juszczyk) captured attention with custom game-day outfits, later securing an official licensing deal with the NFL to create custom jackets and looks, often worn by high-profile WAGs including Swift. Chanen says she's partnered with the Saints on game days and community events, and with the NFL and Super Bowl on video collabs, which "honestly gave them a lot of extra attention as they obviously love social media and just the women behind it."
Sports leagues have acknowledged the business acumen and content creation skills of these women. "I got the opportunity to speak at the NFL annual meeting," Chanen recalls. "They brought me in and they were like, ‘Hey, this is what Chanen is doing on social, and it’s working for her and it brings her audience into really loving football. And that’s something that we love and we want to incorporate.’ "
The NFL's WAGs aren't the only ones building fan bases. Social media scrollers can also see wives and girlfriends at F1 races, courtside at NBA games, and in stands at soccer matches.
Alexandra Leclerc (F1 driver Charles Leclerc's wife) is a popular style inspiration. Tennis pro Taylor Fritz's former girlfriend Morgan Riddle was dubbed "the most famous woman in men's tennis" when they were together. Jordyn Woods (New York Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns' partner) went viral when fans decided her purse was a good-luck charm during their championship run.
The WAG phenomenon inspired Maddy Sells to create WAGTalk, a digital video series interviewing athletes' partners across leagues. "Some women … are very, very private," she says of her guests, "but have the coolest stories ever that I’ve been so excited to get out."
Since its early 2025 launch, Sells has noticed more men engaging in comments, a "huge variation" that surprised her. "A lot of men come up to me and were like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love WAGTalk.’ And I was like, ‘Whoa, I did not expect that,’ " she admits.
Source: www.hollywoodreporter.com — Read the original article
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