Former England and Liverpool football star Michael Owen has been accused of engaging in sexually explicit messages and requesting nude photographs from Rebecca Jane, a former Big Brother contestant and private investigator.
The allegations, which first surfaced in 2021, claim that Owen, 46, exchanged hundreds of messages with Jane over several weeks. According to reports, the married pundit and racehorse breeder, who has been wed to his childhood sweetheart Louise Bonsall since 2005, asked Jane to send him 20 topless photos so he could "judge" them, stating he wanted images that "leave nothing to the imagination."
The contact reportedly began in March 2021 when Owen followed Jane on social media. A friend of Jane stated she was initially "flattered" to hear from a childhood idol, but the conversations quickly turned sexual. Owen allegedly commented extensively on her appearance, claimed to have viewed one particular photo 65 times, and inquired if her breasts were real.
Owen is also said to have proposed meeting Jane at a horse-racing event in Doncaster, though the rendezvous never occurred. Messages seen by outlets show Owen allegedly checking if the "coast was clear" before calls and asking Jane to switch to WhatsApp, warning of "no unannounced calls."
In her first public comments on the matter in 2022, Jane claimed Owen told her his marriage was "a sham" and "a façade," suggesting it was maintained for business and appearances. "He fed me a load of rubbish," she stated, while admitting her own error in sending photographs to a married man. Jane also has a history of involvement with sports figures, having previously exchanged messages with rugby player Ben Foden.
The scandal contrasts sharply with Owen's long-standing public image as a clean-cut family man and one of English football's most celebrated strikers. The 2001 Ballon d'Or winner, who played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, and Manchester United, has never publicly addressed the allegations.
Owen previously revealed in his autobiography that he and his wife faced serious marital difficulties around 2014, staring into an "abyss called divorce," but credited counselling with saving their relationship. The couple share four children.
Rebecca Jane, a law graduate and former deputy leader of UKIP, resigned from the party in early 2024.
