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Real life of Arsenal’s Declan Rice: Childhood sweetheart, Irish heritage and pre-match meal

England's Declan Rice with friends and family following defeat in the FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final match.
-Credit: (Image: Adam Davy/PA Wire.)


Declan Rice has had quite a few years. Since making a breakthrough into the West Ham first team in the 2017/18 season, the midfielder has not looked back.

He played a total of 245 times for the Hammers before making the £100 million move to Arsenal last summer. At just 25-years-old he is a key part of Mikel Arteta’s side who have been pushing Man City all the way for the Premier League title.

He will hope to help the Gunners go one better this time around. But it’s not just the domestic stage where he has had an impact with the midfielder earning over 50 caps for England too.

The Three Lions take on the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League on Saturday. The game will give him the chance to earn his 59th international cap for England.

Eyes will be on the midfielder, given his past connection with the Irish team. Here is a closer look at Rice’s life off the pitch and what makes him the player he is.

Rice’s Irish heritage

Rice was born in Kingston Upon Thames in January 1995. He is the youngest of three children, with Conor and Jordan his older brothers, who he credits with helping him get into football.

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Rice’s mother is Stephanie and his father Sean, who became his agent in 2020. The midfielder’s Irish heritage comes from both his mother’s and father’s side with Sean’s parents moving to England from County Cork.

That heritage led to Rice representing Ireland in three friendlies in 2018, but he switched allegiances to England in 2019. In a statement released on social media, Rice said: "This has been an extremely difficult decision and, in all honesty, not one I ever expected to be making at this stage of my career. So much has happened, so quickly, in the past couple of years, from progressing through the West Ham United Academy to making my Premier League debut at the age of 18 in May 2017 and then being named in a full international squad just two days later.

"In recent weeks and months, I have discussed the situation with the people who mean the most to me. My parents, my family, my girlfriend and my closest friends. I have also spoken to Martin O’Neill and Mick McCarthy, Gareth Southgate and to friends and colleagues within the game whose opinion I respect. I am truly grateful for the support I have received in leading to this decision."

Speaking about the transfer, Rice’s dad said: "I'm very Irish, my mum and dad were very Irish and Declan grew up in an Irish/English environment as a lot of people from London do. And so at the end of the day he had to make a choice and I have to support my son."

Childhood sweetheart girlfriend

Rice has been with his long-term girlfriend Lauren Fryer since the two were teenagers back in 2015. The couple have a son named Jude, who was born in August 2022.

Lauren is frequently seen in the stands supporting Rice and was there during the whole of 2024, with Jude. The couple also have a dog called Raffa

Sadly, she was forced to delete all of her posts from her Instagram account last year after being targeted by trolls. She is yet to become active again on her account.

Early years

Writing for the official England website in November 2022, Rice recalled his early memories of playing football.

"There’s pictures of me at home in the garden with snow and rain coming down, wearing a nappy and pelting the ball as soon as I could walk at two years old," he wrote. "I just always had a ball to hand or foot, whether it was a tennis ball, a basketball or a football, I was always picking it up and smashing it, so I think my parents knew from that point what I wanted to do."

He added: "I’m the youngest of three brothers, Connor and Jordan were both quite a bit older than me, so growing up I was always wanting to play with them and their groups of friends. When I was six or seven, I’d be going to play with them at five-a-side and I remember dribbling around all their mates who couldn’t believe it, for a young kid to be doing that to them."

Pre-match meal & hobbies

Speaking to British GQ in November 2022, Rice revealed his set pre-match meal: "On game day, whether we've got a 12pm kick off or an 8pm kick off, I eat about four hours before, and I always have sea bass and rice. Always," he said. "A little bit of sea bass, and a big plate of rice.

"I used to have chicken and pasta but I felt really heavy and stodgy so after chatting with my nutritionist I switched to sea bass and rice. I've been having that for the past year and a half, and it hasn't gone too badly, so I'll be sticking with it."

He also revealed how he relaxes away from the pitch: "To unwind, I play golf. I play as much as I can," he said.

"It's such a good three or four hours away from the football pitch. I’ll play with mates from outside of football, my brothers, my dad, whoever is free.

"It’s competitive for sure, but you also have a great laugh. I also like playing darts, pool, PlayStation, and taking the dog for a walk. I'm always busy to be fair, never stuck for something to do, always active. It's good for the mind I think.

"Also mate, my golf's unreal. I might get on the tour and give it a go one day, I know a few footballers have tried and failed, but who knows. Maybe pool too. I play a lot of pool, maybe I'll become the O'Sullivan of pool."