The Untold Truth Of The Wives And Girlfriends Of The New England Patriots

Ever since coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady joined the New England Patriots back in 2000, the professional football team has dominated the game. While the spotlight shines on the hardworking, driven, and athletic players who catch, punt, tackle, and score touchdowns with uncanny precision, many of the Patriots' top stars credit their success not to the organization's top brass, but to the unwavering support from their wives, fiancées, and girlfriends.

Brady says it's his wife, international supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and their stable home life that allows him to "focus a little bit more" on the field, according to an interview with Sirius XM Radio (via CBS Sports). Wide receiver Chris Hogan can't thank his wife, Ashley Boccio, enough for all the sacrifices she made for their family, all while simultaneously pursuing her own ambitious dreams that we'll delve into momentarily. These are just two of the WAGs (the acronym for wives and girlfriends) who've played major roles in a Patriots player's life, but there are many more. This is the untold truth of the wives and girlfriends of the New England Patriots.

You may recognize linebacker Kyle Van Noy's wife, Marissa Van Noy (née Powell), as Miss Utah USA 2013. She competed in the Miss USA pageant in June 2013, but she didn't exactly nail the competition's Q&A session. When Marissa was asked what the gender pay gap says about our society, she awkwardly answered, in part: "I think, especially the men are ... seen as the leaders of this, and so we need to see how to create education better." Say what?

Marissa was bashed for her "wildly stupid answer" by Cosmopolitan, but there was at least one person who publicly defended her: Kyle – the on-again, off-again boyfriend who became her husband. Kyle, who was playing football for Brigham Young University at the time, spoke about Marissa's blunder during his school's media day (via Deseret News). "When you see a friend you know very well and you know she is a 4.0 student and you know she is one of the smarter than smart and you see her fumble like that on a national scale was hard," the linebacker said.

Marissa still managed to place 3rd runner-up in the pageant, and less than six months after her Miss USA snafu, Kyle proposed. The devout Mormons wed at Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2014. On Sep. 8, 2019, Kyle and Marissa welcomed their first child. "Last night was incredible! We welcomed a young king into the world! Trae Ledgend Van Noy!!!!!! Mom is doing great we appreciate all the love and prayers," the linebacker tweeted the next morning.

Georgia native David Andrews met Mackenzie Andrews (née Dempsey) when they attended the University of Georgia. David played on the football team and Mackenzie — who has been cheerleading since the age of 2 — was a member of the university's cheer squad, Northwest Georgia News reports. On the couple's The Knot wedding page, Mackenzie wrote that David was "in the friend zone" until the fall of their junior year of college. "We started dating and David swept me off my feet and it keeps getting better," she shared. In 2015, Mackenzie earned a Bachelor of Science in health promotion, and David signed with the Patriots. He proposed to Mackenzie in October of that same year. Guess where he popped the question? 

On the 50-yard line at Sanford Stadium — the same place David played as a Georgia Bulldog and where Mackenzie shook her pom poms. Their family members and closest friends were "waiting in the stands to celebrate" when she said yes. In April 2017, they became husband and wife. David tweeted: "Today I married the woman of my dreams @mackdemp26. What an amazing day."

Chris Hogan met Ashley Boccio when they both played lacrosse at Penn State. Since then, their relationship has been driven by their competitive natures, each pushing the other to excel by any means necessary. "We have to one-up the other," Boccio told Inside Lacrosse. It seems that rising to the top is something Hogan and Boccio do naturally, but they admit neither of them would be where they are if they didn't have each other. Hogan was cut from multiple teams, including the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins, before signing a "three-year, $12-million deal with the Patriots" in 2016, Inside Lacrosse reports, and Boccio was a trooper, following him cross country as he pursued his dream.

Though he earned a Super Bowl ring when the Patriots crushed the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI and another when the Patriots muscled out the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, he's not the only champ in the Hogan-Boccio household. His wife works a grueling schedule as a podiatrist, and she ends her days by taking care of their twins, Chase and Parker Hogan, the The Boston Globe reports. Hogan wants Boccio to know that her sacrifices are deeply appreciated. "I will never be able to repay what she's done for me in my career," he told the Globe. Hogan began the 2019 NFL season with the Carolina Panthers.

Duron Harmon and Christine Sanchez's love story began when he was a football player and she was a cheerleader at rival high schools. Sanchez was a grade above Harmon, but that didn't stop him from sliding into her MySpace DMs. "My first impression was that he was a sweet, reserved, respectful guy," she told Hello Beautiful about the New England Patriots safety. "We started from the beginning as friends with no intention of taking it any further than just prom dates, because after all, I was leaving for college that fall." Sanchez said she used her mom's car to pick Harmon up for their first date — a pit-stop at Chick-Fil-A for some ice cream, followed by an outing to the movie theater. Harmon said the flick they watched wasn't that great, but "being around her is what made everything worth it and from that time I knew I wanted to be with her."

He asked her to be his girlfriend on June 11, 2008, according to his Instagram. They tied the knot in May 2016, and as of this writing, they share three children together. The Rutgers grad said Sanchez showed him "what true loves looks like." He added, "I'm glad that I found this love so early in life."

Nate Ebner met Chelsey Ebner (née Walton) while attending Ohio State University, according to Busted Coverage. Chelsey reportedly attended Simmons College and Ohio State University and graduated from the latter with a degree in nutrition-dietetics. In July 2017, she shared an Instagram picture of a shiny engagement ring on that finger with a caption that read: "Future Mrs. Ebner." According to their The Knot profile, they set a date of May 2019, and according to Chelsey's Instagram, the two definitely sealed the deal in that time frame. Woohoo!

