Lyndon Lloyd 01/01/2024 26comments  |  Jump to last

Dwight McNeil's girlfriend, Megan Sharpley, has thanked the Everton winger for his support through her recent health emergency which required open surgery.

Posting to Instagram, Megan revealed that she had lost "an organ or two" as a result of the urgent operation she had to undergo in the final week of 2023 but that Dwight was there by her side, even sleeping by her hospital bed in between playing three times for the Blues over the Festive period.

The pair have been together since meeting in his Burnley days when she was waitressing at Turf Moor and they were the subject of newspaper reports in the lead-up to Christmas detailing their stellar charity work benefitting local organisations on Merseyside.

But last year was a difficult one for Megan who explained in a social media post that, "From start to finish this year has been mentally and physically exhausting. Ending the year this last week, undergoing urgent open surgery and losing an organ or two only seems fitting.

"I know people have questions, which I'll share in time, most I don't have the answers to just yet, only that I'm not on the journey to recovery (take 2) and hoping for a result of full health."

She went on to thank her boyfriend for his devotion in a follow-up Instagram post:

Dwight, you held my hand every time the bad news came, you reminded me how strong I was and how it was all going to be okay," Sharpley wrote.

You dressed me, you washed me, you carried me, you fed me, you injected me, you juggled all your commitments whilst supporting me and never complained.

You slept by my hospital bed and kept me giggling even when the world felt like it was ending. You are the most amazing human being.

Now let's leave the super tough times in 2023 and let's go and take on forever. Another year utterly in love - I am blessed.

"We a team, I love you little one," McNeil wrote in reply.

 

Reader Comments (26)

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Peter Mills
1 Posted 01/01/2024 at 21:36:42
I suspect all of us, at times, forget that footballers are human beings, with all the joys and heartache that brings.
John Raftery
2 Posted 01/01/2024 at 22:08:12
Well said Peter. In the circumstances Dwight is to be congratulated on playing in all three games in a week when he had more important things on his mind.
Brent Stephens
3 Posted 01/01/2024 at 22:20:06
Good man, Dwight.
Soren Moyer
4 Posted 01/01/2024 at 22:25:06
Oh crap!
Best wished to him and his partner.
Bill Gall
5 Posted 01/01/2024 at 22:41:27
Hope things turn out well sounds like she has a long road ahead,, and congratulations for the young man for continuing playing.

It takes something like this to realize they sometimes have the same problem as other people.

Paul Birmingham
6 Posted 01/01/2024 at 23:05:59
Well done Dwight, top Man. I hope his girlfriend gets on the mend and over the line to full health, again soon.
Si Cooper
7 Posted 01/01/2024 at 23:36:08
This has obviously been an added burden for Dwight to carry for quite some time, and it is likely to be a concern to him for a good while yet.

Hopefully he benefits mentally by being able to exhaust himself on the pitch and so can reconcile his career with his private life. Perhaps this insight into things we can only guess at will result in all those who think it fine to spout insults and vitriol thinking long and hard and keeping the negativity to themselves.

Jack Convery
8 Posted 02/01/2024 at 06:12:29
I wish them both well in the coming months and years. Dwight McNeill is a class act on and off the field and just the sort of player we need at Everton.

Good luck to you both.

Joe McMahon
9 Posted 02/01/2024 at 07:29:34
Things like this in life aren't easy to juggle/live with. Fingers crossed for them both.
Tony Heron
10 Posted 02/01/2024 at 08:35:25
What a fine example of humanity from Dwight McNeil. Supporting and caring for his girlfriend whilst still honouring his commitment to Everton.

Best wishes to you and especially Megan. I hope 2024 is a much better year for you.

James Lawton
11 Posted 02/01/2024 at 09:09:26
Best wishes to you both, and thank you, Dwight, for your efforts and contributions to the team.
Dave Williams
12 Posted 02/01/2024 at 10:39:31
A class act on and off the pitch including the significant amount of charitable work they both do.

Best wishes to both for her full recovery.

David Bromwell
13 Posted 02/01/2024 at 10:55:18
How nice to read such positive words about our players who sometimes we know so little about apart from their work on the pitch.

Let's hope the New Year brings better news for Dwight and his girlfriend.

Mike Hayes
14 Posted 02/01/2024 at 12:28:52
These are the sort of things we don't get to hear about and, if a player is off form, it does tend to give fans the opportunity to vent – maybe a little thought of something maybe amiss in a player's private life?

