Kyle Walker’s wife Annie is SCRAPPING her £27m divorce bid as cheating Man City star eyes £400k-a-week move
JUST last year, Kyle Walker’s long-suffering wife Annie Kilner was preparing for war and telling pals she was considering divorce.
But after a cosy Christmas with the Man City star and their children — and amid growing speculation he is being courted for a multi-million-pound move to play in Saudi Arabia — that could all change once again.
Those close to Annie, 33, tell The Sun she has put the brakes on talk of a split and instead moved the City and England defender back into the marital home.
An insider said: “It was just a few months ago that Annie served Kyle with divorce papers, but she’s having second thoughts.
“He’s a top target for the Saudi Arabia clubs and if he decides to take a deal it’ll be life-changing — and not just because of the massive amount of money he’ll be making.”
Any move to the Arab state is still up in the air, but Kyle, 34, is a top target for big-hitting sides including Al Nassr, where Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo is captain.
Deals being mooted by clubs in the oil-rich nation are said to be worth upwards of £20million, with Kyle easily expected to bank £400,000 a week if he chooses to try his luck abroad.
And friends close to Annie say the money will do the talking.
They added: “Annie is no fool. She sought legal advice about the finances last year and knows that the deal in Saudi is worth a lot.
“Annie says it’s not about the cash but keeping their family together, yet his earning potential is something she will have thought about.
“She is savvy and has been mapping out a plan for a long time.
Posed in matching Christmas pyjamas
“Annie always puts the children first but she has to think about herself too — and financially she wants to know she would be secure whatever happens between them.
“Kyle has assured her that whatever happens, she would have the financial support.”
The couple put on a united front at Christmas as they posed in matching pyjamas with their four children, Roman, 13, Riaan, eight, six-year-old Reign and baby Rezon.
It was a picture-perfect scene compared to last December when their lives were turned upside down by the news that Kyle had fathered a secret daughter with reality TV star Lauryn Goodman.
Annie, who started dating Kyle when she was 16, was pregnant with their fourth child at the time.
He already shares four-year-old son Kairo with Lauryn following a relationship with her during a brief split from Annie.
Of the family’s cosy reunion at Christmas, a fellow Wag said: “It seems like Kyle is happy to be back home with his family and they are looking to the future.
She is savvy and has been mapping out a plan for a long time
Friends
“Not sure if anything is set in stone about their relationship, but they are more together than they’ve looked before — as if the time spent together over Christmas helped them both to appreciate what they have.
“Whatever their future holds, they will make it work for their lads who are everything to them.”
Kyle made a grovelling apology to devastated Annie in The Sun in January last year.
At the time he said he was desperate to save the marriage but admitted he would not blame Annie if she chose to divorce him.
Last month, in a sign their relationship was back on track, Kyle smiled like the cat who got the cream as he showed off his wedding ring on a night out at the darts.
He was in high spirits at Alexandra Palace in London as he watched the World Championship, shortly after moving back home for the festive season.
Annie also put her ring back on — but has attempted to discreetly cover her hand in public in recent weeks to avoid speculation.
Our insider added: “Spending time with Kyle at Christmas has made Annie rethink everything.
“She let him move back into the family home and it was amazing for her to see Kyle and how great he is with their kids.
“Despite what has gone on between them, Kyle is a brilliant father.
“She knows now isn’t the right time to start going down the legal route of separation and has taken the advice that timing is key when it comes to a divorce.
Spending time with Kyle at Christmas has made Annie rethink everything
Insider
“They’ve got the children to think about — they’re still young — and that’s been a major factor in Annie’s thinking.
“She isn’t rushing into anything and is biding her time, especially with all the talk about Saudi and a possible move there.”
The couple have only been married since November 2021, but met in his hometown of Sheffield when they were teenagers.
Kyle was first accused of cheating in 2016 when he was caught messaging Playboy model Carla Howe while in France with the England squad for the Euro championships.
Then in 2019, Ex On The Beach star Laura Brown messaged Annie to confess she and Kyle had enjoyed a string of romps, including one time in his £200,000 Bentley 4×4.
Annie immediately dumped Kyle, who moved into a flat, where he ended up hosting a sex party with a friend and two call girls during the Covid lockdown.
While single, he started a relationship with Lauryn, who quickly fell pregnant and gave birth in 2020.
Annie took him back and they wed in an intimate ceremony at Mottram Hall in Cheshire 18 months later.
But The Sun recently revealed that Annie’s friends claimed she was looking at her options as far back as 2019, with her insisting: “Marrying Kyle would give me security if he ever does it again.”
‘Some said she should cut her losses and run’
She apparently asked at least four footballers’ wives for advice before marrying the love rat in case history repeated itself.
One said: “Some said she should leave him at the time — just cut her losses and run. But others warned that marrying him would be the only way she could really secure herself financially.”
In messages seen by The Sun from five years ago, before the couple tied the knot, Annie glumly conceded, “It’s the same old s**t — he’s been doing it for ten years”, before asking pals for their opinions on how to future-proof herself financially.
Appearing to predict that he would betray her again, Annie wrote to a friend at the time: “He’s going to have a lonely end.”
Annie turned out to be right about his repeat actions, as he briefly rekindled things with Lauryn weeks after Kairo was born and lived a lie for more than a year after discovering she was expecting his second child.
She isn’t rushing into anything and is biding her time, especially with all the talk about Saudi and a possible move there
Insider
Lauryn later took Kyle to court to seek a financial settlement for their kids.
After Lauryn’s bombshell confession to Annie about daughter Kinara, he told The Sun in an emotional interview that he had lied to both women
He added: “It was a double-edged sword between my conscience being clean and losing my family.
“I’ve hurt someone I truly believe is my soulmate. Annie knows I’m sorry. I’m sorry because as a family this isn’t meant to happen. They are all I’ve got.”
A Middle East move for the England ace would follow a tough current season at City.
He still has 19 months left on his Etihad contract, but admitted he would “never say never” when rumours were flying last year. Now, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad from Saudi’s pro league are keen on securing his signature.
If Kyle does take the plunge, he would follow in the footsteps of England teammate Ivan Toney, who landed a £20million-a-year deal with Al-Ahli last summer after transferring from Brentford.
But whether he gets to enjoy that money with or without Annie is very much still in the balance.