But don't expect Chelsey to put her degree on the back burner just because she became the wife of a New England Patriots superstar. She has her own aspirations. She's the founder of Find Your Strong, a personal training and wellness company. As for her credentials, she certainly knows a thing or two about how to acquire rock-hard abs. "I currently hold two overall Bikini Championship titles in the NPC and a total of 3 first place wins," her business website reads.

New England Patriots free safety Devin McCourty met his wife, Michelle McCourty (née Powell), when they both attended Rutgers University, according to Heavy. For years, they kept things strictly platonic, since Michelle was involved "in a previous long-term relationship from high school," she told MunaLuchi Bride. After Devin was signed by the Patriots in 2010, he returned to his alma mater for "off-season training with other Rutgers NFL players," MunaLuchi Bride reported, and Michelle was at the university "pursuing the later stages of medical school..." This time, their friendship turned into a full-blown relationship. 

Michelle gave birth to their first child, and after acquiring the title of MD, she thanked Devin — the man she called her "partner in crime." In July 2014, she announced on Instagram that her years of schooling had paid off. She'd been hired at the Department of Emergency Medicine in New Jersey. Okuuuuuuurt! Brains and beauty! Devin put a ring on it in 2015 during a trip to Disney World, and they got married in 2016 in a gorgeous ceremony at the Venetian in Garfield, N.J. As of this writing, the couple has two children and appears to be happier than ever.

The sports world and fashion industry collided when Tom Brady married Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen in 2009. They're raising two children, Benjamin Brady and Vivian Lake Brady, as well as Brady's son, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, from a previous relationship with model Bridget Moynahan.

Though Brady is considered one of the greatest athletes of all time, the New England Patriots quarterback revealed during a 2017 SiriusXM Radio interview (via CBS Sports): "If it was up to my wife, she would have me retire today ... I said, 'Too bad, babe, I'm having too much fun right now.'" 

Bündchen hasn't always had fun, particularly when she doesn't approve of her hubby's teammates. During the 2012 Super Bowl, Patriots receivers dropped some of Brady's passes. The team fell to the New York Giants, and after the game, Bündchen was caught on camera quipping: "My husband cannot f***ing throw the ball and catch the ball at the same time. I can't believe they dropped the ball so many times." Her snarky comment made headlines far and wide, but this power couple has obviously weathered the storm.

It looked like Rob Gronkowski — the fun-loving party boy and famous former tight end for the New England Patriots — was ready to shelve his reputation as a ladies man when he began dating Sports Illustrated Model Search winner Camille Kostek. She joined the Patriots cheerleading squad in 2013, but she told Fox News she didn't meet Gronk until after she "resigned" from the squad in 2015 to pursue a modeling career. She was spotted on "a string of outings" with Gronkowski that same year. 

Rumors about their romance have spiraled more than a football thrown during a Hail Mary pass. On Valentine's Day 2016, Gronkowski told E! News he didn't have plans, which prompted many to assume he was as single as a dollar bill. He and Kostek sort of rekindled things, but Page Six reported that she rang in New Year's Eve 2017 with American Idol winner Nick Fradiani, a guy she's also been "on-and-off with." As of this writing, the Eastern Connecticut State University graduate and Gronk, who retired from professional football in March 2019, are an item again, but don't expect wedding bells to ring anytime soon. "We're not just a fling," she told The Improper Bostonian in October 2018. "We definitely see a future with each other. But as of right now, there are no plans [to get married]." 

Less than three months after the New England Patriots selected him with the 133rd pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Auburn quarterback Jarret Stidham married his college sweetheart, Kennedy Brown. Talk about a great year. An athlete in her own right, the former soccer star met Stidham while they both attended Baylor University, And after the standout signal-caller transferred to Auburn in 2016, their romance continued, leading to a surprise proposal in 2018.

Stidham won't get much playing time early in his NFL career (when you backup Tom Brady that tends to happen), so Brown now has two men in her life who are employed by professional sports teams and will never get their work clothes dirty. Brown's father, Tad Brown, is the CEO of the NBA's Houston Rockets.

While Stidham's personal life is going well, his pro career got off to a rocky start. In his NFL debut during a preseason game against the New York Jets, Stidham threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on his third career pass. "Anytime you go out there and (make a mistake like that), you're itching for the next thing," Stidham said after the game (via Yahoo! Sports). "It is what it is. I'm just going to continue to get better."

We're not sure what Brown thinks about that, but Gisele can't relate.

If the NFL kept stats on dating Brazilian models, New England Patriots wide receiver and Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman would lead the league. After a fling with Victoria's Secret icon Adriana Lima, Edelman reportedly dated another Brazilian model, Daiane Sodre (above right). Take that, DiCaprio.

According to the sports gossip site Terez Owens, Edelman and Sodre were first linked in 2018, when Sodre posted photos from what appeared to be Edelman's living room. Her caption? "Flix and chill." Very subtle. She has since moved on with rapper A$AP Rocky, the Daily Mail reports.

Edelman isn't strictly a Brazil man; he's diversified his model portfolio at least once. In Dec. 2016, he welcomed a daughter with Swedish model, Ella Rose. TMZ described their relationship as "friends with benefits" for "the past few years," but noted that they weren't in any romantic relationship. However, Edelman and Rose seem to be committed to co-parenting and being friends, even though the "benefits" are no longer there. "Happy 1st Birthday to my little baby girl. I want you to stay this big ;) stop growing so fast! #dadalovesyou," Edelman posted on Instagram along with a photo of him holding their child on the beach.