So fingers crossed she makes a full recovery and they have a happy life. Best wishes to them both. 💙

Ed Prytherch
15 Posted 02/01/2024 at 17:58:54
It is amazing that Dwight was able to play as well as he did with all of that stress. Good luck to the two of them.
Mike Gaynes
16 Posted 02/01/2024 at 18:21:11
Top comments here. You've all said it well.
Danny O’Neill
17 Posted 02/01/2024 at 18:21:16
Total respect to a young man, and I'm enough to call him that.

Very different circumstances, but I was informed my mother was dying during pre-deployment training for Afghanistan. She was only 59. I had good people around me who allowed me to go home and attend her funeral 2 weeks before we flew to Helmand Province.

In addition to the worries about my immediate family, it was tough on the emotions.

Credit to the club for supporting him. Credit to him for getting on with it. We often forget they are human beings with everyday challenges and emotions that we all face.

The lad always plays football with a smile on his face and is full of energy, even when it doesn't come off.

Winner on Thursday Dwight and a tee-shirt for your partner.

Dale Self
18 Posted 02/01/2024 at 18:41:29
We have been put in a difficult place as a club. This has created a tension that has complicated our views of various players.

When a story like this comes out, it really gives us a chance to properly reset those emotions for our future. I am very proud that Dwight McNeil is here and I hope for a better than expected recovery for Megan.

Paul Ferry
19 Posted 02/01/2024 at 19:20:36
Don't they just sound like a lovely, level-headed, and devoted couple. Megan deserves all the luck in the world for a full recovery. The two of them give back; they clearly have not forgotten their roots, I think they met when she was a waitress at Turf Moor.

Megan shared some lovely words about us, the city, and the club, not long after they moved from Burnley.

“Coming from Burnley, which is my hometown, and obviously they have a fanbase which is amazing as well,” she tells the Echo.

“Coming to Everton, the first game I came to was a friendly [against Dynamo Kyiv], and I was used to friendlies being quite low key and not very many people there, but oh my goodness it was like an end-of-season game.

“It was like a final or something and it was just amazing to see this fanbase and the community. I think what Dwight mentioned is so important to get to know what you are dealing with and what they are going through.

“We have been to Liverpool once or twice maybe in the past, but other than that, this is the first time we have been in and around Liverpool.

“Like Dwight said, you just get greeted by a smile. Everyone is friendly and it is just amazing and so nice. But yeah, the fanbase is just mental, in a good way.”

Brian Williams
20 Posted 02/01/2024 at 19:45:57
It's just a shame that it takes a story like this to make people stop and have a reset. The abuse some of our own players take on these pages is a disgrace.

But that's the downside of internet anonymity which often brings out the worst in people from the safety of their keyboard.

Phil Gardner
21 Posted 03/01/2024 at 09:16:18
We met Megan at Goodison, she was sitting in front of us for the Burnley cup game when McNeil was getting dog's abuse from their fans.

She's very nice, grounded girl who told us that Dwight and her love it at Everton. I wish her a full and speedy recovery.

Stan Grace
22 Posted 03/01/2024 at 09:16:23
Best wishes to Megan & Dwight and hoping her health issues improve asap. 🤞💙🤍

“Like Dwight said, you just get greeted by a smile. Everyone is friendly and it is just amazing and so nice. But yeah, the fanbase is just mental, in a good way.”

If she read the Live Forum, she'd be legally entitled to remove the last four words.

Larry O'Hara
23 Posted 03/01/2024 at 09:29:07
Yes, all this reflects well on him and her.

Best wishes to them both.

Dave Abrahams
24 Posted 03/01/2024 at 10:01:26
Dwight McNeil took a load of stick when he first came here, he still does after certain games. He always gets on with it and performs the best he can in every game, no dramatics out of him whether he is good bad or indifferent.

So it really is no surprise that he has kept the problems his girlfriend has been going through to himself and Megan, stood by her side and is helping her daily just by being there.

A good strong solid loyal man and soulmate to the girl he loves, he can't be better than that, can he?

Jeff Spiers
25 Posted 11/01/2024 at 17:24:07
Best of luck for the future
Jeff Spiers
26 Posted 12/01/2024 at 16:44:15
Best of luck for the future.

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