The wife of a former Premier League star has revealed how he converted to Islam and married another woman to 'live another life' with her in Iran.
A documentary that landed on Netflix this week tells the story ofJlloyd Samuel, who died at the age of 37 in 2018 when his Range Rover collided with a van after he had dropped his children off at school.
The ITV programme, released in 2022 and entitled 'The Footballer, His Wife and the Crash', tells the story of the saga and how Samuel allegedly lived a double life.
Samuel played in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Bolton in the 2000s before leaving for Iran.
In the documentary, his first wife Emma Pritchard claims that Samuel had 'another life' in Iran with a second wife, for whom he converted to Islam to marry in 2013.
Fans have been left stunned by a documentary about ex-Premier League player Jlloyd Samuel (pictured with former wife Emma Pritchard)
Samuel starred for Aston Villa and Bolton in the Premier League in the 2000s but died aged 37 after a car crash
Samuel's £100,000 Range Rover collided with a van as he returned from taking his kids to school in May of 2018
Fans have been left flabbergasted by the revelations in the documentary, which originally aired on ITV in 2022
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'I was trying to grieve my husband and find he has another life. Who is my husband - do I really know him?' she said.
Pritchard had even met the other women on a trip to Dubai, but she had introduced herself as a fortune teller.
This second wife was singerHelia Sahimi, who once called Samuel 'the best husband I could have ever asked for'.
Pritchard, mother of Samuel's three kids, was said to be in shock after learning of their relationship, which he maintained until his death.
'About four weeks after Jlloyd's death, my friend said I've got something to tell you,' she said.
'Jlloyd's got another wife, another woman, and she's just plastered herself all over his Instagram as his wife. I threw up everywhere. I said let me see the Instagram and I looked and said 'oh my god'.'
She went on to admit she was 'obsessed' with the Instagram account of her husband's secret wife, and described finding out about their relationship as a 'stab in the heart'.
'There were even shots of Jlloyd that he'd sent to me on trips to Africa, with crocodiles and then I'd see another picture on Helia'sof her with Jloyd in Africa with the crocodiles.
'It was like a stab in the heart. I'm trying to grieve for my husband and then I find out he's got a full-on other life for seven years. Never ever has he asked me for a divorce.'
Samuel pictured playing against then-Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo for Bolton in 2008
'The Footballer, His Wife, and the Crash' alleges that Samuel lived a double life with a second wife in Iran, where he finished his playing career (pictured with former wife Emma Pritchard)
Following the player's death, a minute's applause was held at Villa Park for their former player before a play-off match
Tributes were left to Samuel at Aston Villa's stadium following his tragic death last year
Emma Pritchard (right) speaks in the documentary about finding out about his other wife
The couple had three children, Javarne, Lakyle, and Amara. Samuel died in 2018
Second wife and singer Helia Sahimi (pictured) called him 'the best husband I could have ever asked for' among a string of posts on her Instagram
'As far as I was concerned we were fine, we were great. The night before he passed away he was swinging me around the kitchen telling me how much he loved me.'
Samuel's sister Leslie-Ann later accused Pritchard of faking the former player's death, despite a coroner ruling the body belonged to the footballer. Samuel was found to have been more than twice the drink-driving limit following an inquest in 2019.
Speaking in the documentary, Sahimi insists she believes Samuel is 'still alive'.
Pritchard runs an Instagram account called @wagtowidow, where she details her grief following her husband's death.
The couple had three children,Javarne, Lakyle, and Amara. Lakyle is a footballer who plays for Manchester City.
The documentary has been widely praised on social media. 'That Jlloyd Samuel Netflix documentary was wild!' wrote one user on X.
'Jlloyd Samuel is no longer here to answer the many questions.. it's a crazy situation,' said one.
'This Jlloyd Samuel documentary on Netflix quickly gets bizarre and then just gets even more bizarre,' one commented.
Another wrote: 'Has anyone seen the Jlloyd Samuel doc on Netflix? What an utterly mental double life he was leading. Tragic ending but crikey if it was a Hollywood script it would be considered far fetched.'
'The Footballer, His Wife, and the Crash' is available to stream on Netflix.
