What Is Layla Machado’s Book ‘How to Be a WAG’ All About? Is It About UFC’s Ian Garry?

UFC welterweight star Ian Garry has been no stranger to controversy—and not just for what he does inside the Octagon. Headlines have followed the Irishman like a shadow, but not for title shots or knockouts. At the center of it all? His wife, Layla Machado Garry. The former TV presenter came under fire when her satirical 2012 book, ‘How to Be a WAG’, resurfaced online.

What followed was a flurry of social media rumors—accusations of manipulation, name changes, and more bizarre claims. And then, like fuel to fire, Sean Strickland entered the ring, accusing Layla of being a “predator” and dragging Garry into an off-cage feud that left fans divided. But why was the decade-old satire suddenly front and center? And what’s fact versus fiction in this saga?

What is Layla Machado’s book about?

Ian Machado Garry’s wife is a former television presenter. And in 2012, she published a book titled “How To Be a WAG”, a satirical book that ostensibly is about how to get a successful athlete husband. A product of a British tabloid, the term ‘WAG’ simply stands for ‘Wives and Girlfriends, which means romantic and married partners of high-profile athletes. The book basically provides a pattern, a suggestion, or a method of how partners of top athletes present themselves in front of the media.

Many assumed that she used the tactics in this book to ‘trap’ the Irishman. But the book was a satirical piece about the WAG culture in the UK with an unflattering portrayal of such women. Some even spun wild rumors that Garry took her ex-husband’s last name. The couple swiftly denied those claims, explaining that ‘Machado’ is her maiden name—and Ian Garry adopted it out of love, not manipulation.

Amid these speculations, Sean Strickland called her out on social media to try and ‘save’ Garry. Layla is fourteen years older than the Irishman. Given the rumors, the age gap, and her book (which he doesn’t seem to realize was tongue-in-cheek), Strickland accused her of being a predator and of preying on the UFC fighter.

Garry and his wife have vigorously denied these accusations. The welterweight star reportedly even threatened to sue Strickland for defamation in direct messages with the middleweight champion!

Is ‘How to Be a WAG’ a satire?

While the book remains highly controversial, the author, Layla Machado Garry, has maintained that it was strictly satire and is not meant to be taken seriously at all. She had an earful for her detractors for failing to recognize that the book was a piece of satire. And predictably, even Ian Garry was upset about the whole affair.

In a post on Instagram, she explained, “I can hardly call myself an author of an 11-page audible-only satire story that was written in 2010. Now that context is key because that was during the FIFA World Cup, when I was working with OK magazine and various different gossip magazines, …that satirical look is, if you listened to it, really silly. anyone that takes it as fact has completely missed the mark, low and behold sarcasm isn’t well taken especially with American audience.”

Her goal was never to educate gold-diggers, but to mock the absurdity of WAG culture itself and her statement indicates that the outrage reveals more about her critics than it does about her.

Ian Garry’s comments about his wife’s controversial book

Back in November 2023, Garry made his stance clear. He posted a teaser of his upcoming documentary, where he and Layla addressed the online attacks. Calm, collected, and unbothered, the Irishman refused to let the mob shake his marriage.

In the snippet, Layla Machado Garry explained, “We were creating this hilarious satire look at wives and girlfriends in football, that’s what WAG stands for. It’s got nothing to do with age and I wasn’t 40 then was I? If you want to call me an author for that, sweet. I think it was more of a light-hearted podcast, but I was well ahead of my time.”

So here we are: A satirical 11-page audio skit that grew into a wildfire of gossip, drama, which may thankfully be dying down as time passes and Ian Garry makes his case as a top welterweight, undeniable! For now, his next challenge lies ahead at UFC on ESPN 66, where he’ll be taking on the surging Carlos Prates. Will ‘The Future’ be able to bounce back from his loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov and re-establish himself as a threat in the division? Let us know in the comments below!