Niall Quinn is one of Ireland's most renowned footballers having huge success with UK teams such as Arsenal and Sunderland as well as being a star during Jack Charlton's Ireland era.
But who is his biggest supporter, his wife Gillian? Niall has often sung Gillian's praises, and as it turns out, he was instantly won over by her.
The couple met when he was just 23 and she was only 18 but Gillian made him work for her attention - and rightly so!
How did they meet?
Gillian Roe, from Rathfarnham, Dublin, first locked eyes on her future husband when she was working as a model and taking part in a photocall for Ballygowan at Dalymount Park.
By chance, the Irish team was at Dalymount Park training for Italia '90. Gillian noticed that Niall kept kicking the ball over in her direction but ignored him, which resulted in a bit of teasing from his teammates and made him even more determined to win her attention.
After the World Cup, Niall and David O'Leary were dispatched to the RDS for the Motor Show as Opel was sponsoring the Irish team. Gillian and another model were also working on the stand that day, and the four of them had great fun.
'I thought Gillian was strikingly beautiful, but I liked the fact that she didn't really give a sh**e what I did' Niall told the Independent. 'Any attempt I made to boast or push what I did was met with 'whatever''
Niall invited Gillian to a match the following week, but she refused, telling him that she'd already been asked out for dinner that night.
While she wasn't giving in too easily, she did like the footballer. 'Having worked in bars and nightclubs, I was sick of men who were full of crap,' she said.
Gillian added: 'When I met Niall, I thought that he was someone who did have something to brag about, but he didn't show off. He was very humble and shy and friendly and affable'.
Niall was also won over by Gillian's mature attitude. He said: 'Gillian was far more mature than I was. I was just a kid really. She was 18 going on 30, and I was 23, still waiting for my 18th.'
Moving to England and getting engaged... quickly!
Niall was based in England at the time as he had signed a contract with Arsenal on his 17th birthday while Gillian was combining her modelling career with working in coffee shops and nightclubs. Then, just as she started becoming in high demand for TV ads, she moved to England to be with Niall.
'He snatched me just when I had potential,' she told the Independent with a laugh. 'We lived in sin, but luckily for our souls and our mothers, Niall proposed two weeks after I arrived, so that made it all legit'.
Chatting to EVOKE in 2023, Gillian said that while she was young, getting engaged was normal at the time. She said: 'That was football, it was the done thing. Most footballers marry young and that was the world we were in. There were football managers at the time who used to encourage players to marry young because they thought it would kind of settle them down a bit.'
Family Life
Niall and Gillian married in 1992 when Gillian was 20. She stopped modelling then, as Niall was away so much, and they would never have seen one another.
Their daughter Aisling was born in 1994, and their son Mikey joined the family in 1997.
In July 2024, the family had another wedding to celebrate as Aising tied the knot with her love Jamie in the picturesque town of Cognac in the South of France at the Restore The Chateau.
Niall was every inch the proud dad as he walked his daughter down the aisle, with Aisling telling EVOKE that the lead-up to the day had been emotional, with Niall crying when he first saw her in her dress.
And 33 years on, Niall and Gillian are still all loved up, with the former footballer posting a picture of their wedding day on his Instagram.
'33 years married today. Happy Anniversary, our Gillo, love you...' wrote Niall.
Life after retirement
In 2002, Niall hung up his boots in favour of a punditry career and entrepreneurship which has included starting a business with his daughter.
Gillian spoke in 2021 about how she and Niall struggled with their relationship after he retired from the game. 'Our marriage definitely suffered as a result,' she admitted to RSVP.
The change in their family dynamic prompted Gillian to go back to education and study for her PhD. She got her honours degree in psychology degree from The Open University in Northern Ireland in 2018.
Niall also continued his education after football and in 2022 fulfilled his promise to his mammy by earning his Master's.
