Explainers

IN January 2024, the wife of footballer Kyle Walker revealed that the pair had called time on their marriage.Here we take a look into the life of Annie Kilner, the reason behind their separation, and the children they share.
Kyle Walker and Annie Kilner pictured in 2018
Who is Kyle Walker’s wife Annie Kilner?
Annie Kilner and Kyle Walker started dating in their teens.
The brunette beauty said: “When we started going out it was love at first sight.”
They were together for over nine years before splitting in May 2019, after reality star Laura Brown opened up about romps in Walker’s £200k Bentley.
After splitting from Kilner in 2019, the England ace was embroiled in a number of steamy encounters – culminating in a coronavirus lockdown sex party with two sex workers in April 2020.
Walker then became a dad for the fourth time after a short-term relationship with Lauryn Goodman.
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Annie branded him “gutless” after he broke the news over the phone.
Brave Annie told a friend: “He’s a fool for risking his family for this.
“When he told me I was heartbroken. I also felt physically sick. All the air in your body leaves you.
“My world completely caved in on me in that second.
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“It was the worst-case scenario, the one thing I dreaded most but knew was possible, given his track record with women.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not only had he cheated on me but she was pregnant with his baby.”
In 2020, Annie told SunSport: “Kyle says he wants his future with me and the kids. He wants to marry me but he’s caused a lifetime of damage. But when you have children they come first.
“My kids want their daddy. Until you’re in this situation you don’t know what you’d do.”
And SunSport revealed how Annie held secret talks with lawyers over a share of Walker’s £30million fortune.
Despite the challenges in their relationship, Walker and Kilner put their troubles behind them and got married at the beginning of 2022 after the England star proposed with a £250,000 engagement ring.
In March 2023, the pair were spotted kissing in public, with life seemingly back to normal.
However, that same month, Walker was seen dancing with another woman on a night out, suggesting that the couple were not as happily married as they seemed.
Have Kyle Walker and Annie Kilner split up?
In January 2024, Kilner revealed that the pair had called time on their marriage.
A statement from Kilner shared to social media read: “I am posting this in response to growing recent media enquiries about my marriage to Kyle and in an effort to protect my family against the intensity of the media spotlight.
“Sadly, after many years of marriage and three wonderful children together, I have decided to take some time away from Kyle.
“I do not wish to comment on the position any further. For now, I ask that the privacy of myself and our three young children is respected during this difficult time.”
On January 11, 2024, The Sun exclusively revealed that Walker was dumped after his wife confronted him over claims he’d fathered a second child with model Lauryn Goodman.
The influencer also has a three-year-old son with Walker, from a brief relationship while he and Annie were apart.
The Sun was told of how she has booted out the England ace – and how her fuming dad has also begged her not to go back to the footballer, or he will disown her.
Lauryn became pregnant three months after a secret rendezvous with Walker in London and gave birth to a girl in July last year.
Sources say Annie was “floored” after receiving a message on Boxing Day which made the same claim.
Lauryn, 32, told her: “I don’t have two baby daddies. I have one.”
She then forwarded a photo of Kyle secretly enjoying a playdate with their two children in a park.
The source added: “He’d humiliated her once and now Annie suspected he’d done it again with the same woman.
“It came out of the blue, it couldn’t have been a worse time.”
Following the statement, Annie has privately vowed to proceed with a divorce and has even hired Coleen Rooney’s victorious Wagatha Christie lawyer, Paul Lunt.
Sources said Kyle and Annie’s marriage had been on the rocks in the months after Lauryn gave birth and that the latest scandal is the “final straw”.
Walker is now living in a rented apartment nearby.
He apologised to Annie last week after she confirmed she was “taking time away”.
The post read: “Annie is an amazing woman and I can only apologise for the upset I’ve caused her.
“She’s been part of my life for so long and that will never change for the sake of our children.
“I would ask for privacy for all of our family, and especially our young children, whilst we work through these difficult times.”
It comes as Lauryn spoke in an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday, and said she revealed the truth so they could all “live their lives like adults”.
Revealing why she delivered the news to Annie over Christmas, Lauryn said: ‘’I kept saying to Kyle, ‘You need to tell Annie that you are our daughter’s father and you’re having a relationship with your children.
“We need to start 2024 out in an open way. If everyone knows where they stand. they can make their own adult choices in life.”
Lauryn said she did not want to cause “any more heartache” for Annie but said Kyle was too weak to tell the truth.
She added: “I didn’t want them to split up but it had to be out in the open for all of our sakes.”
A source insisted Kyle was never in a relationship with Lauryn.
Do Kyle Walker and Annie Kilner have any children?
Annie and Kyle have three sons together: Roman, Riaan, and Reign.
Annie had expressed that she’d quite like a girl, telling OK! Magazine: “I really want a little girl. I love my boys, but I’d really like a daughter as I’m outnumbered in this house.”
In 2020 Annie revealed that she suffered a miscarriage.
Is Annie Kilner pregnant?
On January 15, 2024, The Sun exclusively revealed that Walker met with his estranged wife Annie Kilner – who is six months pregnant with their fourth child.
The pair were pictured together for the first time since the split as Annie handed over their eldest son Roman Kyle, in Prestbury, Cheshire.
Annie, who was not wearing her wedding band, is due in March and gave a glimpse of her bump.
A source confirmed to The Sun: “Annie is six months pregnant with their fourth child. It should be a time of great joy and excitement.
“Instead, she’s struggling greatly with the fall-out from his latest sex scandal.
“She’s understandably fragile but doing everything to protect her children and prepare for the arrival of their fourth.
“To his credit, Kyle is trying to put on a united front to limit the damage they have been exposed to.
“It’s a little bit too late, but he’s trying.”
The source said Annie told only a handful of friends and family about the pregnancy and was desperate to keep it quiet.
They added: “She was distraught after speculation emerged at the weekend.
“It’s every woman’s right to be able to announce they’re expecting — not someone else.
“She was deeply hurt by what was said, especially at a time when her world is currently in free fall.”
The source also denied claims Kyle was kicked out five months ago, and said he was given his marching orders after Lauryn told Annie the truth. More