After nearly five years of marriage to Australian cricketer Ben Cutting, sports presenter Erin Holland has opened up on being labelled a “WAG”, describing the term as “derogatory”.
During a podcast, the Sydney-based television host explained that the term — an acronym for wives and girlfriends of athletes and professionals — is often used in a demeaning context, which she said was “really disappointing”.
“It is used often in a slightly derogatory sense,” Holland said, adding that the label reduces women to their partner’s identity rather than recognising their own careers.
She questioned the relevance and intent of the label and admitted it continued to frustrate her. “It does frustrate me only because it is being used in that context,” she said, noting that the label tends to define women solely by their relationships.
Holland, who, according to her, was in a long-distance marriage with Cutting, takes the title as a “sort of slap”, saying it lingers regardless of professional achievements. “You never seem to shake it, no matter what you do, how long you’ve worked in an industry.”
Highlighting the personal challenges of her marriage, Holland said she spends four nights a week working in Sydney and flies to Brisbane every weekend to be with her husband.
“The only time Ben and I have ever lived together longer than two or three weeks at a time [was during Covid],” the former Miss World Australia winner said, adding: “It's been a long-distance marriage for almost five years.”
