For the love of the game … and its players! Stars like Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez and Olivia Culpo have a thing for athletic men and they’re not alone.
The former Spice Girls singer married former soccer star, David Beckham, in July 1999 after meeting two years prior after a soccer match. She has since welcomed four children, Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper, with the hunky athlete.
“Yes, love at first sight does exist,” Victoria wrote in a letter penned to her younger self for the October 2016 issue of British Vogue. “It will happen to you in the Manchester United players’ lounge — although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy.”
Lopez, on the other hand, got engaged to former Yankees player, Alex Rodriguez, in March 2019, after dating for two years. The couple had to postpone their nuptials amid the coronavirus pandemic, but they continued to support one another with Rodriguez attending Lopez’s presidential inauguration performance in January 2021. They ultimately called it quits in April 2021.
Culpo, for her part, has yet to marry an athlete, but she has had two high-profile relationships with football players. After splitting from Detroit Lions player Danny Amendola in March 2018, the model started seeing Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey in June 2019.
Even during the coronavirus pandemic, the Sports Illustrated model showed her support for McCaffrey. “ITS GAME DAY ‼️‼️ lets goooo @christianmccaffrey,” she wrote via Instagram in September 2020 alongside two photos of the pair on vacation earlier in the summer.
Culpo continued to cheer on her man in fall 2022 when McCaffrey was traded to the San Francisco 49ers. “WHAT A YEAR! So proud of you @christianmccaffrey,” the Culpo Sisters star wrote via Instagram in January 2023 as the team headed to the playoffs. “You deserve this and beyond ❤️.”
Loving athletes isn’t only for the girls, however — Artem Chigvintsev fell for former WWE wrestler Nikki Bella in January 2019.
Us Weekly exclusively revealed at the time that the former Dancing With the Stars partners were an item. The following year, the lovebirds announced their engagement after the Russian dancer popped the question in November 2020. The couple has since welcomed their first child together, son Matteo, and tied the knot in 2022.
Alexis Ohanian’s romance with tennis star Serena Williams is one for the ages. The tech entrepreneur, who shares daughter Olympia with Williams, has been supportive of his wife’s sports career throughout their relationship, often gushing about her “hero” qualities in interviews and on social media.
Scroll down to see all of the stars who have dated, and in many cases, married athletes:
