Is Joey Chestnut Married? A Look At His Personal Life

When it comes to competitive eating, Joey Chestnut is one of the most famous contestants of all time. According to ESPN, Chestnut has won the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Contest every year since 2015 for a grand total of 15 wins since he began competing in 2005... and 2023's contest could potentially deliver Chestnut his ninth consecutive victory. However, 2022's contest still has people talking — Chestnut included. 

According to USA Today, Chestnut was involved in a physical altercation with an animal-rights protester who confronted him during the competition. "I'm a little bit worried," Chestnut shared with the outlet about a possible copycat scenario. "It seems like that's getting more popular. You just never know. Hopefully, it all works out." 

As tradition dictates, Chestnut's super devoted fans will have to wait until the Fourth of July to see if he'll come out of this year with yet another victory. Until then, we thought it'd be fun to pry into Chestnut's personal life.

Joey Chestnut has a rather unconventional job, but that's okay, because he sought out a like-minded bride. In 2014, Chestnut proposed to Neslie Ricasa, who also participates in the world of competitive eating, on the same day of the hot dog contest. While on stage answering questions about her then-boyfriend, Chestnut snuck onto the stage. Once he had the microphone, he made his emotional proposal. "Baby, it's been the best three years of my life an I can't live without you," Chestnut said. "You make me better. Will you marry me?"

Although Ricasa said yes, the couple never got married following his proposal. During a sit-down with the New York Post in 2015, Chestnut claimed they couldn't handle a long-distance relationship. "I definitely would say it was traveling. I was gone quite a bit," he shared. "It was mutual. It just didn't work," he added. Fortunately, Chestnut was able to distract himself by working. "I thought it would be bittersweet," added Chestnut. "I'm not going to let it hurt me. Last year, the whole engagement affected me. This year I will definitely have less distractions."

As of this writing, Joey Chestnut does not appear to have any children. During an interview with Hollywood Life, Chestnut discussed his possible retirement and mentioned becoming a dad could be one catalyst. 

"I know eventually I will give it up for one reason or another," Chestnut said. "Either if I have a family eventually. If I want to live a more normal life and can't travel as much or if ever my health changes or if I have a health issue that would be a reason." But he hopes that day doesn't come any time soon — mainly because he doesn't want to go back to a "normal job." However, if Chestnut does ever have kids, he doesn't intend to force them down his same career path. "I don't know about training them but I would tell them to do whatever makes them happy and I chose a degree I wanted to do and a company I wanted to work for and it made me happy and then it grew into something I would have never imagined so I think do whatever makes you happy," he added.

With that said, Chestnut definitely loves babies. In late 2022, Chestnut posed with a baby on Instagram. "Not my baby... Holding a beautiful baby puts things into perspective. Parents are heroes," Chestnut captioned the post. In the comment section, he added, "Raising the next generation should be seen as a goal and privilege, never a burden."