Soccer Aid's Alex Scott says 'I felt so awkward' as she opens up about personal struggle
Soccer Aid's Alex Scott says 'I felt so awkward' as she opens up about personal struggle
Alex Scott has opened up about the condition that made her life difficult at school, and how she went on to find success as a footballer and pundit
Alex Scott will be presenting Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2025 alongside Dermot O'Leary
(Image: ©UNICEF/Soccer Aid Productions/Stella Pictures )
Alex Scott is a familiar face to football fans across the UK. Not only has she taken to the pitch as a player for Arsenal — helping them to victories such as the 2006–07 UEFA Women's Cup — she's also the presenter of Football Focus, a mainstay of BBC One's Saturday afternoons.
And in her latest presenting role, Alex will take a pundit's chair at Soccer Aid, alongside co-presenter Dermot O'Leary. Soccer Aid is an annual charity event that sees two teams, made up of celebrities and footballing legends, play against each other to raise money for UNICEF. This year, the England team will take on famous faces including Tyson Fury, Wayne Rooney, Gary Neville, and Vicki McClure on the pitch at Old Trafford.
While Alex may seem the picture of confidence when she is in front of the camera, the presenter has been candid about her difficult upbringing. Speaking to The Big Issue for their regular Letter To My Younger Self feature, Alex revealed: "I struggled with school. I'm dyslexic and it's not that I didn't want to engage, I just found I couldn't express myself.
"So it was easier to remove myself from an environment where I felt so awkward and misunderstood. If I was to do my school years over again, it'd be different because we're now used to people learning in different ways," she added.
Alex had an incredible career at Arsenal before moving into football punditry
(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images )
But despite her struggles, Alex went on to get a degree. She explained: "I never stopped learning, even though I struggled at school. So getting a degree [in professional sports writing and broadcasting] was a proud moment. It was also a way to shut people up because no one can say I don't deserve it or that I'm just ticking a box."
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Alex even went on to write a book without using a ghostwriter, describing the tough process she went through to finish it: "Some chapters I'd be sitting there crying, but then I would shut my laptop and feel free. Getting it all out there in the world was so freeing."
Alex's book gave a candid look at her childhood, discussing her upbringing with a dad she described as abusive. Titled How (Not) to Be Strong, it soon became a bestseller. Alex recalled being a child and hearing her dad being violent towards her mum, writing: "All I could do was lie there and pray my mum would be alive in the morning."
In an interview with the BBC soon after the book's release, she admitted: "It's all still so raw. I can visualise it like it was yesterday.
"Even when my dad left that environment, we never communicated or you don't speak about it, it's like you try to move on with your life and leave that to the side but it never leaves you. That pain and the struggles still continue."
Alex also revealed in 2019 that she received sexist abuse "every single day" on social media, due to her roles as a pundit for the BBC and Sky Sports.
But despite having to overcome many hurdles, Alex now seems to be living her best life.
Alex has been dating singer Jess Glynne since 2023
(Image: Ian West/PA Wire )
She's been romantically linked to singer Jess Glynne, and the pair often appear loved up at red carpet events such as the BRIT Awards.
Alex regularly posts updates of her travels on social media, following the England team and her beloved Arsenal when they play away.
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She's even presented her own football-themed quiz show, The Tournament, and lent her voice as a commentator on the EA Sports game FIFA 22.
Watch Soccer Aid from 6pm tonight on ITV1 - kick-off is at 7.30pm.
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