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With all the glee you’d expect from a British tabloid reporting a sex scandal, the Daily Mail broke the news yesterday that Miss Belgium “hopeful” Emily Vanhoutte claims to have had an affair with Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois shortly before last year’s World Cup.
Vanhoutte told Belgian magazine TV Family that, despite being in a relationship with Spanish girlfriend Marta Dominguez, Courtois pursued her on Facebook after watching a beauty pageant in which she was a contestant (quite why he was watching a beauty pageant in the first place isn’t explained). They then met in Hasselt - the disco capital of Belgium - and embarked on “nights of passion at the Holiday Inn”, which is probably the only time you’ll ever read the words “passion” and “Holiday Inn” in the same sentence.
Vanhoutte, who is no longer in touch with Courtois, says she didn’t realize he had a girlfriend. Addressing accusations of being a gold digger, Vanhoutte said: “I’m from a good family, I don’t need his money.” The18 can only assume the proceeds from her kiss-and-tell are being donated to charity.
It’s not the first time Courtois has been accused of playing away from home: he was previously reported to have cheated with Caroline Lijnen, then girlfriend of fellow Belgian and one-time Chelsea teammate Kevin de Bruyne. He’s also said to have had a dalliance with a Tapas waitress.
Having suffered the ignominy of a red card on the opening day of the season, these latest revelations about his private life have ensured it’s not been a great start to 2015-16 for Courtois. But if he needs any advice on how to handle the unwanted attention extracurricular activities generate, help is close at hand. Chelsea Captain and 2009 Dad of the Year John Terry has, according to that bastion of truth The Sun, been accused of cheating on his long-suffering wife Toni by eight different women, including then-teammate Wayne Bridge’s partner.
Chelsea FC: the Barclays Premier League’s moral compass.
