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Welsh rugby star Gwen Crabb has powered through some trying times and battled back to World Cup form – and we meet some of the other women showing that ‘strong is beautiful’

As rugby player Gwen Crabb gears up for her second Women’s Rugby World Cup, the battle means even more to her this time around. In an exclusive shoot, the 26-year-old admits that a raft of injuries had pushed her close to quitting – but now the Swansea-born Welsh international is carving out a new chapter in her career.

“I’ve had a rough couple of years,” she tells us. “I’ve been injured on-and- off since the last World Cup, so to feel good means everything.” Gwen, who also plays for Gloucester-Hartpury in the Premier 15s, was thrilled to wriggle out of her rugby kit and glam up for our shoot. “It was like a childhood dream,” she laughs. “The next day I was like, ‘What do you mean there’s nobody to do my hair and make-up?’”

Gwen has been readying herself for the World Cup for months. “Everything I’ve done for the last year has been geared towards this — not just training but decisions around alcohol and my social life,” she says.

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Playing in Australia recently helped with her preparations. “We’ve bonded as a team. Being together 24/7 you find out things about each other, and getting your kit on for the first time always feels like Christmas Day,” she says.

The Lionesses’ historic victory last month was an inspiration to her, too.

“Seeing women’s sport grow and witnessing England win the Euros again is inspiring. Rugby is a few years behind football but, hopefully, we can have similar impact and inspire young girls. That’s what pushes me through the darkest moments.”

Gwen’s bleakest days followed a series of injuries which hit her mentally, too. “I broke my ankle after the last World Cup, then ruptured my ACL [the anterior cruciate ligament] in my first game back. I struggled. There was a lot of, ‘Why me?’”

She continued, “But gradually I flipped the narrative and saw there was lots outside of rugby that I could do, like spending time with family. I was in a new relationship too, so there were positives.”

However, when she returned to the game, her woes continued. She says, “It felt alien, like I’d lost my identity. I’d shifted too far away from rugby and then I got injured again and was off for another five months.”

As things came to a head she recalls, “This time last year I thought, ‘Is this it?’ I was getting home from training and crying to my boyfriend, but I knew I had more to give. Coaches, teammates and family support got me through it. I could have quit, but I didn’t.”

Gwen also attributes her fighting spirit to rugby player boyfriend Harry, who she met 18 months ago while watching him at the Dubai Sevens.

“Harry’s a physio and a massive part of my support system,” she says. “He understands the game so I can rant to him about rugby or not talk about it at all. He gets the sacrifices I have to make. It’s lovely to have someone like that in your corner.”

So could Harry be The One? “Well, he’ll have to pop the question, won’t he?” she giggles. “But yes, I think so.”

As part of the Strong Minds, Strong Hearts campaign, Gwen feels strongly about girls’ body image, and admits she wasn’t always comfortable in her own skin.

“When I was 15, I was obsessed with how I looked. I was never a girlie girl so I struggled with whether I should wear make-up or do my hair a certain way.

“I trained too much and didn’t eat enough. I was trying to get the ‘thigh gap’, which was all the rage among fitness influencers. I had body dysmorphia and, though I’d lost three stone, I saw someone three stone heavier.”

Thankfully, rugby helped change her perceptions. She says, “Being heavier has helped me play better and I respect how strong my body is. But I still see a lot of girls like 15-year-old me out there and I want to change that.”

With rugby stars like Thom Evans and Austin Healey previously taking part in Strictly Come Dancing, and Chris Robshaw joining the 2025 line-up, would Gwen consider hitting the dance floor one day?

“Oh, 100%,” she smiles. “I might be a bit rusty but I danced and did a bit of musical theatre as a kid.”

She adds, “Anything that gets eyes on women’s sport is amazing, so I’d love to get a sparkly dress and the fake tan on!”

* Everybody belongs in sport. Join the conversation at #StrongBodiesStrongMinds #WhereWeBelong #RWC2025

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Despite all the split rumours, Katie Price needs her MAFS boyfriend JJ Slater more than ever as she comes under fire in a bitter feud with her famous exes, a source reveals

Feeling like the world is against her, under-attack Katie Price is said to be desperate for boyfriend JJ Slater to stay loyal to her. The mum-of-five, 47, has been dogged by controversy in recent weeks and apparently feels that JJ, 32, is one of the few people who has her back. And with split rumours swirling, a source says Katie is determined to keep the relationship on track.

