Athletes and supermodels have been falling in love since the beginning of time, so it
was no surprise when rumors emerged that Sports Illustrated cover girl Kate Upton was dating
Major League Baseball pitcher Justin Verlander.
But while they may have tied the knot with a fairy-tale wedding, their marriage is still
just plain weird.
Upton and Verlander's mad dash to the altar is a bit tricky to chronicle, especially since
they kept much of their on-and-off relationship hush-hush.
In fact, at one point it seemed like this pair wouldn't go the distance.
In June 2013, Us Weekly reported that Upton was all about Dancing with the Stars' Maksim
Chmerkovskiy.
And when asked about their romance, Maks told Us Weekly:
"She's an amazing person.
[…] We have an incredible time together, and, you know, I definitely didn't see that
coming and I think neither did she."
Maks probably didn't see their breakup coming, either.
Six months later, People magazine reported that the couple were done-zo, and by January
2014, Kate was spotted watching a Flyers game with her flame, Verlander.
Now that they've tied the knot, let's hope all this secretive relationship fickleness
is behind them.
Most couples announce their engagements with a flurry of phone calls to close friends and
family and a cutesy post on social media - but not Upton.
The supermodel decided to just show up at the 2016 Met Gala where she knew the rock
on that all-important finger would be hard to miss.
"You're accessorizing with a ring only we know about, can you show us?
Yes"
A glowing Upton admitted that she had been keeping the secret for a relatively long time
already, telling E! News,
"I'm really excited.
He asked me right before season started so we've been keeping it on the down low for
quite a while."
Making the reveal even more unusual: Upton attended the Gala solo.
Upton explained how hilariously awkward Verlander's proposal was, telling Jimmy Fallon,
"He gets down on one knee and he pops open the ring box.
In my mind I was like, 'Don't look at the ring.
He's going to think you're materialistic."
But Upton's efforts to play it cool completely backfired because after she said "Yes," Verlander
asked her,
"Did you not like the ring?
You didn't look at it once."
Us Weekly estimated the custom Anito Ko sparkler packed about 8-carats, so if Upton didn't
care about diamonds before, she certainly does now.
She's taken.
I don't have any complaints."
In 2016, Kate Upton was ticked off when her then-fiancé didn't win the 2016 American
League Cy Young Award, which honors the best pitcher in the league.
According to E! News, Upton thought her man deserved it, over Boston Red Sox pitcher Rick
Porcello, so she took to Twitter to write:
"Hey MLB I thought I was the only person allowed to f--- Justin Verlander?!"
After all that noise, Upton claims her hubby wasn't mad that she was fighting his battles
for him.
She said on Watch What Happens Live,
"I think his first reaction was a little bit surprised that I had already sent it, but
overall he loved it."
It's cool that Upton's got Verlander's back, but we can't help but wonder if her sour grapes
did more harm than good.
He failed to nab the award in 2017, too.
Almost missing their wedding
After leaving the Tigers and signing with the Houston Astros, Verlander found himself
on a winning squad that was inching closer and closer to competing in the World Series.
He and his future bride knew there was a remote possibility that their November 2017 wedding
date in Italy would be cutting it close if the Astros made it to game seven of the series.
And as it turned out, that's exactly what happened.
The couple told Jimmy Fallon,
"Everybody's in Italy, everyone's at the venue.
We had an event that night and everyone's texting us like, 'Your wedding's so pretty,
wish you were here.'"
The Astros won game seven and took home the title, and Upton and Verlander did, in fact,
make to their wedding just in time.
The couple welcomed their daughter Genevieve Upton Verlander in 2018.
But while it may be the cutest name ever, the baby-naming process was pure drama for
the parents-to-be.
Upton confirmed that she and Verlander had issues coming up with a name, telling Extra
that even though they had already agreed on "Genevieve" being Upton's favorite, all heck
broke loose after their daughter was delivered.
Upton said,
"It's so high-pressure.
It's so high-pressure.
We were going back and forth, even in the hospital"
"Justin had some real name-commitment issues."
Having left it up to her hubby to fill out the official paperwork, we're sure Upton was
grateful Verlander went with her top choice.
"It's so special and it makes me fall in love with him even more."
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