Leah Williamson has become an admirable representative of the English women’s football scene. Ever since helping the Three Lionesses win the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship, she has seen a stark growth in her popularity.
The Arsenal midfielder, who was appointed the prestigious Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2023, is the current England women’s captain and a leader at the club level too. But Williamson probably couldn’t have achieved all her success without the help of her close ones and some vital teammates. That includes the kind of guidance and help she received from her former Arsenal teammate Alex Scott.
Scott played with Williamson for almost five seasons at Arsenal before her retirement in 2018. With Scott being 12 years older than the midfielder, she helped Leah find her authority at the club and overcome adversity. But it was during their time together at Arsenal that the two became really close buddies who have remained deeply bonded even after Scott finished her playing career.
Even though Alex would go onto pursue a media career, which has seen her be associated with BBC Sport over the years, she has always been the biggest supporter of Williamson. In fact, Alex had noted in an interview in 2022 how vital Scott was in ‘toughening’ her up during their time at North London, revealing: “I had Alex (Scott) next to me in the dressing room. She took me under her wing on both a performance and a personal level. I joke with her now that she was the harshest player on me, but she was!
“She didn’t really ask me to do things nicely. She would say ‘Leah, get up quicker’, it was that sort of thing. Basically, it was telling me ‘this is the standard that we play by, either catch-up quick or you are going to get left behind.”
But despite Alex being quite rough on Williamson during their time together at Arsenal, the two only got closer to each other because of that. The two have managed to maintain an unbreakable bond over all the years and have often seen sticking close to each other in public events or in vacations. Last year itself, the duo attended a number of award shows – including the Brit Awards, the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards and the GQ Men of the Year awards too.
Because of just how ‘close’ they seem to have become in attending events together, some started speculating if the two might be a couple. Scott and Williamson have, of course, been quite open about being homosexuals. They attended the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards as which also celebrates LGBTQ stars. However, despite all the speculation, they are just bestest of friends and nothing more than that.
Scott is actually dating UK singer and songwriter Jess Glynne. Leah, meanwhile, was speculated to have been dating ex-Arsenal teammate Jordan Nobbs – who moved to Aston Villa Ladies last year. But neither have been able to confirm on this yet, especially after Nobbs left North London. When it comes to Williamson and Scott, however, the two are just two close and lovely friends who love to catch up with each other whenever they can.
They also love fooling around, even in public platforms at times. Williamson was comfortable enough to reveal to Scott in an interview with the BBC last year about the reason behind her wardrobe malfunction upon receiving her OBE from Prince William last year. She stated: “The outfit, yeah, my trousers split. I received my OBE not in my best form, but no one knew about it until you just told the whole world, so thanks.”
The two also love to travel around and enjoy holidays whenever they can. In the summer of 2023, Williamson and Scott – alongside England midfield Keira Walsh – all visited Ibiza together for a vacation full of wild partying and enjoying the lovely weather. They also had a crazy time partying in Ibiza, drinking and just having a lot of enjoyable moments in their little vacation period.
Scott might like to make fun of Williamson at times (like the wardrobe malfunction), but she’s mighty proud of the player her ex-junior teammate has become. In an interview with GQ magazine in 2022, she relayed her feelings on Leah and remarked: “I think I speak for everyone in here who hasn’t won the Euros, which is most of us, when I say, you’ve used your time incredibly well so far. I’m talking from the heart because this is one of my best friends. You’re part of a pride of Lionesses who managed to inspire us all to believe it was all coming home, and it certainly did. Above all, everything you do my girl, you do it with such style and grace.”
The former Arsenal buddies seem to be as thick as thieves in terms of their bond off-the-pitch. So even though they not be as ‘close’ as a couple, they’re still loveable ‘besties’ who just absolutely adore hanging around each other as well as supporting one another in their highs and lows.
