NEED TO KNOW
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Rochelle Searight explained on TikTok why so many wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of NFL players are “freaking out” on social media about the start of training camp
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The San Francisco 49ers WAG, who’s married to wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, cited several challenges football partners face that may not be known to the public from the outside
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Searight used a few examples of her own, now that her husband is entering his sixth year in the NFL
Ready, set… training camp!
Rochelle Searight, wife of Brandon Aiyuk of the San Francisco 49ers, broke down on TikTok why so many wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of NFL players are in a “panic” now that football training camp has commenced ahead of the season’s start.
“Why do all the wives and girlfriends [of NFL players] go into a frenzy when their men report for training camp?” she began the clip posted on Wednesday, July 23. “Why is everybody online complaining?”
“Let me give y’all some of these details on training camp and why everybody’s in a panic,” she continued, before citing a few examples from her own experiences having been with an NFL player since at least November 2018, per her Instagram.
Rochelle Searight/instagram
Rochelle Searight and her husband Brandon Aiyuk of the San Fransisco 49ers
Searight noted that her husband, whom she wed in April this year, is entering his sixth year in the NFL. Despite their familiarity with training camp, she said, “every single season has looked different” due to various factors.
“They have to report to work and they have to sleep in their hotel, they have a curfew, and if they leave, they get a huge fine. It’s crazy,” she shared.
“Training camp does last for multiple weeks and the women freak out because — so in my situation, I’m a mother. Now he has to abruptly leave, and [I’m] taking care of my rambunctious four-year-old by myself, who has never slept, and he is off the walls,” she explained.
Searight then explained the difficulties that have to do with housing, pointing out how some WAGs aren’t located in the same areas as their NFL partner’s team, which can make relationships a challenge.
Rochelle Searight/instagram
Rochelle Searight
“For some other people’s situations, they’re not based in the same city that the team plays… and they stay in the Bay just during the season,” she shared. “The wives and girlfriends who are back home now have to get left and [their significant other] have to go report to work, go to camp.”
While Searight says she gets to see her husband “every few days,” she notes how others “don’t get to see their man at all for like weeks.”
The 49ers WAG also emphasized the intensity and instability of minicamp, adding increased pressures and stresses for the couple if it doesn’t go as planned.
Rochelle Searight/instagram
Rochelle Searight and her husband Brandon Aiyuk of the San Fransisco 49ers
“Minicamp is so intense,” she says. “Some of the men are not guaranteed a spot yet, they are fighting for their spot on the team. So if they don’t make this team and they end up on a different team, the family has to pack up and move. It’s just a lot.”
Searight said so many WAGs are turning to social media to cope with the stressful period.
“Abrupt training camp change is no joke, so that’s why you’ll see all of the girlies going crazy online and then social media is a fun way to just distract from that time,” she explained. “So no, our men aren’t our whole personality people. It just gives us a fun thing to look forward to. It’s just content.”
In her TikTok caption, Searight hilariously compared the events that take place during “NFL WAG season” to a hit reality show.
“After ‘Love Island’ comes NFL Wag season. Beware y’all, we’re back. Try not to cringe,” she wrote.
The NFL couple have been dating since they were teenagers, having reportedly first met when Aiyuk was attending college at Arizona State University. When he was drafted to the 49ers in 2020, the pair packed their bags and headed to California’s Bay Area.
The couple also welcomed their son the same year.
Read the original article on People