“It’s been a really difficult time for Katie, and she’s been telling people she won’t let JJ betray her too,” a source says. “The last thing she needs is a break-up, with everything else that’s going on. JJ has always been dependable, and she’s realised that a good relationship doesn’t have all the arguing and drama, so she needs him now more than ever.”

Katie and Married At First Sight UK star JJ started dating in February 2024, and she once called him “my absolute everything” on social media. She also told Paul C Brunson on his We Need To Talk podcast in May that “JJ is the most kind, genuine, easygoing, chilled person”.

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Last summer there was speculation over a possible engagement when Katie was seen sporting a huge diamond ring on her left hand. But more recently the couple have been dogged by break-up rumours, and last month it was reported that JJ had given their relationship an “ultimatum” to force Katie to “sort her finances”.

Earlier in the summer, a source claimed Katie was “bored” with him. Rumours were also sparked in May when she deleted all traces of him from her Instagram page.

But with so much on her plate, Katie is said to be desperate for the romance to work out. Our source adds, “She feels like it’s her against the world at the moment, so she needs JJ on her side. She can’t let him leave her too. Katie feels under siege with everything that’s happened recently, she’s really in the firing line. She feels bullied and ganged up on, so she needs JJ’s support now more than ever.”

Katie, who has been married three times, once described the men in her life as her biggest “downfall”. Her relationship with footballer Dwight Yorke ended before the birth of their son Harvey, now 23, with Dwight initially denying paternity.

Years later, she divorced her third husband, builder Kieran Hayler, after he cheated on her. Then last year, her former fiancé Carl Woods opened up to the press about their turbulent relationship, prompting Katie’s representatives to accuse the car dealer of “cashing in” on her.

Earlier this summer, Katie was said to be heartbroken after being excluded from daughter Princess’ ITV2 reality series The Princess Diaries, saying the situation left her feeling “insulted”. She also claimed she had been prevented from appearing in the series by Princess’ management – who also represent her first husband, Peter Andre.

But singer Pete – who has two children, Princess, 18, and Junior, 20, with Katie – hit back, accusing Katie of spreading “lies and baseless accusations” over their children’s welfare and living arrangements. Taking to social media, Peter, 52, fumed, “For sixteen years, I have stayed silent in the face of repeated lies from my ex-wife and her family, out of respect for my children and loved ones, but staying silent has been incredibly frustrating. That ends today.”

A day later, Katie issued her own lengthy Instagram post in which she admitted she is a “sinner” and referred to a “fake saint”, which many believed was referencing Peter.

Adding salt to her wounds, Katie’s second husband, Alex Reid, last week leaked a video of her with a bundle of cash – while bankrupt. In the video, believed to be from 2020, she said she was “enjoying counting” the pile of money, saying, “There’s loads here. I’m just sorting it out.”

In the clip, Katie was asked by Princess if she would help pay her and her brother’s school fees, but she replied, “Your dad can sit on that,” before lifting her middle finger. She added, “Does he go on about it a lot? Well it’s tough because I’m in bankruptcy to next May now.”

Alex, 50, who was married to Katie for two years, was said to be “spearheading the campaign to expose the truth” about his ex-wife’s financial situation. But Katie issued a statement saying the cash wasn’t hers and she fully complied with the bankruptcy trustee’s investigations.

Surrounded by so much strife, Katie is hoping that she can rely on JJ in the coming weeks. Our source adds, “Some of her exes have really gone for her, with a lot of support behind them, too. Yes, she’s got close family to look out for her, but no one would deal well with being the target of a ‘campaign’ to bring them down.”

However, those close to JJ are also said to be concerned about him. “There have always been people in JJ’s life who have worried about his relationship with Katie, because he’s so young. They don’t want him to get caught up in all this, especially because it seems to be snowballing. It’s a lot for someone to deal with, especially someone as gentle as JJ.”

With Katie’s nationwide tell-all tour with Kerry Katona beginning next month, the two pals will certainly have plenty to speak about…

As silence reportedly continues between brothers William and Harry, a leading royal expert has revealed the one rule Harry must follow if he wants to reconcile with the royal family

It’s been three years since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex walked side by side with the Prince and Princess of Wales, and things between the estranged couples are worse than ever, an expert reveals. The once close foursome were last photographed together on a walkabout outside Windsor Castle, looking incredibly sombre as they examined some of the many tributes left for Queen Elizabeth after her death on 8 September 2022.

