'Really overwhelming' - Lionesses icon Mary Earps responds to backlash over 'distorted' Hannah Hampton and Sarina Wiegman comments

Her comments about former team-mate Hampton and England manager Wiegman caused a storm from fans online, as well as Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor. Extracts released to the Guardian included Earps’ claim that she told the Lionesses boss that she was rewarding "bad behaviour" by recalling Hampton to the national squad after previously dropping her for being "disruptive and unreliable". Blues boss Bompastor defended Hampton, saying the goalkeeper had shown class and that she believed Earps had disrespected Wiegman's authority.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Earps said: "It’s been really overwhelming to see how some things have been distorted a little bit. I’ve not written this book to tear anyone down in any shape or form. That is not who I am as a person. This is real life. It has consequences. It isn’t a drama. Women’s football has entered into a space that has become a bit like entertainment, so your life gets picked apart for people’s amusement sometimes. But it’s not amusing, you know?

"I don’t think I’ve thought about what I wanted the reaction to be. I’m not surprised, by what I’ve seen on my algorithms [on social media], if I had come to the same conclusions as other people if I’m honest. But that’s not what I feel I’ve written. I don’t think it’s a fair reflection and I think it’s been taken out of the entirety of the context. I speak about so many different things and it’s hard to see only certain things being pulled out and really focused on."

Earps, now playing for Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Manchester United in 2024, retired from international duty before Euro 2025 after facing competition from Hampton for the No.1 spot. In her book, the goalkeeper discussed losing her place, going on to describe how that strained her relationship with Wiegman. She added: "There were things that happened in the summer that I wish had happened differently, of course. There’s an exchange at the end where she says we’re like family. I hope the noise of this situation hasn’t changed that."

The 32-year-old said she does not regret any of her choices: "Hindsight is a beautiful thing and I would maybe do things differently with the information I have now, but I don’t think I have regrets. Regrets are hard because they’re outcome-driven. You can be a hero in one person’s eyes and a villain in another’s. If you do things with integrity and the right intentions then I don’t think you should have regrets in life, no matter what the outcome is."

While a lot of the drama surrounding Earps focuses on her comments towards Hampton and Wiegman, the former Red Devil also opened up on several other important topics, including her experiences of bullying at school. Earps admitted she often felt disliked and withdrawn in group environments, which led to anxiety and panic attacks. She also revealed that during the Covid pandemic she turned to alcohol and restricted her diet to cope with depression and body image struggles.

"It was definitely conscious. For as long as I can remember, aside from the last few years where I’ve had a much healthier relationship with food, I’ve always felt like I wasn’t slim enough or athletic enough," she said. "I was told I wasn’t strong enough or fast enough and my body fat was too high. To a certain point that’s OK as I’m an athlete - it comes with the territory. But it’s not nice when you’re not comfortable in your own skin to have your fat pinched and told you need to bring it down a bit. I can remember being really young and just not liking what I looked like."

As her career progressed, Earps said the spotlight only intensified those pressures: "You’re in a room getting all these photos taken and you think ‘that was a horrible angle’. The way you look aesthetically and fuelling as an athlete are two conflicting ideals. That’s hard for anybody in the limelight."

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