Athletes Who Married Their High School Sweethearts

Athletes pretty much have it all when it comes to leading a lavish lifestyle, what with the big houses, fancy cars, fine jewelry, designer clothes, and incredible vacations. Not only do they get to do something that they love and play a sport for a living, but more often than not, fame and fortune come with the territory. It's truly the American dream to be incredibly successful doing something that you are really good at and really enjoy, and we can only fathom having as much talent as the folks on our list. 

While the athletes listed here could probably date any fellow superstar out in the world, they stayed true to their roots and married their high school sweethearts. In these cases, it looks like time and love really conquer all. We've included everyone from a PGA superstar to one of the highest-paid legends in the NBA to World Series champions and more. Keep scrolling to find out which of your favorite athletes walked down the aisle with their high school loves. And honestly, we love them even more because of it! 

Jordan Spieth and Annie Verret have seemingly been together forever. According to Sports Illustrated, the two Texans started dating in high school. The two attended separate private high schools and went to separate colleges, but they continued to date throughout their collegiate careers. For the most part, Spieth tends to keep his personal life out of the spotlight, but he has shared a few photos of his wife on Instagram, including  on Valentine's Day and another from her college graduation (before they were married). Verret set her Instagram to private, and she seems to stay out of the spotlight unless she's seen in the stands, cheering on her man. The pair got engaged in late 2017 and tied the knot in November of 2018.

Following his victory at the Valero Open in April 2021 (which also happened to be his first win in almost four years), Spieth raved about how amazing his spouse was during his slump. "My wife has been just a rock to me," he said at a PGA press conference, according to Golf. "This is my first win since we've been married, so it's been progressing this way since maybe December. Before that, there were a lot of tough times. When you're struggling at work, you try not to bring it home and that kind of stuff. I'm very grateful for the people I have around me." Could they be any cuter?

Patrick Mahomes met his now-fiancée, Brittany Matthews, when they were both kids in Whitehouse, Texas. According to Yahoo! Sports, the couple's relationship dates all the way back to when Mahomes was in 10th grade, and Matthews was in 11th grade. They went separate ways for college, with Matthews playing soccer at The University of Texas at Tyler and Mahomes playing football at Texas Tech. The year Mahomes was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, Matthews became a pro soccer player. As the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported in 2017, when Matthews officially joined an Icelandic team, "her family, friends, teammates, coaches and her boyfriend Patrick Mahomes II" were there for the big moment. Matthews eventually moved back to Kansas City and is a fitness trainer in the area. 

And then, in 2020, Mahomes popped the question. "On a day that was meant to celebrate you, you turned it into celebrating us. It's always us, it's always you and me," Matthews said of their engagement on Instagram. "The words you looked into my eyes and said to me at this moment, will NEVER leave my mind! You made this day perfect, you took my entire breath away and I could not have imagined anything better. I love you, forever and always! Cheers to spending our lifetime together and an inseparable bond."

The couple welcomed their first child, Sterling Skye Mahomes, in February 2021. Of course, the NFL star made sure to share the news on social media. We love them.

LeBron James is arguably the best basketball player to ever live (we said arguably, Michael Jordan fans), but he's always stayed true to his roots. LeBron met his now-wife, Savannah James, in high school. The two attended rival schools, and as Savannah recalled in a Cleveland Magazine interview, they connected after a mutual friend passed along LeBron's number. "One day I'm sitting around — I was probably bored or something — and I'm like, 'Oh, I forgot! I have this number for this guy that I can call. He seemed interested, so let's see,'" she recalled. That call led to LeBron inviting Savannah to a basketball game, which led to a date at Outback Steakhouse, which led to marriage and kids.

In 2018, LeBron told The Hollywood Reporter how grateful he is for his other half. "Savannah was with me shooting in the gym when I [had] absolutely nothing," he dished. "[Savannah] was down when I was at my high school, no cameras, no lights. And she was there with me. You wouldn't be talking to me right now if it weren't for her."

