When David Lee retired from the NBA in 2017, he dove head-first into his new role: father of two and husband of tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki.
The two started dating in 2016 and got married in 2019. Since they got together, David has attended Grand Slams to support Caroline, and she's cheered him on at his games. They are parents to daughter Olivia (born in 2021) and son James (born in 2022).
Caroline was previously engaged to golfer Rory McIlroy, who recently announced his divorce.Nowadays, Caroline is living a drama-free existence with David and their kids. Here’s everything to know about him.
Is Caroline Wozniacki married?
Yes! Caroline married former NBA All-Star David Lee in 2019.
“The dedication you have to tennis, your daily routine, everything you do to be the champion that you are, it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” David told his wife at their wedding, per the magazine. “Even above that is the class and the principles that you live by, and that means more than any match you could ever win, any tournament you could ever win, and it’s for that reason that young girls look up to you, the whole world looks up to you for what you do and what you stand for, and why I look up to you so much. As a man you’ve made me a better person. I love you with all of my heart and promise to treat you like the most special woman now and forever.”
David is a former NBA All-Star power forward.
David played 12 seasons in the NBA, per Vogue. He played for five teams—and won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015.
After he retired from basketball, he moved onto investing. He worked at Social Capitval Investment in California in 2018, per The Sun, before becoming a director at startup Topsail Re, a reinsurance company.
David is from Missouri.
David was born and raised in St. Louis before accepting an athletic scholarship from the University of Florida. There, he played for the Florida Gators' basketball team from 2001 to 2005.
He helped the team reach the tournament all four seasons and helped the Gators to their first SEC Tournament Title in the program's history.
He's been on TV besides basketball.
In 2007, he appeared on Family Feud during the "NBA Players vs NBA Mothers" episode to raise money for charity. Other TV and film credits include NBC's Celebrity Apprentice in 2009, the now-canceled Lipstick Jungle in 2008, the film When in Rome in 2010 and a cameo in The Electric Company.
How did Caroline and David meet?
They crossed paths at a dinner party thrown by a mutual friend Miami in 2015, they shared with Vogue.
During his speech at their wedding, David joked, “They say every relationship begins with a miracle…the fact that [you were out at] dinner past 7:30 p.m.—because normally you would be asleep 8 p.m.—was a miracle.”
They went IG-official with a pair of pro athletes.
After nearly a year of dating, Caroline posted a photo with David, his San Antonio Spurs teammate Tony Parker and French tennis player Gael Monfils in 2016.
She captioned the post, “San Antonio was fun🏀😊 nice evening with these guys @dlee042 @_tonyparker09 @iamgaelmonfils.”
David asked Caroline's dad for permission to pop the question.
Caroline’s father Piotr Wozniacki taught her to play when she was a little girl growing up in Denmark and has been her coach ever since, per Vogue. David asked Piotr to meet for a drink, and he recalls his hands were shaking because of nerves. “We’d had every conversation in the world,” David said. “But to take it from ‘Wow, what a beautiful day outside,’ to ‘So!’ ”
Luckily, Piotr gave him the thumbs-up. When Caroline joined the two, she asked what was going on, and they told her they were celebrating her trip to the semifinals.
“I was like, ‘I guess you’re taking it up a few notches! I like it!’ ”
David proposed to Caroline after a big win.
To celebrate Caroline winning a tournament, the two jetted off to Bora Bora for vacation, per Vogue. He organized a private dinner cruise, and they watched the sun set.
“Isn’t this beautiful?” Caroline recalled. David got so quiet that she thought something was wrong.
“One second,” he said as he fumbled inside his backpack.
“It was good execution,” Lee joked. “Even if we had just had had a normal dinner—it would have been one of the most beautiful things we’d ever done.”
“It was like, we’re killing it right now,” Caroline adds. “Tennis, life, everything!”
Caroline later posted an IG pic and captioned it, "Safe to say it has been the most incredible couple of weeks in my life! So thankful!"
Vogue crowned them 'Sport's Most Romantic Couple'
In 2019, Caroline and David posed for a Vogue photo shoot while they were engaged. In the accompanying article, Caroline talked about how she became a fixture at his games, joining the group cheers, and giving high fives.
David joked that her player’s box has the opposite vibe. "It’s like a military operation,” he said. “I don’t even check my phone.”
They have two children together.
David and Caroline have two children: Olivia, born June 2021, and James born October 22.
Caroline posted the sweetest family photo on IG in February 2024 with the caption "My Valentines ❤️."
David is her biggest fan.
This man is always hyping his wife up!
For their anniversary he wrote on Instagram, “Happy Anniversary my love! 4 years and 2 kids later I couldn’t be more proud to be your husband and proud of the family that we’ve built together! I love you! ❤️”
Jacqueline Tempera is an award-winning writer and reporter living in New Jersey with her many pets. She is a business owner and a double Scorpio who loves all things astrology and reality television. She is passionate about body diversity and representation, mental health, and the fight to end sexual assault and harassment. To learn more about Jackie, follow her on Instagram @jacktemp or visit her website at jackietempera.com.
