Ryan Giggs was born in Wales in 1973 and very early on in his now illustrious career he was offered a contract to play for the biggest club in England, Manchester United. He was not the only one. He came through the youth ranks with players who would prove to be part of a team that would become the greatest Man Utd team in history. Most notably alongside David Beckham, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes.
Nobody knew it at the time, but Giggs was going to be a superstar. His honers list is unbelievable:
13 English Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 9 Community Shields, 2 UEFA Champions League trophies, 2 UEFA Super Cups, 1 Intercontinental Cup and 1 FIFA Wold Club Cup.
Giggs was also known for being a model professional. Aside from the football, no one really cared that much about Giggs. He rarely gave any television interviews, rarely got into any trouble and most of the spotlight befell his teammate David Beckham. This is probably why that at the height of his career, in 2007, when he married Stacey Cooke, no one really noticed.
The couple went on to have two children; Liberty Beau Giggs and Zachary Joseph Giggs. One son and one daughter. Giggs continued his career at Manchester United whilst Beckham continued to make the headlines and Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid. His valuable contribution on the pitch was never taken for granted. He was the model professional.
That would be until Spring 2011, when rumours started to surface that a well known Premier League footballer had been having an affair with a UK Big Brother contestant Imogen Thomas.
Thomas had reported to The Sun newspaper that she had an affair with a Premier League footballer for a total of six months but that she couldn't name him for legal reasons. Apparently, the culprit, whoever he might be, took out a Super Injunction granted by the High Court of England and Wales to prevent her or anyone else in the entire country from ever discussing the issue or who was involved in (un)said issue.
In one month, an estimated 75,000 people on twitter had named the individual who had taken out the injunction against the country. However, the country were still not allowed to talk about it as no public figure or press figure had given the name. Anybody who wasn't on twitter or didn't follow trending tweets really did not know who the person was. The people on twitter who had named the individual were all guilty and could be imprisoned for breaking the law. Believe it or not; most people didn't know because the press were not allowed to repeat it.
On 22 May 2011, the Scottish Herald printed this:
As it turned out, Giggs had managed to take an injunction out against England and Wales but totally forgot about Scotland. The Scottish Herald had named the player legally, allowing the Scottish people to know and discuss the issue. However, the injunction in England and Wales still stood. No newspaper or individual was allowed to discuss the issue or the individual inside the borders of England and Wales - so if you really really wanted to know who the player was, you'd have to take a trip to Scotland.
That was until a day later when Member of Parliament John Hemming stood up in the House of Commons and used his right as an MP in the form of Parliamentary Privilege to name Ryan Giggs as the footballer who had the affair with Imogen Thomas and had taken out a super injunction against the entire country.....well almost the entire country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWEEiz19LSI
Ryan Giggs' life was now under serious attention. He always was a private person. He had worked so hard to keep out of the spotlight and now every newspaper, talk show and politician was talking about him. With such intense media spotlight, it was only through the logical unseen laws that this would happen:
Yes! Whilst he was busy taking out legal stop-talk over a six month affair with a total stranger, he happened to also be fucking his brother's wife for 8 years. No injunction here though and the press went to town on this.
Rhodri Giggs and Natasha had married in 2010 after dating for seven years or so and now that the opportunity had come from newspapers to dish the dirt on Ryan Giggs, Natasha Giggs couldn't help but sell her story to The Sun newspaper.
"At the beginning it was thrilling to know that someone as famous and admired as Ryan wanted to be in bed with me," The Sun quotes her as saying. "But by the end the whole thing had become so seedy".
"It stopped being fun. The thrill had gone and there was nothing romantic about it. Now I sleep alone in the bed I used to share with Rhodri and wish he was back in it with me."Rhodri left the home as soon as he found out.
Natasha continued: "I hope time can heal the pain I've caused. This has been the worst year of my life and I know I only have myself to blame for the way things turned out. I cheated on my husband with his own brother, who just happens to be one of the most famous men in Britain. It was never going to end any way other than badly."
Natasha also expressed regret at her "unforgivable" decision to let Rhodri discover their affair in a newspaper.
"I was such a coward. But I couldn't bear to tell Rhodri in person because it would have killed me to witness the terrible pain I'd caused him," she explained. "I knew his world was going to be blown to pieces and I didn't want to see him cry. I'm just focusing on the future. I spent my first wedding anniversary in bits. Now I'm hoping that by the time our second anniversary comes Rhodri will be back home with the children and me."
Ryan Giggs continued his outstanding performances on the pitch and still plays for Manchester United today. His marriage survived.
Rhodri Giggs and Natasha Giggs divorced, with the divorce filed for by Natasha herself.
Natasha Giggs has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and garnered numerous media attention. Including this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUdmmFD1oTU
The Moral of the Story? If you're going to take out an inunction in the UK, make sure you get Scotland into the package deal.