Inside Ben White's relationship with wife amid his self-imposed England exile

While many England supporters and professional footballers might fail to understand exactly why Ben White has seemingly turned his back on a career with his national team at just 26, there are few who would doubt his quiet belief in his decision.

There has been no public back-and-forth between the two parties. Speculation about whether the Arsenal defender had fallen out with assistant coach Steve Holland rumbled before being briefly but firmly denied by Gareth Southgate. And White has refused to comment, leaving his team-mates to step into the breach.

'The only thing I can say is it's Ben's life,' said Declan Rice when asked about his choice on Monday. 'It's Ben's decision. We can't argue with him, with what he wants to do.

'At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what he thinks and at this moment in time, he obviously doesn't want to play for England.'

With time in his schedule not filled with making up the squad and featuring in uneven performances against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley, White instead jetted to Dubai with his wife Milly Adams. Her Instagram post evoking an Uno match on a sun lounger between the two of them drew ire from those who still can't fathom the right-back's snubbing of a national team call-up, but spoke volumes about the player's priorities.

At heart, White - who has spoken often about his lack of interest in watching football recreationally - is a homebody, and has a very close relationship with his tight-knit family, and wife of nearly a year Adams.

The pair are believed to have started their relationship at some point in 2022, but shared their first hint on social media in February, when both White and Adams posted the same picture of themselves holding hands.

In April, the