She made the tearful admission on social media in August that relocating to Saudi Arabia for her husband’s football transfer was ‘bittersweet’ and had left her ‘in shock’.

Leaving Birmingham for Riyadh may not have been on Ellie Watkins’ ‘bingo card’ for 2026, particularly as she welcomed both her young children during husband Ollie’s tenure at Aston Villa, but it now seems that the WAG, 30, is embracing life a little more in the Middle East.

It is a U-turn for the mum-of-two, who shares Amara, five, and Marley, three, with footballer Ollie, 30. As summer ended, she wrote on social media, ‘Anyone that knows me knows how emotional I am [sic]. my heart is hurting as we end the most amazing 6 years at Villa [sic]. We had our beautiful babies here, made friends for life and have built a life here that I will always be so grateful for.’

She continued that she ‘couldn’t be prouder’ of how much Ollie has achieved and the person he has ‘remained through it all’, before concluding, ‘I’m so grateful for the amazing people we’ve met along the way and the friendships we’ll take with us. It’s the end of our most amazing chapter. Now it’s time for a new adventure.’

And last weekend, Ellie gave her 120,000 Instagram followers an update on said new adventure – which was much more optimistic than her previous admissions online. Apologising for not sharing as much content, Ellie said on her Story, ‘I’ve been so quiet on here sorry. Just trying to move to another country and be a mum has been a lot.’

Then sharing a photo of some of the rubbish she’s accumulated while unpacking, she continued, ‘Didn’t want to bore you guys cus this is what I’ve been doing the past three weeks, cleaning, organising, furniture shopping, repeat.’

Back in September, Ellie shared, ‘Kids didn't start school this week as originally planned so trying to keep them entertained and everything else that needs to be done is a juggle.'

But they have since started their education out in Saudi, as she has now said, ‘Everything’s finally coming together and we’re so happy in our new home. The kids have settled into school and are having the best time being together. Feel like we’re getting more quality time together.’

However, amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East and reports of missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, the influencer also addressed the security concerns, writing, ‘We are praying for our new home. Holding my babies close and praying it all gets better soon.’

Based in Birmingham for six years while Ollie played for Aston Villa, the Watkins have relocated more than 3000 miles away to Saudi Arabia, after the forward was snapped up by Pro League side Al-Hilal for a reported fee of £51million.

During his time at Villa, Ollie became the club’s all-time top Premier League scorer and helped lead them to Europa League victory last season. However, fans were angered when, amid speculation over his future, he made himself unavailable for Villa's opening match of the season, which ended in a 4-0 loss to Brighton.

Just days after apologising to manager Unai Emery and the squad for the decision, Ollie released a video about leaving Villa Park for good. He said, ‘Firstly, I'd like to say never did I intend, nor did I imagine my time at Aston Villa would end this way.

‘With that being said I'm eternally grateful for the last six years. Not only has it shaped me as a player, but as a person. We've been through so many ups and downs during my six seasons here. But one thing that has never changed is that I've given everything for this club.’

He added, ‘It's time for a new chapter that I'm excited about. However, I close this chapter with a heavy heart. Villa will always mean so much to me. Thank you guys, from the bottom of my heart.’

Shortly after moving, in a video captioned ‘little life update’, Ellie began by saying, ‘Okay, well that wasn’t on my bingo card for 2026. We are in Riyadh – we arrived in Saudi last night. I think I’m still in shock, to be honest, like how life can change so quickly. But that is the joys of football.

‘I’ve always said how lucky I think we are. We’ve been at Villa for six years, which in football terms is actually quite a long time. We had our children there, we’ve had quite a few big life events in our time there.’

She admitted the move felt ‘bittersweet’, saying, ‘I love my life there. I settled so well and made the most amazing friends.’

With tears filling her eyes, a choked-up Ellie then said that she felt ‘emotional’ leaving that all behind. ‘On that note,’ she went on, ‘I am excited about a change. A change of scenery I think is going to be amazing for the kids. I think they’re going to have the best time ever. Once we’re settled and we know what we’re doing, it will be good.’

Ellie – who started dating Ollie in 2018 and married him last May – concluded, ‘I’m also feeling a little bit nervous. I remember feeling like that when we moved to Birmingham. So… yeah. Hopefully you can follow my journey in Saudi.’

While Ellie has been inundated with support since her move, including from Jordan Pickford’s wife Megan and devoted Al-Hilal fans, others have been less sympathetic.

‘I’m sure the £51million transfer fee and a million a week helped her settle,’ one wrote.

But when one criticised her ‘moaning’, someone backed Ellie up, defending, ‘Not really moaning, just saying it’s been a shock and she’s missing things but looking to the future too. Nearly 20 years ago we moved to Dubai for my husband’s job and the first couple of months were a shock and I did a lot of moaning until we got our own apartment, sorted myself a job and transport. Then we settled down into normality and had a great time for the 10 years we were there.’