Red Flags In Patrick And Brittany Mahomes' Marriage

Since former pro soccer player Brittany Matthews became Brittany Mahomes in March 2022, her marriage to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has gone through the gauntlet. In fact, the couple hadn't even made it to the altar yet when Twitter users started speculating that Brittany viewed her first pregnancy in 2020 as nothing more than a form of financial security. "Guaranteed she stopped taking her birth control right after he signed that contract," one cynic wrote. This was in reference to the record-breaking 10-year contract extension worth over $500 million that Patrick signed after leading his team to victory in Super Bowl LIV. Others applauded Brittany upon learning the Mahomes' big baby news, with another person tweeting, "I ain't mad at her, girl seal that deal."

Brittany and Patrick waited until after the birth of their daughter, Sterling Skye Mahomes, to get hitched. But bucking tradition by doing the wedding and baby thing backward is hardly a red flag for a marriage nowadays.

By the time they added a baby to the mix in 2021, the couple had been together for around eight years. They're high school sweethearts who survived doing the long-distance thing in college, but sometimes, spouses who begin a relationship at such a young age eventually grow apart or start to struggle with that pesky seven-year itch. As unofficial relationship refs, we're also going to call a few red flags on Brittany and Patrick's marital plays.

Brittany Mahomes has been with her husband since well before he became a household name, so you can't accuse her of being a gold digger. In fact, she found her sudden fame as an NFL WAG rather overwhelming. "I was not prepared for this," Brittany said during a 2023 "CBS Mornings" interview. "I didn't expect it to skyrocket this soon, and us kind of just being thrown into the fire like this." Even famous women have struggled with the attention they get when dating NFL stars; Carrie Underwood told Entertainment Weekly that one reason she and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo didn't work out was because his fans felt she was too much of a distraction.

Brittany has often drawn the ire of her husband's supporters, such as when a fan shared their thoughts about Brittany using Twitter to complain about the refs' calls during games. "It's not giving the org a good look," they wrote. Brittany clapped back, "In the nicest way possible ... Shut up."

Then there's the time Brittany doused some Kansas City Chiefs fans with champagne while celebrating a 2022 playoff victory. One Twitter user pointed out that she could have dropped the champagne bottle on the people far below her. "Very immature and foolish," wrote the self-described Chiefs fan. In response to the barrage of similar comments from her Twitter critics, Brittany complained, "I just wish I could do what I want without getting attacked every week."

If you scroll through Brittany Mahomes and Patrick Mahomes' Instagram pages, you'll see photos of the couple posing at events, kissing on the sidelines, and vacationing with their kids. For Brittany in particular, it's rare for her to share a photo in which her spouse isn't smiling by her side. On the surface, it looks like the couple has the happiest of marriages. However, according to a study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, those who try hardest to portray picture-perfect relationships on social media may actually be struggling with feelings of insecurity. "On days when people felt more insecure about their partner's feelings for them, they posted more about their relationships on Facebook than usual," researchers wrote.

According to relationship expert Nikki Goldstein, social media users who engage in this behavior may find more value in the reactions they get to their posts than they get from the romantic moments that they're sharing with their followers. Goldstein told the Daily Mail that possessiveness fueled by insecurity may also come into play. "There are a lot of people out there who want to flaunt to their friends and the world that this person is mine," she said.

Here's another possible red flag: In 2019, Brittany used Instagram to make a shallow argument that she's ideal girlfriend material. She shared two bikini photos and captioned them, "Me, when you get told all the time your boyfriend could do so much better."

No matter how faithful Patrick Mahomes is to his wife, it's not going to stop other women from shooting their shot with the insanely wealthy and successful NFL star. During a 2023 Q&A with her Instagram followers, Brittany Mahomes was asked how she feels about these wannabe WAGs. "I did use[d] to have a very hard time and get extremely annoyed," she wrote on her Instagram Story. As pointed out by Brides, those who witness others flirting with their significant others may find themselves in the uncomfortable position of deciding whether the behavior is so egregious that it merits a confrontation. And who wants to deal with that sort of drama on the reg?

