Despite a nervy start for England in their first Euros match against Serbia, Bukayo Saka was one of the squad to shine, and his long-term – and low-key – girlfriend was watching quietly from the stands as the national team’s campaign kicked off.
PR exec Tolami Benson has been dating the Arsenal star – seen as crucial to England’s success at this summer’s tournament – for nearly four years, but the pair are very rarely seen together.
Photos of them embracing in the stands at matches during the World Cup in Doha back in 2022 aside, their romance remains refreshingly off-grid.
On Sunday night, glamorous Benson, who once worked on the shop floor at Harrods has a degree from Birmingham City University, firmly went against WAG tradition and didn’t wear an England shirt to support her man – and will likely take the same approach when the squad take on Denmark in Frankfurt tonight.
While many of the other England WAGS donned a football shirt to watch their partners play in the opening game in Germany, Bukayo Saka’s long-term love Tolami Benson opted for a swish leather biker jacket, which carried the number 87 – Saka’s onetime Arsenal shirt number – on the back
The couple keep their four-year romance firmly under wraps; with just a few photos of them appearing in public together taken at the World Cup in Doha in 2022
The superstar footballer and his PR executive girlfriend seen in a rare embrace following a match in Qatar during the World Cup two years ago
The 23-year-old, who started a new job in May as a Senior Planning Executive for Zenith, instead opted for a more cryptic nod to her superstar footballing beau – donning a custom-made leather biker jacket emblazoned with ’87’.
This was Saka’s jersey number for his 2018/2019 breakthrough season in the Arsenal squad.
He also used the shirt number as a youth player, so is likely close to his heart.
Across Benson’s social media accounts, while there are plenty of references to Arsenal, including friendships with fellow Premier League WAGS including Ben White’s wife Milly and Leandro Trossard’s wife Laura, there’s no sign of the 22-year-old winger.
While the couple are nowhere to be seen on each other’s Instagram, they do occasionally share photos from the same location, including this Dubai yacht in 2022
Their romance was uncovered by fans in February when they shared individual pictures on a yacht in Dubai
The England star got off to a flying start in the first game, a 1-0 victory against Serbia, and is likely to start the match against Denmark on Thursday in Frankfurt
She’s a gunner! Benson offered a glimpse into the couple’s lifestyle recently with this shot of her shooting in a country field
After sharing snaps of flying on a private jet, Benson also posed up a storm at her destination, a luxury villa resort
Close: The couple have been together since he was 18, the same age he signed for the Arsenal first team (Pictured at the World Cup in 2022)
Saka’s only appearance on his girlfriend’s Insta? Benson posted this shot of a masked companion…and Saka’s fans put two and two together
Indeed, the only time there’s been a mere hint of the footballer on her Instagram account, which has more than 65,000 followers, came in 2021 when Tolami posted a photo of herself with a mystery man wearing a mask, widely assumed to be Arsenal’s star man.
In Dubai a couple of years ago the couple posted strikingly similar shots of them enjoying the UAE idyll, apparently from the same yacht, but that’s as close to a public photo of the couple shared by them that fans are likely to come.
There’s plenty of glitzy photos of private jets and luxe resorts, and even a shot of the PR exec proving she’s a genuine gunner on a rural shooting trip.
Over on Threads, Benson shares more down-to-earth images – including of her train platform view during her morning commute into central London.
Saka too, keeps his private life on the down low on the socials, with no mention of his PR executive girlfriend of nearly four years, on his Instagram account, which has a whopping 6.2million followers.
Benson regularly shared pictures in Gunners kit to her followers on Instagram, showing her support for her boyfriend’s Premier League team
Instead, there’s images galore of him on the pitch with England and Arsenal, and attending events such as London Fashion Week, where he posed with Saltburn star Barry Keoghan.
It’s though the couple share his luxury six-bedroom Hertfordshire home. Saka grew up in modest circumstances just five miles from Wembley where he lived with his parents and siblings.
Bukayo’s Nigerian parents, who are devoted Christians, settled in Ealing when they came to the UK in the 1990s as economic migrants. It’s thought Benson also has Nigerian heritage.
The PR exec, 23, regularly posts photos of her trips to the Emirates, but Arsenal’s star winger is nowhere to be seen on her Instagram
Arsenal’s WAG Squad: Benson, pictured centre bottom, with Sophie Weber (left), girlfriend of Kai Havertz, Ben White’s wife Milly (right), Martin Odegaard’s partner Helen Spilling (top left) and Leandro Trossard’s wife Laura, pictured at the Emirates
The glamorous PR executive is a regular at the Emirates stadium in North London and has followed her beau all over the world watching him play
Benson recently shared a photo of herself with Trossard’s wife Laura (left) on Instagram
Following his breakthrough into the first team at Arsenal, Saka upgraded his home to a six-bedroomed contemporary mansion with sprawling grounds (Pictured: An artist’s impression of the property)
The family occupied a small two-storey semi-detached home in Greenford, in the borough of Ealing, London, where Bukayo would kick a ball as a young boy on the communal green after school.
But following his breakthrough into the first team at Arsenal, he quietly upgraded by buying a six-bedroomed contemporary mansion with sprawling grounds.
He bought the enormous house in leafy Hertfordshire in November 2019 for £2.3 million – just as he turned 18.
Saka’s importance is unquestioned in the England squad, he’s currently the squad’s second top goalscorer behind Harry Kane and is expected to win his 34th cap against Denmark.