Bright, beautiful and a good sport – the future Mrs O'Driscoll has no intention of elevating herself to wagdom, writes FIONA McCANN
IN ENGLAND, they have Wagged their last, if the soccer manager Fabio Capello has anything to do with it. Even their own, er, Habowags (husbands and boyfriends of wives and girlfriends) have accepted that the days when Victoria, Cheryl and Coleen (Beckham, Cole and Rooney, for anyone just coming round from a four-year coma) made headlines during tournaments and were blamed for their men’s mishaps, are a thing of the past.
After all, when critics went so far as to say their presence cost England the World Cup, the demise of the Wag, so beloved by the cameras and crowd scanners at matches, was only a matter of time.
If only we’d had Wags to blame on this side of the water. Yet, what with GAA already replete with three-letter acronyms, and our soccer team failing to qualify for the World Cup, it was left to the rugby lads to make all the headlines, with glamour girlfriends and fancy hairdos abounding. But times changed, the economy flipped, Wags were out and winning was in.
Thankfully, Brian O'Driscoll had his eye on the ball. Captaining the team to Grand Slam victory was only the beginning, however, as he capped his achievement with a romantic proposal to girlfriend Amy Huberman (he spelled it with flowers, apparently), who was sporting a chunky sparkler when the happy couple announced their engagement last week. And that was it. No joint appearances in matching outfits. No perfume line or Hello!spread. Just Amy and Brian, getting married. She was even wearing jeans. What kind of Waggery is that?
“They’re just enjoying their engagement and don’t want to make anything more of it than it is already,” explains Joanne Byrne, spokeswoman for bride-to-be Amy. “They’re very laid back, enjoying their time together, enjoying being engaged, like any other couple.”
Instead of elevating herself to Wagdom, requiring hair extensions, ridiculous heels and an in-depth interview about her choice of face cream, Huberman instead is helping to usher those days out. Far from courting the press, Huberman made a point of avoiding the cameras in the early days of her relationship with the rugby star, which, though now very publicly acknowledged, they have managed to keep a private affair.
The thing about Huberman is she already has a life – even a career – and is unlikely to invite the press on shopping trips or into her “crib” any time soon. She’s a busy lady, what with a new season of RTÉ drama The Clinic to film, and her first novel coming out in the summer. If she were a Wag, she’d be milking the publicity even more to shift books and raise her acting profile, while making friends with Tom and Katie and counting her calorie intake.
Instead, there was a flash of the ring – reported to cost €30,000, although Byrne says that price tag is a media invention (“the only person who knows is Brian and he ain’t telling”) – and a grin, and Amy and Brian went back to their lives and out of the public eye. “He’s back training and she’s back in The Clinic next month,” says Byrne.
Those of you who were hoping for a “Bramy” reality show (yes, attempts have already been made to amalgamate their names a la Brangelina), a fashion range or, at the very least, a glossy magazine spread of the happy couple frolicking on Sandymount strand may be sorely disappointed. This ain’t no airbrushed love affair, but a real-life romance, and Huberman only further distances herself from Waggery by managing to retain an identity of her own.
In fact, her career has a greater chance of longevity than that of her fiance, so chances are he’s the one who’ll be needing an acronym as they face their future together. Amy Huberman’s Husband — Ahh. Now that’s more like it.