In her Story, Brittany wrote, "Lol it's actually really sad how disrespectful some women are ... But they are a waist [sic] of my time & not going to disturb my peace." However, she chose to spend some of her time responding to that follower's question about flirtatious fans, so maybe she isn't as cool with their behavior as she claims. We hope that Patrick handles these situations by shutting his admirers down as quickly as possible to save his wife from experiencing too much discomfort. If not, that's definitely an additional red flag.

While taking the GQ Couples Quiz in 2023, Patrick Mahomes revealed that his wife has a habit of shutting down when she gets angry or upset. "You just get quiet," he said to Brittany Mahomes, who confirmed that this is true. "I'm like, there is something wrong, and then I just walk in, and I'm just nervous," Patrick continued. He then has to puzzle out what the problem is without Brittany's input.

According to psychologist Dr. John Gottman of The Gottman Institute, the silent treatment is a form of "stonewalling," which he lists as one of "The Four Horsemen" that spell potential doom for a relationship. It's usually wielded as a form of punishment. "In the short term, the silent treatment causes stress," Princeton psychology professor Joel Cooper told The Atlantic. "In the long term, the stress can be considered abuse." Unfortunately, using the silent treatment to convey displeasure can become a habit that's hard to drop, and therapy may be required to help its devotees develop a healthier method of dealing with conflict. So, yeah, it can be a serious red flag.

Apparently, Patrick has his own difficulties when it comes to dealing with conflict. In a post on her Instagram Story, Brittany revealed that he uses the phrase "Let me check with my wife" when he knows that his answer to whatever is being asked is going to disappoint the asker. Brittany then looks like the bad guy.

In the Netflix docuseries "Quarterback," viewers get to witness how Brittany Mahomes reacted after Patrick Mahomes suffered a leg injury during the playoffs in January 2023. She makes light of the situation by mockingly predicting that her husband will spend a lot of time off his feet — which makes sense for someone trying to let their injured ankle heal. During the game, she tells others in the suite with her, "Now I'm going to have to hear about it all week, 'I can't do nothing. I got to sit on the couch and recover.' That's what it's going to be." She also complains that Patrick will use the injury as an excuse to get out of helping her care for their son, Patrick "Bronze" Lavon Mahomes III, who was about two months old at the time. Brittany further predicts that her husband will have to get his injury treated in the evenings and won't return until after their kids' bedtime. A TikTok user shared a clip of Brittany complaining and called her behavior "cringey."

Patrick has admitted that his wife works extra hard so that he can be successful on the field. "I have a great wife. I think that helps out a ton. She helps me out a ton by taking stuff off my plate," he told People. But from the sounds of it, her plate might be too full.

When Patrick Mahomes asked Brittany Mahomes to identify his top cheat day food, she failed that GQ Couples Quiz question by guessing that it's fried chicken. Her second guess, chicken fried steak with a side of mashed potatoes, was also wrong. Patrick corrected her by saying, "Mexican food, especially the Tex-Mex." Brittany got a brutal roasting on social media for not knowing this bit of tasty trivia. (Has she never had dinner with her hubby on a cheat day?) "I really hope dude got a prenup," one Twitter user quipped. Another wrote, "At some point, this relationship will fail, and we'll all know why."

Twitter was far kinder to Patrick when he confessed to forgetting that Valentine's Day was just around the corner ahead of Super Bowl LVII in 2023. "I'll make sure to make plans. I appreciate you reminding me," he told reporters, per a video shared on the NFL Twitter account. "Relatable to every single man in America," read one reaction to his admission.

For the record, Valentine's Day played an important role in Patrick and Brittany's relationship. "I never liked him; we were just best friends," Brittany told Vitality of how she used to feel about Patrick. That changed when he gave her a rose and a card for Valentine's Day, even though his gifts were meant to be a joke. We hope Patrick took Brittany out for Tex-Mex to make up for forgetting the important holiday.