The pair welcomed their first child, Lebron James Jr., in October 2004. A little under three years later, they had a second son, Bryce Maximus James. LeBron popped the question on New Year's Eve 2011, and the couple walked down the aisle in 2013. They welcomed their only daughter, Zhuri James, in 2014.

Kris Bryant is one of the best players in MLB, and during his first season in the majors in 2015, he earned the prestigious Rookie of the Year award. He also helped the Chicago Cubs end their 100-plus-year-long World Series drought in 2016 and he's pretty much a superhero in the city of Chicago. There's been one person who has been with him through his entire career (and we're not joking when we say that), and it's his now-wife, Jessica Bryant. As she recalled to Martha Stewart, the two met in 2006 when her brother and Bryant played on the same baseball team. Her mom pointed out Kris — much to Jessica's embarrassment. "I told her to stop," she remembered. "But then I met him and thought, Mom was right."

The pair began dating their sophomore year in high school and have been together ever since. In December 2015, Kris announced the couple's engagement on Twitter while sharing a sweet photo that included a glimpse of Jessica's stunning ring. "Only took me 8 years, but I can't wait to marry my best friend! Perfect way to end an unforgettable year!" he wrote. The couple tied the knot in January 2017, and Bryant also shared a sweet post with fans on Instagram. In April 2020, the pair welcomed their first child.

Philip Rivers is a famous NFL quarterback who enjoyed an impressive career in the league. But before he became really famous, he crossed paths with his future wife. Philip and Tiffany Rivers go waaaay back. "It is quite the love story for Philip and Tiffany," writes Chargers Wire. "The two began dating way back in middle school and eventually got married after Rivers' freshman year at North Carolina State." And now? They have their hands very full with seven daughters and two sons, and teamwork is a big part of Philip and Tiffany's parenting style.

"Our relationship is key, too, in raising a big family, because we were best friends first," Philip told Indianapolis Star in 2020. "My wife, she always says I'm the head and she's the heart."

When Philip announced that he would be retiring from football after 17 long years in the league In January 2021, he gave a shoutout to his wife and kids in a statement to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Lastly, thank you to my wife and best friend Tiffany, and our children Halle, Caroline, Grace, Gunner, Sarah, Peter, Rebecca, Clare, and Anna. Could not have done it without y'all's unwavering support," he shared. We're not crying, you're crying.

Super Bowl champ Jordy Nelson and his wife, Emily Nelson, are another couple that met when they were kids. As Jordy shared on The Dan Le Batard Show, he and Emily "grew up three miles apart" from each other in a small Kansas town, and from kindergarten on, they went to school together. The retired wide receiver revealed that the duo began dating in junior high, but after a year, Emily pulled the plug. "It was actually 7th grade," Jordy recalled. "At the end of the school year, she had an incredible reason why, it was the end of the school year and summertime and apparently she didn't want to be around me. She didn't want to be tied down to one guy in seventh grade in the summer." Clearly, that split didn't last forever.

Jordy popped the question in 2007 when they were in Cancun. The pair have two biological sons and they adopted a daughter in 2017. "To have it finalized, to have the process complete and our family complete — it's a box checked off. It's fun to grow our family the way we have and to watch them all grow up," Jordy said following the adoption, according to WMTV. They seem to be a perfect family, and of course, Jordy and Emily are the perfect match.

The late Kobe Bryant will never be forgotten, and neither will the relationship with his wife, Vanessa Bryant. As Kobe recalled in the 2015 documentary Kobe Bryant's Muse (via People), he met Vanessa all the way back in 1999 on the set of a music video. At the time, Bryant was 20, and Vanessa was in high school and they were together until his death. In 2013, Kobe shared a sweet photo of the pair that was filtered in black and white. "We celebrate 12 years of marriage today. This pic is the day I asked @ladyvb24 for her number 11/28/99," he wrote on Instagram. "Thru the ups and downs she has been my love and best friend. 20 and 17 yrs old when we met, we have actually grown up together. A true honor and a blessing. Ti Amo Queen Mamba."

