The former girlfriend of Maddy Cusack told the inquest into her death that her eating habits changed as a result of manager Jonathan Morgan’s comments during their time at Sheffield United, which played a key part in the decline in her mental health.Grace Riglar, who currently plays for Norwich City Women, began a relationship with Cusack before Morgan’s arrival as Sheffield United manager in February 2023.On the second day of the inquest into Cusack’s death at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court, Riglar said that her former partner was “anxious” when Morgan was appointed because of the previous experience she had working with him when they were at Leicester City.Cusack, who took her own life at the age of 27 on September 20, 2023, spent three months at Leicester before moving to Sheffield United in January 2019.Riglar told the inquest that, after a training session, Cusack had told her about a comment Morgan made about her weight or fitness which, Riglar observed, “drastically changed” her eating habits.“On the back of that, her eating and exercise habits changed,” she said. “She’d do stuff like not eat any carbs or skip breakfast, go for extra runs after a game; slight tweaks in her habits which probably weren’t the healthiest at the time for her.“After those comments she wanted to try and prove him wrong a bit. She was one of the fittest players anyway.”During cross examination, Morgan, representing himself, pushed back on that and said that he had referred to Cusack as “fitter” rather than “fat”.Sheffield United paid tribute to Cusack after her death in 2023 (Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)Riglar also told the court that “no-one could understand” why Cusack was getting less game time during the final months of the 2022-23 season after Morgan’s appointment.“From what she said and what I saw, I’d say it was that he was trying to make – maybe I wouldn’t say mind games – but some kind of point to Maddy that he could do what he wanted because he was the manager,” Riglar said.“She was used to starting every game, she was an important member of the team. When Jonathan came, she was in and out from the starting team a bit. Her going from starting to being on the bench quite a lot, she saw that as a setback. That impacted her a lot.”Morgan pointed out that Cusack had played five of the nine league games he had taken charge of, and that she had started the first three games of the following season.Riglar, who had also played under Morgan at Leicester after Cusack had left, went on to describe a meeting early in Morgan’s tenure at Sheffield United, where he asked those in the team who were in a relationship to arrange a separate, private meeting to inform him.Riglar said Cusack, who she described as “private” in her personal life, did not want to go to the meeting and “found (the meeting) more uncomfortable than (Riglar) did”. Morgan, Riglar added, outlined three rules, one of which was that if he fell out with one of them, the other could not hold a grudge.“I don’t think it’s normal in my experience at a club,” Riglar told the court, also confirming hat there was nobody from Sheffield United’s Human Resources department present for the meeting.“If there’s ever any issues within a relationship, then the manager might want to get involved if it impacts the football side of things, but Maddy and I were always very professional.”Riglar also claimed that Morgan referred to her as “Mrs Cusack” in front of other players which also made her girlfriend feel uncomfortable because they had always wanted to keep their relationship “very professional”.Riglar also recalled Cusack telling her that Morgan had called her a “psycho” from the sideline when she played against a team Morgan was managing. “I don’t think she’d ever let anyone know comments affected her but they did and it made her uncomfortable,” she told the court.She said that Morgan’s reputation “preceded him” and that he played a big role in Cusack’s deterioration before her death.“I do believe that a big part of it was Jonathan coming to the club which coincided with her being really unhappy,” she said. “You can’t blame one person but I do think that was a big reason that caused the anxiety and stress.”She also told the court that she would not have known who to approach at Sheffield United for help on mental health problems during that time – “there never seemed to be a clear route where players knew how to get help or support,” she said.(George Wood – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)During Morgan’s cross-examination, he challenged Riglar saying she had been made to feel “worthless” during her time playing under him at Leicester. Morgan detailed how he had helped pay for her ACL surgery, provided her with a flat free of charge, and claimed he helped her with her bursary application for a university degree.“I think it was the general environment created at the club”, Riglar said. “I think I appreciated what you and your family did but I don’t think that takes away how I felt playing under you at the club. After leaving, I realised it wasn’t a normal environment to be in as a footballer.The inquest was told that Cusack had been given a sick note from a doctor to have time off football and her marketing job at Sheffield United. She had also been prescribed anti-depressants and had sought counselling in the weeks before her death. Riglar was unaware but told the court she presumed Cusack had withheld the information from her because “she probably wouldn’t have wanted me to worry”.The inquest continues.