Celebration! Rika Izumi and Shogo Taniguchi of Japan’s national soccer team announce their marriage. 10 years of “semi-living together” love as seen by this magazine.

Rika Izumi, who got her big break as a “mole girl

I am very sorry to inform you that I have married Shogo Taniguchi, with whom I have been in a relationship for some time.

On June 25, model and actor Rika Izumi ( 36 ) updated her Instagram page to report that she had married Shogo Taniguchi ( 33 ), a Japan national soccer team defender who currently plays for Sint-Troiden VV in the Belgian First Division.

The couple met in the summer of 2003 through a mutual friend and started dating . The couple was discovered in 2005 when a sports newspaper reported their relationship. At the time, Izumi was active as a model and gravure idol with the catchphrase “erofuwa body. She became a big breakout star as a “mole girl, “ as she was commonly called. Taniguchi, on the other hand, is also popular as one of the best-looking players in the J-League and has become a topic of conversation as a beautiful man and a beautiful woman.

Shortly before their love affair was reported, Friday spotted both Taniguchi and Taniguchi dining together at a fashionable Chinese restaurant in Ebisu (Shibuya Ward). It reported the scene (September 22, 2005 issue). A customer who was there at the time described the two,

They were sitting at the counter enjoying a course meal. Izumi seemed to be worried about being seen, so she wore glasses and looked down from beginning to end. But she was so cute that she really stood out in the restaurant. She was drinking beer, but he was non-alcoholic, as if he had to drive. I was impressed by the way he was whispering, as if he didn’t want to be found out.

I was impressed by her whispering, as if she didn’t want to be found out. Taniguchi, however, denied the relationship when directly confronted by this magazine . ……

Three years later, in August 2008. Friday witnessed a “semi-living together” situation. It reported that they lived in an apartment just a stone’s throw away from each other in Tokyo and returned home together to Izumi’s apartment (September 25, ’20 issue).

(Her apartment is) this way.”

Taniguchi was rummaging through an antique store that sold fashionable cookware and tableware. After purchasing a few items, he headed for Izumi’s apartment, perhaps as a gift for Izumi, who enjoys baking sweets and cooking. At the time, they had already been dating for more than three years, and the possibility of marriage may have been increasing. ……, so we again directly interviewed Taniguchi. At the time, Taniguchi was a member of Kawasaki Frontale of the J-League, and the team was doing very well.

─ ─ Mr. Taniguchi, it’s Friday.

(smiles) “I thought for sure you were.”

─ ─ You are doing well this season ( ’20 season), do you think you can aim for the championship?

No, not yet at all. Winning is not that easy.

─ Is your personal life a factor in your success?

Hahaha, I can’t say anything about that. I can’t really say.

─ Are you planning to get married?

“No, I don’t.”

─ When did you start living together?

“We don’t even live together.

─ ─ But we do come home together. ……

I live in a different place. (Pointing to an apartment across the street from hers) This way. （We sometimes go home (together), but we don’t live together.

─ Are you sure that you have been dating for three years?

I think that’s fine.

─ I’m sorry to bother you.

If we lose the next match, I will blame Mr. Friday. That’s a lie.

Taniguchi, who was fresh from training, was a handsome man after all. At the time, Izumi’s office responded to this magazine, “We leave her private life to her own devices.

There was some uncertainty about their relationship after that, as there were rumors of a breakup, but their 10-year love affair came to fruition and they got married. Taniguchi suffered a serious injury last November, rupturing his left Achilles tendon, and just returned on May 10, the last day of the Belgian league.

At the team’s season debriefing in Tokyo on June 12, he said that his desire for the national team was his emotional support during his rehabilitation. Although he did not say it out loud, it is not difficult to imagine Izumi’s devoted support.

The two will no doubt work together to achieve new goals in the future. I wish them a long and happy life together .