The Price of Dating a Football Star:
Why Ester Expósito Can't Win

Paris Fashion Week may be over, but the spotlight on Kylian Mbappé and Ester Expósito is far from fading. What started as relationship rumours during fashion's busiest week has turned into an ongoing paparazzi obsession, with every public appearance becoming a new headline and, apparently, another opportunity for unsolicited opinions.

This Years PFW didn’t just bring new collections onto the runways. It also drew journalists, fashionistas and celebrities into the city to watch from the front row. Where celebrities gathered, paparazzi followed, and every appearance became a potential headline. Among them: Kylian Mbappé and Ester Expósito. And while Fashion Week has long been over, the attention surrounding the two hasn't faded. Since rumours of their relationship began circulating, they have attracted plenty of paparazzi attention. And apparently, even more unsolicited opinions.

A famous Spanish actress and a world-famous soccer player. Sounds like a perfect power couple, right? Looking at the comment sections under paparazzi shots on social media, it becomes clear that not everyone agrees, to put it mildly. The target? Ester, of course. Need examples? Just take a look at the comments under a recent paparazzi video of the two entering a nightclub in Paris. “Who does she think she is?” one user asks, “She seems like a bitch” writes another. The comment “She thinks the paparazzi are there for her” has received nearly 400 likes. This comment really sums it up: “Thank you Mbappé, without you, not even my mother knew who I am”. 

Might be a good time to mention her 25 million followers on Instagram, who do know who she is – and knew exactly who she was long before Mbappé entered the picture. Yet her Instagram comment sections are increasingly filled with references to Mbappé, speculation about their relationship and, of course, plenty of unsolicited criticism. An actress with an established career, suddenly reduced to someone's girlfriend. And not even in a particularly flattering way.

Let's check his account. Well… not a hint of hate. Funny how that works.

The saddest part of it? Plenty of the hardworking commenters are women. Wasn’t women supporting women supposed to be a thing by now? Apparently not here. Is this really just jealousy over someone dating their favourite footballer? Or are we looking at something much more familiar: the tendency to judge women for the relationships they're in. Let's take a look at another paparazzi moment. 

Ester and Kylian in a Messika jewelry store in Paris. And apparently, the internet has already decided what's happening: “he's buying her diamonds”. One user writes, “That is what she wanted from the beginning.” Another agrees: “charging her monthly premium membership”. Because apparently, when a woman dates a wealthy man, love is never the obvious explanation. Money is.

To all the haters: They actually went into the Messika store because Ester has worked with the jewellery brand for many years and just sat in the front row at Messika's fashion show. Besides, it’s not as if she couldn’t afford a piece of Messika jewelry herself. Let's not forget that she's a successful actress with a career and income of her own.

But sure, she's just taking advantage of his millions. Bullshit.

The question is, would people react the same way if it were the other way around? If Ester had Kylian’s net worth? And Ester is hardly the first woman to face public scrutiny for dating a footballer.

Sadly, that’s kind of part of the deal for many footballers’ wives or girlfriends, and somehow, it always seems to be the woman whose reputation suffers. 

Thankfully, not everyone on the internet seems to have forgotten who Ester Expósito is. There is a world beyond soccer fandom, where Ester is the power-part of the couple. Ever thought about that? In that world, she’s the star dating some French player. Some commenters point out how lucky Mbappé is to be dating a woman like her.

Most importantly: let them be. And let women date whoever they want without being painted as parasites. 

by Felicitas Wieder