Marrion Valette Areola: Alphonse Areola's Wife, Age, Origin

Marrion Valette Areola is the wife of Alphonse Areola, the French goalkeeper who won the 2018 World Cup and has played for West Ham since 2021. She was born in France on 8 March 1988, which makes her 38 in November 2026, and the couple, who met in Paris around 2011, married on 26 December 2014 and have three daughters.

As of November 2026, Alphonse Areola is 33 and still a West Ham player, now in the Championship after the club's relegation in May 2026, where he has been the back-up to Mads Hermansen at the start of the 2026/27 season. Marrion, who gave up a career as a financial adviser to follow him around Europe, has become a model and brand ambassador in London. In this guide, OhMyFootball sets out what is documented about her, and corrects several claims this page used to carry.

Who is Alphonse Areola's wife?

Alphonse Areola's wife is Marrion Valette Areola, often called Marrion Areola, and sometimes misspelled Marion Areola. In a December 2023 interview with HELLO! magazine, the couple said they had met 12 years earlier in Paris, Alphonse's home city. That places their first meeting around 2011, when Areola was a teenage goalkeeper in Paris Saint-Germain's youth and reserve teams, two years before his first-team debut.

They married on 26 December 2014, according to Purepeople and French Wikipedia. Alphonse was 21 at the time and on loan at Bastia in Corsica. The place of the wedding and the guest list have never been made public, so any description of a "lavish ceremony" you may read elsewhere has no source.

On 8 March 2021, which is both Marrion's birthday and International Women's Day, Alphonse posted the photo below of the two of them on his Instagram account, with a message wishing a happy birthday to his "wonderful wife that has always been by my side".

Who is Marrion Valette Areola?

Marrion Valette Areola is a French model, brand ambassador and mother of three, best known as Alphonse Areola's wife. Before modelling, she worked in finance: HELLO! describes her as a former financial adviser who quit her own flourishing career to travel with her husband.

That meant a lot of travel. The couple told HELLO! that they had moved house nine times since they got together, as Alphonse's career took him from Paris to Lens, Bastia, Villarreal, Madrid and London. In 2023 they bought a large family home in north London, which they hoped would be their last move for a while.

Her own career took off in London. In November 2023 she was named an ambassador for Atelier London, the luxury clothing label whose creative direction is led by Professor Jimmy Choo, and for the jeweller Fabergé. Alphonse told HELLO! that she has always been an independent woman who wanted to be different from the stereotype many people have of a footballer's wife.

Marrion Areola age and birthday

Marrion Valette Areola was born on 8 March 1988. The day comes from Alphonse himself, who wished her a happy birthday on Instagram on 8 March 2021, and the year from her published ages: Sportskeeda gave her age as 34 in February 2023 and HELLO! as 35 in December 2023, and 8 March 1988 is the only date that fits both.

That makes Marrion 38 years old in November 2026. She is about five years older than her husband: Alphonse Areola was born on 27 February 1993 in Paris and turned 33 in February 2026.

Marrion Valette Areola origin and nationality

Marrion is French. HELLO! describes the Areolas as a French-born couple. Sportskeeda describes her as having Filipino and Lebanese heritage, a background that she has not, as far as we could find, detailed in an interview, so treat it as reported rather than confirmed. Claims on some websites about her parents, an adoption or her schooling have no reliable source, and we have removed them from this article.

The Filipino roots that are documented belong to her husband. Alphonse Areola was born in Paris to Cleto and Heidi Areola, who came to France from the Philippines, and French Wikipedia reports that Tagalog was spoken at home. In 2011, the manager of the Philippines national team, Dan Palami, invited him to play for the Azkals, but he chose France, as the Philippine news site Interaksyon recalled in 2018.

Two days after France won the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow, Alphonse reposted this portrait of Marrion from her account, with the caption "Ma 3ème étoile", French for "my third star".

How Alphonse and Marrion met

Neither of them has told the full story of their first meeting in public. What they did say, to HELLO! in 2023, is that it happened in Paris about 12 years earlier. At that point Alphonse was still making his way at PSG, which he had joined in 2006, aged 13, while also training at the national academy at Clairefontaine until 2009.

They have been together through his whole professional career. Alphonse left Paris on loan for Lens in 2013, then went to Bastia and Villarreal, came back to PSG and later moved to Real Madrid, Fulham and West Ham, and Marrion gave up her own job in finance to keep the family together.

Alphonse Areola's wedding

Alphonse Areola and Marrion Valette married on 26 December 2014, during his season on loan at Bastia. Purepeople gave the date when it reported the birth of their third daughter in 2020, and it also appears on French Wikipedia. Neither the venue nor any photos of the day have been published by a reliable source.

As of November 2026 they have been married for almost 12 years, and no separation has ever been reported.

Alphonse Areola and Marrion's children

The couple have three daughters, whose first names they have shared themselves:

Ayleen-Grace, born on 5 May 2015, 11 years old in November 2026
Aymma-Lyse, born on 2 January 2017, 9 years old
Ayva-May Victoria, born on 20 October 2020, 6 years old

The birth dates are listed on French Wikipedia, and Purepeople reported the birth of Ayva-May Victoria, born on 20 October 2020, when Alphonse announced her name on Instagram. HELLO! gave the girls' names and ages in its 2023 interview. As the old version of this page pointed out, all three names start with the letter A, like their father's.

Areola is proud of his family and makes no secret of it. In a 2022 video for GQ France, he showed that the first names of his wife and daughters are printed inside his goalkeeper gloves. He also said the girls take tennis lessons at a club in England.

