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The former FAI chief John Delaney’s lifelong lover told how she left him because she could no longer live with her ego.
Emma English decided to pack her bags and leave the globe-trotting soccer boss a year before her empire collapsed around her.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the end of the five-year romance, she told the Irish Mirror: “My life with John was far from luxurious. The money you spent on your FAI credit card was not on me.
“I was more like Cinderella, I spent most of my time taking care of my own children and running in a tracksuit.
“The money he won, he didn’t give me.
“I bought most of my clothes at Dunnes and Penneys, there were no Versace dresses or Gucci bags.”
The former model recounted how she stood alongside Delaney, 52, as he moved up the corporate sports ladder.
She revealed, “I’m lucky to have spent so much of my working life in fashion, so I had a keen eye for style and no matter where we went, I always made sure to rock a million dollars.
“Yes, I helped him move up the UEFA ladder and went to several meetings with him in the same hotel room.
“But no money was spent on me at exotic spas, I can assure you.
“My life with him was very simple and normal. Yes, John paid
food and fuel, but that was it.
“I bought my own clothes, not the FAI, and I think it is very important for the public to know.”
Since the couple separated more than two years ago, they have only spoken a handful of times, even after the shocking death of Amy, Emma’s 21-year-old daughter, in a car accident last June.
(Image: © INPHO / James Crombie)
She said: “John had nothing to do with Amy, she was not part of his life.
“To be perfectly honest, I’m sick of hearing about John Delaney, he has absolutely nothing to do with my life anymore.”
Emma did not see the two documentaries about his rise and fall as FAI executive director and said she couldn’t care less.
She added: “It really doesn’t bother me if I never hear her name again.
“I know he is under investigation for his time at the head of the FAI but all that has nothing to do with it.
with me.
“As far as John is concerned, he is the victim and the whole world is trying to get him.
“I can’t say more than that and I know a new life is being made in England.”
Emma said she fell madly in love with the soft-spoken executive when she met him at an event at Citywest in 2014.
It was love at first sight for both of them and they lived together in no time. They got engaged in New York in 2017.
The former model became a celebrity overnight, being photographed with Delaney in the VIP box at home matches in Ireland and kissing in public like they were school children.
He added that he found all the people he met across the country in the FAI and the soccer community to be very decent and friendly.
However, in their final months together, their relationship changed and Emma decided she had had enough.
She revealed, “It was really hard to do because I loved him, but I literally decided one morning that I had enough of this and I’m leaving here.
“He couldn’t handle his ego anymore so I packed my bags and left and that was the end.”
The death of her daughter has broken Emma’s heart, but she must remain strong for her other three children.
Now they are the priority in his life and he also has a new job that he loves.
She said: “As far as I’m concerned, John Delaney has nothing to do with me. It’s been two years since we parted company and I’ve moved on. “
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