Toone says she would not have got through the past couple of years without her fiance Joe Bunney, who was a “rock” to her family while also dealing with his own grief for a man Toone describes as his “bestie”.

The pair were so close that Bunney took on Nick’s dream of creating a girls’ football academy when the former Rochdale player’s own career came to an end in 2025.

Bunney, who played at various lower league clubs after his career at Bolton Wanderers was derailed in 2019 when he suffered injuries in a car crash just a week after signing for them, says: “Ella and her dad said, ‘let’s do an academy’.

“I was coming towards the end of my career, I had a little bit more time so I said, ’I’ll put all my eggs in this basket and try and build something’.”

They set up the ET7 Academy, where he says “standards tend to go through the roof” when Toone comes to watch.

“Nick absolutely loved it, seeing these young girls come through and playing football. It was almost like he was reliving Ella’s life again,” adds Bunney. “That’s where my passion came from.”

Toone is “really proud” of her fiance and says he “sacrifices a lot”.

“The academy bought us together even though it is very stressful,” she adds. ”I think his hard work goes unnoticed but definitely not by me.

“Setting up the academy is part of dad’s legacy. He loved being part of something that he knew would help young girls have opportunities.”