‘Who was my husband – did I even know him?’ Wife of ex Premier League star reveals how he converted to Islam to marry another woman in secret

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 released this week on Netflix tells the story of Jlloyd Samuel, who died in 2018 at the age of 37 when his Range Rover collided with a van after dropping his children off at school.

The ITV programme, released in 2022 and titled ‘The Footballer, His Wife and the Crash’, tells the story of the incident and how Samuel would lead a double life.

Samuel played in the Premier League for Aston Villa and Bolton in the 2000s before moving to Iran.

In the documentary, his first wife Emma Pritchard claims Samuel had ‘another life’ in Iran with a second wife, whom he converted to Islam to marry in 2013.

Fans are baffled by a documentary about ex-Premier League player Jlloyd Samuel (pictured with ex-wife Emma Pritchard)

Samuel played for Aston Villa and Bolton in the Premier League in the 2000s, but died aged 37 after a car accident

‘The Footballer, His Wife, and the Crash’ claims Samuel led a double life with a second wife in Iran, where he ended his playing career (pictured with ex-wife Emma Pritchard)

Fans have been left stunned by the revelations in the documentary, which originally aired on ITV in 2022

“I was trying to grieve my husband and discover that 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 singer Helia Sahimi, whom Samuel once called “the best husband I could ever ask for.”

Pritchard, the mother of Samuel’s three children, was said to be in shock when he learned of their relationship, which he maintained until his death.

“About four weeks after Jlloyd died, my friend said I have something to tell you,” she said.

“Jlloyd has another wife, another wife, and she has identified herself as his wife on his Instagram. I threw up everywhere. I said show me the Instagram and I looked and said ‘oh my god’.”

She further admitted that she was ‘obsessed’ with her husband’s secret wife’s Instagram account, describing discovering their relationship as a ‘stab in the heart’.

‘There were even photos of Jlloyd that he had sent me on trips to Africa, with crocodiles, and then I saw another photo on Helia’s of her with Jloyd in Africa with the crocodiles.

‘It was like a stab in the heart. I try to grieve for my husband and then I find out he has had a completely different life for seven years. He never asked me for a divorce.’

Emma Pritchard (right) speaks in the documentary about discovering his other woman

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” in a series of posts on her Instagram

‘As far as I’m concerned it went well, we were great. The night before he died, he waved me across the kitchen and told 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. Following an inquest in 2019, Samuel was found to be more than twice the drink-driving limit.

In the documentary, Sahimi insists she believes Samuel is “still alive.”

Pritchard has an Instagram account called @wagtowidow, where she describes her grief after her husband’s death.

The couple had three children, Javarne, Lakyle and Amara. Lakyle is a footballer who plays for Manchester City.

The documentary was 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 is ​​quickly getting bizarre and then just getting more bizarre,” one person said.

Another wrote: ‘Has anyone seen Jlloyd Samuel’s documentary on Netflix? What a completely mental double life he led. Tragic ending, but if it were a Hollywood script it would be considered far-fetched.”

‘The Footballer, His Wife, and the Crash’ is available to stream on Netflix.