Bad news, fellas: It looks like Hope Solo is taken. And she appears to be taken by an ex-football player with whom you’re probably familiar.
Solo and former NFL tight end Jerramy Stevens reportedly are a couple, and they are said to be getting married on Tuesday.
The rumors about the two were mentioned online last month, and they picked up more steam over the past two days. We’ll do our best to piece together the information and tell you what is going on.
The first mention of Solo and Stevens together seemed to come from a tweet by Celebrity TV on Friday Oct. 19:
Hope Solo hung out at 50/50 last night in Chicago with her beau from The Buccaneers.
— CelebTV (@celebtv) October 19, 2012
The next week, The Chicago Tribune confirmed that Solo was at 50/50 watching her Seattle Seahawks play the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Oct. 18. They mentioned that Stevens was also there, though they didn’t describe him as being together with Solo. Solo was in town for a soccer game on Saturday the 20th against Germany.
This photo, which seemed to have been posted to Instagram, shows Solo and Stevens together. It was posted to a message board on Oct. 23:
The week after her game in Germany, Solo was back in Washington and held a book signing at the University of Washington vs. Oregon women’s soccer game on Oct. 25. Solo promoted the signing on her Twitter account, and told followers to ask her questions about her college days. That’s when the first hint of an engagement came up.
Seattle sports talk radio personality Dave “Softy” Mahler of KJR tweeted Solo about the rumor that she was engaged. Solo seemed to playfully tweet back, saying “stick to sports softy!” Here’s their exchange:
@softykjr Tell me! What kind of rumors???!!! #UWbookSigning
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) October 25, 2012
@hopesolo that you’re engaged!! To a familiar name around here! True? Or crazy rumor?
— Dave Softy Mahler (@Softykjr) October 25, 2012
@softykjr Stick to sports softy!
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) October 25, 2012
A few days after that exchange, Solo shared a picture on her Twitter account of her and two others holding carved pumpkins. To her left was Jerramy Stevens. They were both wearing purple and throwing up Ws for Washington, which is where they both went to school. You can also see what appears to be an engagement ring on Solo’s finger:
Things were somewhat quiet on the Solo-Stevens front until Sunday, when Washington Scout.com reporter Chris Fetters tweeted a rumor that Solo and Stevens were getting married.
Hope Solo and Jerramy Stevens getting hitched?Really? That’s the rumor going ’round press row. #oppositesattract? Or #methismatch?
— Chris Fetters (@Chris_Fetters) November 12, 2012
Softy responded to Fetters, saying it’s “not a rumor,” and that the two were “getting married Tuesday.”
The website Hot Dog and Friends noticed the Twitter exchange and posted about it on Monday. The Big Lead also posted about the relationship between Solo and Stevens on Monday, but they brushed aside the marriage talk as “message board chatter.”
Softy is not only not backing down from the rumor, he’s putting his name behind it. He tweeted on Tuesday morning to say congratulations to Stevens and Solo on their wedding:
Big Congrats to Jerramy Stevens and Hope Solo on their wedding tonight!! Best of luck to a pair of DAWGS!!
— Dave Softy Mahler (@Softykjr) November 13, 2012
Softy also told LBS over email that he talked to one person who is going to the wedding. He says the wedding is “at a secret location and nobody knows where.”
Solo is 31 and from Richland, Washington. She is one of the top goalkeepers in the world, and she played her college ball for the Washington Huskies from 1999-2002. She plays for the US women’s national soccer team, and the Seattle Sounders womens’ team.
Stevens is 33 and went to River Ridge High School in Lacey, Washington. He also played for the University of Washington, and was later a 2002 first-round draft pick of the Seattle Seahawks. He was a tight end with the Seahawks from 2002-2006, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2007-2010. Stevens has an extremely controversial past full of legal issues. Stevens was charged with assault for administering a beating in high school in 1998. He was arrested for sexual assault while at the University of Washington in 2000. He had two separate reckless driving charges, a DUI, two separate marijuana possession charges, and he arrested for battery for allegedly punching two bouncers in 2011.
In an interesting twist, Stevens was in court on Tuesday for an alleged domestic violence charge. He was released and not charged. He was described in court documents as Solo’s “fiance” and it is confirmed they were scheduled to get married Tuesday.
