Hi. I’m Maddie, daughter, friend, reality TV enthusiast (oh my god, this season of The Bachelorette,right?!), law student and cheeseburger lover.

Oh, and my partner happens to be an elite athlete – he plays AFL. To some, all of the fun facts I just gave you about myself may cancel out and suddenly I’m identified as a WAG.

So what exactly is a WAG? WAG is simply an acronym for Wives and Girlfriends – in theory it seems harmless. However, in practice it appears we’re vilified for the very fact our partners are athletes.

Suddenly we’re held in a different regard and instead of taking us as we are, we’re suddenly part-time models and fashion bloggers gallivanting around drinking skinny cappuccinos attending Pilates classes… of course these are only the activities we partake in to fill the days we’re not off having hair and makeup done by our #glamsquad and donning designer gowns for an endless list of functions where we talk mindless chatter.

By now you should know I am taking the absolute ‘piss’. Yes my partner is an athlete and so technically I am a WAG – but we don’t spend our days aimlessly wandering and living luxuriously.

Yes, occasionally we are invited to events such as the Best and Fairest or the Brownlow Medal (side note, five people from each club go every year so girls who set their sights on footballers in the hope of going to the Brownlows you might want to rethink things) but at the end of the day these are all work functions we attend in support of our partners. Who we are as people couldn’t be more of a contrast.

For starters, their work functions operate a hell of a lot different to mine.

Unfortunately for me, my partner’s work functions operate a little differently. Think cameras, cameramen and my favourite – couch commentary! Yes, tonight I gear up for the Brownlow Medal – a night to celebrate the league’s most decorated players.

Don’t get me wrong, it is so nice that our boyfriends and husbands are rewarded for their year of hard work and efforts – they truly do deserve it – however somewhere along the way the Brownlow Medal’s meaning got a little lost, and the event turned into a media circus in which the awards became less about the players’ seasons and accolades and more about the person that they chose to take along with them.

This year will be the first Brownlow Medal I’ve attended (*shudders*). And in the four years Lachie has played for the Western Bulldogs, I’ve heard enough horror stories from the fellow partners that the invitation was enough to make my stomach churn.

Not everyone has a designer on speed dial, or a glam squad at the ready. Getting Monday off isn’t easy, kids can’t feed themselves. And shoes?! Well thank god for online shopping, hey? Unless you are a well acclaimed model or a ‘somebody’ in the eyes of the designer, chances are you’re frantically buying or begging for a dress – and given that you receive under three weeks’ notice, I know it can sometimes take a turn for the worse.

Preparation for this thing has been rough, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t felt the weight of pressure that breeds from the fear of being vilified for anything and everything from my weight to my makeup and so forth.

The best looks from the 2015 Brownlow Medal Red Carpet. Post continues after gallery.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.

The 2015 Brownlow Medal Awards.