Dallas Cowboys WAG speaks out against online appearance hate (Exclusive)

Kalani Bugsby is no stranger to public appearances.

Before graduating from the University of Alabama this year, the 21-year-old worked in a variety of front-line roles on campus, including as a student assistant in the athletic communications department and as a stadium tour guide for the school’s news station, WVUA 23.

“I’ve always loved public relations and social media and sports management. That was my job,” Bagsby explains. “I’ve always wanted to be a sports reporter. Yeah, that’s what I wanted to be. But I quickly realized that I didn’t really like being in front of the camera.”

Sports and customer-facing roles have long been part of her skill set. However, Bagsby is also dating Dallas Cowboys offensive guard Tyler Booker, and has recently come into the public eye, even though he doesn’t always want to be in front of the cameras.

As a lover of football players, Bagsby also became actively involved in the NFL community. She recently took part in an Instagram Stories takeover of the Women of the NFL Instagram account, giving viewers a look into her day during the NFL preseason.

While many of the comments on the announcement post were positive, she admits she has also received less-than-positive feedback, including internet trolls about her appearance.

“Oh my gosh, the amount of hate I got from that one post, like for the women in the NFL, the takeover post is just crazy,” Bugsby, who identifies as plus-size, exclusively tells PEOPLE.

“It’s been going on since the draft,” Bugsby said of the online criticism.

Although the comments are upsetting, Bugsy admits he wouldn’t mind being more public.

In fact, she’s determined to bring representation to the NFL wives and girlfriends community for people with body types similar to hers.

“I know how to deal with (hatred), and I don’t mind putting myself out there if it means I know I’m helping others and showing others, ‘Girl, you can do this,'” she says. “You’re perfect, the way you look.”

Together, she and Booker have been navigating their romance’s new spotlight position, which has been made easier thanks to their long-standing relationship status.

Bugsby and Booker have been dating since their freshman year at Alabama. Bagsby shared that Booker started following her on TikTok when she was a senior in high school, and admitted that she doesn’t know how Booker found her on the platform because “I hadn’t even been to Alabama at the time.”

The two met on campus after Bagsby followed Booker on Instagram after a football game against Texas A&M that year, and the rest is history.

“I feel like we’re doing pretty well,” Bagsby says of managing their relationship in the spotlight. “So it’s a lot more public, but honestly, it’s kind of like Alabama. We’ve always been in the public eye, so we know how to deal with it.”

In her role as part of the school’s athletics communications department, Bagsby recalls a moment when her job overlapped with Booker’s time as a college offensive lineman, and how that often made her job a little stressful.

“The rule is you can’t cheer in the press box, you can’t say anything in the press box,” Bagsby said. “I had to get up and go to the bathroom[to cheer]. I was like, oh my god, let’s just calm down.”

That’s also why Bagsby says he likes to keep his work and private lives separate.

“I didn’t want to work in football because I honestly didn’t want to be near him and work around him,” she says.

Since graduating, Bagsby said she has been adjusting to her new life in Texas. Booker was selected by the Cowboys in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and the two moved to Texas together. She also found a strong support system from her fellow WAGs.

“It was amazing,” Bagsby tells PEOPLE of the community he found among the Dallas Cowboys’ key players. “Everyone I’ve met so far and everyone I’ll meet in the future has been so supportive.”

Some of the women have started Bible studies together, which has made the team feel increasingly “like a family,” Bagsby said.

While Bagsby says she doesn’t know anything about the team or WAG’s matchday traditions yet, she takes matchdays quite seriously herself.

“I always wear these earrings on game day,” she says of her own game day routine. “I call them like lucky earrings. I keep doing that.”

As for other plans after graduation, Bagsby is sticking to communications and football, but doesn’t necessarily believe in the term WAG.

“I think it’s strange to have a title like that,” she says. “I don’t mind that, but I don’t want anyone to think that’s all there is to me. Like, I’m Kalani and there are so many sides to me.”

Continuing to play these roles “on the other side” is where her social media career began. She currently manages social for one of the top five high school wide receivers in the state of Texas.

And more importantly, she knows social media will be an avenue for her to continue sharing match day outfit inspiration with other plus size WAGs and women.

“I’ve always made my own costumes,” Bagsby says of his game-day attire. “I love surprising people. It’s calming for me. I’m very creative, so once I know I can do it, I just go ahead and get the materials and do it myself.”

Bagsby posts custom designs on her second Instagram account, First & Fine by Kalani, which often include dizzying depictions of Booker. He has been doing this since his college days at the University of Alabama, and game days were a “fashion show.”

Her dream is to one day launch a plus-size NFL fashion brand, but before she gets there, she’s working on perfecting her clothes.

“All I really want to say is that I really want people to know that you are beautiful in your own body,” she says. “You don’t have to fit a certain standard. Obviously I don’t and I love myself. It may take time to feel confident and love yourself, but trust me it will come someday.”

She went on to talk about the hatred she received.

“It doesn’t matter because I know that I represent that and I know that it’s helping other girls who look like me feel confident in themselves.”