Adam Johnson and Stacey Flounders: She told the court rheir relationship was destroyed by his infidelity. Photo / Facebook
Adam Johnson and Stacey Flounders: She told the court rheir relationship was destroyed by his infidelity. Photo / Facebook
Adam Johnson's ex-girlfriend will today be left picking up the pieces after his trial for child sex offences and the split in their relationship it caused.
Stacey Flounders - who has a 1-year-old daughter with the footballer - has supported him in court and even gave evidence for his defence.
This was despite Johnson admitting to her that he had been messaging and meeting the 15-year-old schoolgirl at the centre of the case. And that he had also had flings with a number of other women.
Her family have told of the torment she has been going through during the investigation into the father of her child and the sordid details of his double life it uncovered.
A relative told MailOnline: "I feel so sorry for Stacey. She is a new mum and having a lot to cope with at the moment. Her grandad is also ill."
Stacey, 26, grew up in Hartlepool where her mother still lives. Her father is understood to have moved to Florida.
Stacey Flounders has a 1-year-old daughter with the footballer. Photo / Getty
She worked as an air hostess before meeting Johnson around the time he returned to the North East to play for Sunderland after an unsuccessful period at Manchester City.
The pair later moved into a sprawling £2million mansion in the upmarket village of Castle Eden, not far from Johnson's parents' home.
The family member added: "Before Adam, Stacey had her own life, she was an air hostess and had a car. She likes her designer shoes and handbags. She is a stunning girl.
"She liked her holidays, she saved up to go to Mexico and her dad lives in Florida so she would go and see him.
"She must have been really smitten with Adam because I've seen her have boyfriends before but I didn't expect her to settle down so soon. I was shocked to hear she was pregnant."
Johnson admitted during his trial that he had sent explicit messages to other women before he started messaging the girl involved in the trial.
He got in contact with the 15-year-old around a month before Miss Flounders gave birth to their daughter, who is now 1.
Adam Johnson and Stacey Flounders leaving Crown Court. Photo / Getty
At one point, he was even messaging the girl at the same time as texting Stacey, sometimes writing to them both in the same minute.
It was Stacey who answered the door when police came to Johnson's mansion in March last year and arrested him for child sex offences.
Before he was taken away, he told her that his accuser was 16 and he had given her "a couple of shirts".
When he returned from the police station, the couple had a long and frank discussion in which the player admitted he had been cheating on her and he told her what he had been arrested for.
Stacey's pain was increased when, shortly after his arrest, online trolls circulated a photo of her which they wrongly claimed was the victim.
She was later forced to take down her social media profiles due to the abuse she was receiving.
Despite his admissions to her and the growing scandal around him, Stacey was pictured holding Johnson's hand as he arrived for his first court appearance in front of Peterlee magistrates last May.
She was with him again at the start of his trial and gave evidence in his defence, saying: "He was honest with me, he was telling me the truth."
Her family are said to be rallying around her as she attempts to put the stress of the last three weeks behind her.
