Former Cardiff striker Michael Chopra has revealed how he found out that Ashley Williams had been exchanging flirtatious pictures with his ex-wife Heather Swan.
Chopra sent a public message to ex-Wales captain Williams via X (formerly Twitter) in 2014 when he threatened to release ‘texts and pictures’ if he did not respond to him.
Williams deleted his account on the social media network. But Chopra then sent another message to one of Williams’ team-mates, saying: ‘Tell your pal to get in touch with me Ashley the f*****g mug’.
Ten years on, Chopra – who had divorced from his wife in 2009 after just seven months of marriage – has explained just why he had been so keen to get in touch with Williams.
Speaking during an appearance on The Central Club podcast, Chopra – who played for Blackpool and Indian side Kerala Blasters in 2014 – revealed that he became aware that Swan had been in contact with Williams when he looked through her phone.
Michael Chopra pictured during a recent appearance on The Central Club podcast
Chopra told a story about his ex-wife Heather Swan, pictured on holiday in September 2023
Chopra claimed that he started checking Swan’s messages after he had noticed their son was playing with his mother’s phone.
He explained: ‘It all started when I’d actually been divorced from my ex-missus. So obviously, I’ve gone back home to see my little boy. He’s got my ex’s phone and he’s playing about on it.
‘She’s gone downstairs and I’ve thought – what some guys normally do – “let’s see who she’s texting” and that sort of thing.
‘I took the phone off my little boy and I had a look. I saw Ashley Williams’ name and was like: “F***ing hell. What’s she texting him for?”
‘So then I scroll through the messages, just reading bits of them and stuff like that. “When you come up to play Sunderland, I’ll meet you”, and stuff like that.
‘I’ve gone to look at the pictures to see what’s been sent. Straight away I’ve pulled my phone out and started taking pictures from my phone of that phone.
‘[In one photo] he must have just got out of the bath and was standing in the mirror with bubbles over his c***. But you can’t see his head. But you can see his body.
‘There was another one where I think he’s got pink boxer shorts on but he’s got his head on this one and you can see a Welsh tracksuit hanging over a chair.
‘So then I tried to contact him on Twitter, like: “You need to contact me. You know what it’s about.” He didn’t contact me for a couple of days. So I was friends with [former Swansea player Wayne] Routledge from our Newcastle days and I sent a message to Routledge on Twitter saying: “Listen, tell your mate Ashley to get in touch with me.”
‘And then like a day later, Ashley just deletes all social media. He’s got one now but back then he totally deleted it.’
During his podcast appearance, Chopra was asked how and when he thought Williams and Swan might have met.
Chopra played for Swansea’s fierce rivals Cardiff City, as well as for Newcastle and Sunderland
Former reality TV star Swan is now working towards becoming a fully qualified barrister
Williams played for Swansea from 2008 to 2016, while Chopra was at fierce rivals Cardiff from 2008 to 2011.
Asked if he believed that Williams had met his wife while he was based in Cardiff, Chopra replied: ‘I don’t think so.’
Chopra then admitted that he had still not spoken to Williams. ‘I didn’t really speak to Ashley when I was playing. It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just you don’t get on with them.
‘I get on with Routledge, I get on really well with Leon Britton and Lee Trundle (who are all also former Swansea players). But I just never came across Ashley Williams.’
Williams, now 40 – who was capped 86 times by Wales – retired from football in 2020, having played for Everton, Stoke and Bristol City after leaving Swansea.
Chopra, also 40, retired in 2016 but returned to the game in 2022 when he joined non-league side West Allotment Celtic, near Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Swan – who previously featured on the ITV2 show WAGs Boutique – recently began practical training with a firm of barristers in North Shields.
