Inside the lives of darts WAGs: A former hairdresser who now has 30,000 followers, the glamour model and walk-on girl who is one star’s ‘rock’ and the British fan a four-time world champion left his wife for!

• The 2024 World Darts Championship is set to get underway on December 15
• Several leading darts players have become household names in recent years
• Mail Sport takes a look into the lives of the WAGS of some of the biggest stars

The iconic PDC World Darts Championship has become one of British sport’s favourite times of the year.

The showpiece event, held between December 15 and January 3, is traditionally watched by millions at home and takes place at a packed Alexandra Palace. 

Fancy dress, plenty of chanting and multiple pints are the norm and ‘Ally Pally’ will turn green this year after Paddy Power were announced as the competition’s new sponsor.

Stars such as Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld, Gerwyn Price and Michael Smith have become household names, with ‘Bully Boy’ beating Van Gerwen in a dramatic final last year to win his first world title. 

But, what is life like for the people behind these players and their WAGS? Here, Mail Sport takes a look…

The 2024 PDC World Darts Championship is set to get underway on December 15

Several stars such as Michael van Gerwen have become household names over recent years

One darts star is married to a former walk-on girl and has been with her since 2015

Michael van Gerwen – Daphne van Gerwen

The Dutchman is one of the biggest names in the sport, having spent seven years in a row between 2014 to 2021 at world No 1, while he is also a three-time PDC world champion.

He married wife Daphne in 2014 in the Netherlands and the couple have two kids together, Zoe and Mike. 

Daphne – who is regularly spotted in attendance with family at the World Championships – is a former hairdresser but has developed her own following on social media over recent times. 

She now has more than 29,000 followers on Instagram and regularly uses her profile to show off her glamorous lifestyle.

This includes several snaps of trips to places such as Ibiza, Disneyland and even Curacao, and many of these photos are with Michael. 

Daphne van Gerwen married darts legend Michael in 2014 and they have two kids together

Daphne is a former hairdresser and has almost 30,000 followers on her Instagram account

Michael Smith – Dagmara Smith

The man who beat Van Gerwen in last year’s final, St Helens-born Michael Smith is known as a family man.

Bully Boy’s long-term partner, Dagmara Smith, is three years younger than him and they have two sons together.

Dagmara was born in Poland and married Smith back in 2019, and along with their kids, is often seen in attendance at his events.

She previously played darts at a regional level and was there for Smith’s famous victory over Van Gerwen, but only after she insisted.

Smith – who described Dagmara as his ‘personal chef’ in one Instagram post – told the Live Darts Youtube channel before the final: ‘They’ll (my family) be here. She’s already said she’s coming.

‘I said she’s not allowed and then she swore at me and said “I’m coming”. Just watching their faces, I know their faces will be even brighter and bigger if I do get that trophy.’

Smith’s reservations come as he is one of several players who are extremely superstitious. 

As a result, they don’t want their family there for certain nights of the tournament, but for Bully Boy, there was no need to be worried on that occasion.

Michael Smith is known as a family man and has been married to wife Dagmara since 2019

In one Instagram post, Smith – who has two kids with Dagmara – called her his ‘personal chef’

Gerwyn Price – Bethan Price 

There are few figures in darts quite as polarising as Gerwyn Price. 

However, outside the oche, the Welshman has been with childhood sweetheart Bethan since they were 17.

They have two daughters together and met when growing up in the village of Markham, Wales, which had a population of just 1,495 people at the last census. 

Price, also known as ‘The Iceman’, is advised on the business side of his profession by Bethan, who is a sports manager.  

She helps to handle day-to-day operations, endorsement deals and media relations for Price.

Price – who is a former rugby player – married her in 2018 and is regularly seen travelling to and from events with his partner. 

Gerwyn Price is married to childhood sweetheart Bethan after they met in their teenage years

Bethan advises him on business matters and they are often travelling to events together

Raymond van Barneveld – Julia Evans

Darts icon Raymond van Barneveld tied the knot with Julia Evans this year, with the British woman becoming his second wife.