The pair tied the knot in 2001 at a ceremony in Dana Point, California. In January 2020, Kobe and his daughter, Gianna Bryant, were killed (along with seven others) in a helicopter crash. Vanessa has continued to pay tribute to both her husband and daughter since their deaths. She even gave an incredibly moving eulogy at the memorial that detailed her love for her daughter and husband. "He was my sweet husband, and the beautiful father of our children," she shared (via Bleacher Report). "He was mine. He was my everything. Kobe and I have been together since I was 17 and a half years old."

Clayton Kershaw is one of the most talented pitchers in the majors. The Cy Young Award recipient helped lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to the World Series multiple times, and he was part of the 2020 team that won the championship. Aside from sports, Kershaw is a doting husband. On In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Clayton shared that he met his wife, Ellen Kershaw, freshman year of high school, and he popped the question when he was 21, following a fun-filled day at Six Flags.

However, as Ellen told Risen Magazine, their bond was put to the test as Clayton's career began to take off. "We really had to work on our relationship when I was in college and he was in the minor leagues," she recalled."I think we both realized it was definitely worth making an effort and towards the end of my college career, we both realized our lives were so much better when we were together than when we were apart." Clayton and Ellen wed in 2010 and they share three children.

The couple's foundation, Kershaw Challenge, has given away $12 million to organizations aimed at making life better for children. "Baseball is great. I love it. I'm thankful I get to play it, blessed to be able to play it past high school," Clayton said on the organization's site. "But at the same time, I know it's a platform to be able to do other things." Is there anything that this couple cannot do together?

NBA star Stephen Curry is known for draining threes and what seem like impossible shots, but long before his pro basketball career began, he had already met Ayesha Curry. Stephen and Ayesha told Parents that they first connected in a church group when they were teenagers. "I always had my eye on her, but I got a little shaken, for sure," Stephen recalled. Ayesha shared that she wasn't allowed to date in high school, but they reconnected on Facebook when Ayesha lived in Los Angeles. As Marcus Thompson recounts in Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry, Stephen reached out to Ayesha when he was in town for the ESPYs, and the rest is history. 

In the book, Steph said that he loved the fact that Ayesha was into him, not his success. "That meant a lot to me," he shared. "She didn't care about basketball or the NBA or none of that. She didn't just let me do whatever I wanted, and I liked that."

The two got married at a young age, but the NBA champ told Parents that he just knew she was the one. "I was 23; she was 22. But I knew I had found the right woman and I wanted to start a life with her," he said. The have three children together and often rave about one another on social media.

Alex Morgan is one of the most decorated soccer stars, and she gives "girl power" a new meaning. Servando Carrasco, meanwhile, is also a talented soccer star in his own right, and together, they make an athletic powerhouse duo. According to E! News, the couple met just after high school while attending the University of California at Berkeley, and their relationship blossomed. (Okay, no, they technically aren't high school sweethearts, but close enough.) Despite their demanding schedules, they continue to make it work. The pair got engaged in December 2013, and they were married on New Year's Eve in 2014. "We are both so happy, grateful and excited to start our lives together as Mr. and Mrs. Carrasco," Morgan gushed to People after the wedding. "I truly married my best friend."

In October 2019, Morgan announced that she and Carrasco were expecting their first child together. "We are already in love, and we haven't even met her yet. Newest member of the Carrasco family, coming soon," she wrote on Instagram. In May 2020, she shared another Instagram post in honor of the new bundle of joy. "At 1130am on May 7 weighing 8lbs5oz, Charlie Elena Carrasco made her grand entrance into the world. She made us wait longer than expected, but I should have known she would do it her way and her way only," she wrote. "My super moon baby." Such an adorable family!