At the time, the joint appearance was described as an “olive branch” from William to Harry, who had packed his bags and waved goodbye to the UK, and his official role as a working royal, two years earlier. But with the string of betrayals and explosive bombshells that have been dropped in the three years since, the situation between them is the worst it’s ever been, according to former royal editor Duncan Larcombe.

“There’s no doubt the feud between them is worse than ever, so much has happened and there has been so much betrayal and fury,” he tells the Mirror. “The longer they don’t speak, the deeper the feud will get.”

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And while time is usually a healer, Duncan claims this doesn’t apply in the case of Harry, Meghan, William and Kate. There is one glimmer of hope though, in the shape of Harry’s upcoming trip to the UK.

As Patron of the WellChild charity, which supports young people with serious health needs across the country, he is expected to fly into the capital – without Meghan – to attend the charity’s 20th annual Awards ceremony at the end of September. In a video posted on WellChild’s website, Harry invites people “join us” in celebrating some unsung heroes, adding, “It is a true privilege to honour the bravery and compassion of this incredible community.”

Rumours of a possible UK meet-up with Charles, 76, first ramped up after a private meeting between close aides from the two sides earlier this summer. According to Duncan, a meeting with the King might be the only opportunity Harry has to inch open the door for him and Meghan to be allowed back into the family fold.

“From what I’ve heard, Harry is quite keen to see his father. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen. But him coming over to England is at least a chance for them to meet, and start the process of trying to build bridges.

“It would have to be done in absolute private, behind closed doors, because there’s simply been too much played out in public, and that has to end if anything is to be repaired.”

While Harry’s relationship with his big brother is by far the most fractured, Duncan suspects William is unlikely to stand in the way of a father-son reunion. He adds, “The royal family needs to be united. They need to be seen as kind of figureheads of British society, and a division is not good whatsoever. King Charles will make his own decisions, and William would not be able to tell the King what to do.”

Reflecting on how Harry found himself in the difficult position with his family, Duncan said: “Their Oprah Winfrey interview was the first big blow, so to speak, because it showed that Harry and Meghan were prepared to speak about the royals, particularly Charles and William, in a way one would never expect from another family member.

“Then Harry’s book, Spare, was incredibly damaging and made William furious because of the betrayal of family secrets. “So now Harry and Meghan have carved out their own existence in California, but they’re doing it for cash and to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, all that time in those same three years, William and Kate have been busy with duty, and haven’t cashed in on their status.”

The now infamous Windsor walkabout saw William, 43, and Harry, 40, walk together with their wives on either side, all dressed in black or navy, before splitting off and chatting separately to the crowd.

They reunited again for the funeral, with the brothers walking behind the late Queen’s coffin with their father, but Meghan, 44, and Kate travelled to the church in separate cars, and didn’t appear to chat to each other before, during or after the service.

And while the Sussexes have spilled plenty of beans about the Windsors in Harry’s biography, and in their Netflix series Harry & Meghan, it has been total radio silence from team Windsor. According to Duncan, who spent more than 20 years covering the goings on inside the palace walls, the lack of public acknowledgement from William speaks volumes.

He said: “He hasn’t said a single word about his brother publicly in the time since their grandmother’s death, which is a sign that frankly, the situation at the moment is just dire.

“Harry said in an interview at the start of this year that the ball was now effectively in William’s court, in terms of triggering any changes in their relationship. But I’m not sure that’s how William sees it, I think the apologies need to come from Harry not William’s side.

“And even if Harry manages to get things back on track, there’s Meghan to think of too. Meghan’s priorities are in America with her children and her business, they don’t include the UK or Harry’s family over here. She has made that very clear.”

All eyes are back on Meghan this week with the release of series two of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, which dropped on 26 August. Products from her lifestyle brand, As Ever, were expected to feature heavily as the streaming service is already plugging her range alongside a set of ‘How To’ guides from series one.

Meanwhile, the anniversary of the Queen’s death will be a “poignant time for the whole family”, Duncan adds, and individual royals will no doubt mark it privately, “in their own way”.

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