Van Barneveld, 56, was previously married to Silvia for 25 years but they split in January 2019 amid marriage difficulties.

Their divorce came after Silvia appeared in court to give evidence about the armed burglary of their family home in The Hague, Netherlands. 

Reports claimed he dumped Silvia for Julia, who is an avid fan of darts, with the couple meeting when the Dutchman was competing at a tournament in Southampton.

After previously working for TFL, Evans is now Van Barneveld’s assistant manager.

Her LinkedIn page highlights ‘organising meetings’ and ‘managing his calendar’ among the roles of her job. 

Their wedding took place in Cyprus in September of this year and they have now been together for four years. 

Raymond van Barneveld is married to Julia Evans, who is a British woman and huge darts fan

He was previously with ex-wife Silvia, before they split in January 2019 amid marriage troubles

Van Barneveld and Evans married earlier this year and she now works as his assistant manager

James Wade – Sammi Marsh-Wade

James Wade has been competing in PDC events since 2004 and while he has had less success in recent years, he is still widely regarded as one of the greatest darts players of all time. 

He married former walk-on girl and model Sammi Marsh-Wade in 2015 and the couple have two children together.

Wade, who has a reported net worth of around £3million, has repeatedly faced accusations Sammi was only with him for the money.  

However, the 40-year-old has always denied this and once said: ‘All the doubters had to shut up when they realised we were so strong – she is my rock.’

James Wade married former glamour model and walk-on girl Sammi Marsh-Wade in 2015

The couple have two young children together and Wade described Sammi as his ‘rock’

Wade, who has a reported net worth of around £3million, has repeatedly faced accusations Sammi was only with him for the money

Adrian Lewis – Sarah Lewis

Adrian Lewis is another darts star who started his career in fine fashion, winning two World Championships, before seeing his form stutter.

His wife Sarah has been by his side since they tied the knot in 2012 having previously dated when they were much younger.

Lewis – who has a child from a previous relationship – attracted the ire of Sarah’s previous husband after outlining his attentions to marry her before they had officially divorced.

They have since had three children, with the first coming just four months after they tied the knot in August 2012, while Sarah has three kids from her previous marriage.

However, heartbreakingly Lewis has opened up on his wife’s battles with health which led to him taking an indefinite break from the sport earlier this year. 

Adrian Lewis has been with wife Sarah since 2012 and they have three children together

Speaking in 2016, he revealed he was ‘playing through heartache’ as he told The Sun: ‘I’ve got a lot of personal problems right now. My wife Sarah has been in and out of hospital for 18 months. She’s been back in with serious kidney problems over the past few weeks.’

He explained more in September this year when he reflected on his break from the sport as he said: ‘After 20 years of playing darts, I think I just needed freshening up a bit. I think I was getting a bit stale. The buzz wasn’t there.

‘My wife hasn’t been very well. So I’ve been in hospital with her a lot of time. We’re trying to balance everything at home. On the oche, it was just that I didn’t want to be there. My mind wasn’t there. My mind wasn’t on the darts.

‘I didn’t think it was fair if I kept turning up when someone else could have had the spot.’

Fallon Sherrock – Cameron Menzies

Fallon Sherrock continues to break down barriers as one of the few female professional darts players in the game. 

Outside of the oche, she is in a relationship with fellow darts player Cameron Menzies. 

Menzies, 34, is five years Sherrock’s senior and hails from Glasgow. 

He is ranked at world No 63, which is higher than his partner’s position of 136. 

Fallon Sherrock (left) is in a relationship with fellow darts player Cameron Menzies (centre)

Menzies, who hails from Glasgow, spoke about the joys of his partner also being a darts star

Menzies still combines his love of darts with work as a plumber but last year spoke about the joys of being in a relationship with another star of the sport.

He told Sky Sports: ‘We enjoy our practice together and she is a very class player. She has done well for darts in general and is banging in 90 averages and 100 averages, the same as a lot of women.

‘I’m quite lucky I’ve got a very good partner who can play darts. It’s good in the house unless she beats me and I’ve got to make the food. I don’t like it when she beats me.’

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