Family life in London

The Areolas have lived in England since Alphonse joined Fulham on loan in 2020, and HELLO! visited them at their north London home for its Christmas 2023 issue. Marrion said then that around 20 family members and friends were expected for the holidays, and that their first Christmas in the new house was going to be "so special".

In this BBC Sport video from November 2025, Alphonse goes for a walk with presenter Betty Glover and talks about life at home. He explains that he and his wife try to show their daughters simple things away from screens, like drawing and playing cards, and that the house is very musical: he plays the guitar and the piano, the girls play the violin, and Marrion likes to put The Sound of Music on the TV for them.

During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Alphonse was France's third goalkeeper, Marrion stayed in London with their three daughters, Purepeople reported.

Marrion Areola on Instagram

Marrion Valette Areola is on Instagram as @areola.marrion, a verified account with about 109,000 followers when we checked in November 2026. She shares modelling portraits, family moments and workouts, like the black-and-white portrait and the training session below.

She has also used it to talk about her body after three pregnancies. In December 2022, Purepeople reported on a series of posts about her one-year transformation through better eating, cardio and Pilates sessions, alongside photos of her stomach after three pregnancies and a warning, as Purepeople summarised it, not to believe everything you see on Instagram.

Marrion Areola and West Ham's relegation in 2026

Marrion made headlines in May 2026. West Ham were relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the season, 24 May 2026, despite beating Leeds 3-0. In Instagram stories reported by GB News, SportBible and Goal, she thanked "Potter for the start of the season and Nuno for the end", wrote that her husband had been dropped at the start of the season for no reason, brought back and then benched again, and appeared to blame Nuno Espírito Santo for his absence from France's World Cup squad. She also said she was sad for the fans and proud of her husband.

Nuno stayed on as head coach in the Championship, but West Ham sacked him on 3 November 2026 after a poor start to the season.

Who is Alphonse Areola?

Alphonse Areola is a French goalkeeper, born on 27 February 1993 in Paris to Filipino parents. A product of the PSG academy, he won the Under-20 World Cup with France in 2013, the senior World Cup in 2018 and the Europa Conference League with West Ham in 2023, a competition in which he played every game, including the final in Prague. He has been married to Marrion Valette Areola since 2014.

His career timeline:

2006 to 2013: PSG youth and reserve teams, with the Clairefontaine academy from 2006 to 2009
May 2013: first-team debut for Paris Saint-Germain
2013/14: on loan at Lens
2014/15: on loan at Bastia
2015/16: on loan at Villarreal, in Spain
2016 to 2019: back at PSG
2019/20: on loan at Real Madrid
2020/21: on loan at Fulham
2021/22: on loan at West Ham United
June 2022: joins West Ham permanently on a five-year deal with an option for a sixth year, according to Sky Sports
June 2023: wins the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague
May 2026: relegated with West Ham to the Championship
2026/27: West Ham's second-choice keeper behind Mads Hermansen, without a first-team appearance up to early November 2026, according to FotMob

Areola's teammates over the years include Raphaël Varane, a fellow 2018 world champion, and Lukasz Fabianski, his long-time goalkeeping rival at West Ham.

Alphonse Areola and the France team

Areola made his France debut on 6 September 2018 in a 0-0 draw away to Germany in the Nations League, two months after being part of the World Cup-winning squad in Russia as the uncapped third goalkeeper. He has won five caps, in 2018, 2019 and 2022, and was also in the France squads for the 2022 World Cup, where France lost the final to Argentina, and Euro 2024. He missed Euro 2020, for which Didier Deschamps took Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda and Mike Maignan.

He was not in Didier Deschamps' 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, announced on 14 May 2026: the three goalkeepers were Mike Maignan, Brice Samba and Robin Risser, according to the French Football Federation. In the BBC Sport video above, published in November 2025, Areola said he had not been with France for almost a season and that, if he was not there, it was because he did not deserve it.

Alphonse Areola net worth and salary

There is no reliable figure for the net worth of Alphonse or Marrion Areola, and the numbers on celebrity websites are guesses. Capology estimates Alphonse's West Ham wage at about £120,000 a week, an estimate rather than an official figure. His contract runs until June 2027, with an option for a further year.

Quick facts about Marrion Valette Areola

Full name: Marrion Valette Areola
Born: 8 March 1988, in France
Age: 38 in November 2026
Nationality: French
Husband: Alphonse Areola, West Ham goalkeeper and 2018 world champion
Met: in Paris, around 2011
Married: 26 December 2014
Children: three daughters, Ayleen-Grace (2015), Aymma-Lyse (2017) and Ayva-May Victoria (2020)
Career: former financial adviser, model, ambassador for Atelier London and Fabergé since 2023
Instagram: @areola.marrion

Frequently asked questions about Marrion Valette Areola

How old is Marrion Areola?

Marrion Areola was born on 8 March 1988, so she is 38 years old in November 2026, about five years older than her husband.

Where is Marrion Valette Areola from?

She is French and was born in France. Sportskeeda reports that she has Filipino and Lebanese heritage, although she has not detailed it in any interview we could find.

What is Alphonse Areola's wife's ethnicity?

Marrion is French. The Filipino roots documented in the family are Alphonse's: his parents, Cleto and Heidi, came to France from the Philippines. Marrion's own Filipino and Lebanese heritage is reported by Sportskeeda but has not been confirmed by her.