Drew Brees has a teammate for life with wife Brittany.
Married to the New Orleans Saints quarterback since 2003, Brittany shares four children with Brees: sons Baylen, 11, Bowen, 10, and Callen, 8, and 6-year-old daughter Rylen.
In February, the couple celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary.
“Happy 17th Anniversary to the love of my life!!! You inspire me everyday!” Brees gushed on Instagram at the time.
Although Brees and Brittany have been happily married for nearly two decades, their romance didn’t get off to a hot start.
Brees made a ‘real fool’ of himself when they first met
Brees really fumbled the ball when he met Brittany for the first time on his 20th birthday in January 1999.
Recalling the encounter with ESPN the Magazine, the 41-year-old quarterback said he “had about 17 shots and put my foot in my mouth.”
“I made a real fool of myself when I first met her,” Brees said in 2002. “It was when I was a sophomore. It was my 20th birthday and I’d had about 17 shots and put my foot in my mouth. It was a typical football player cheesy line — we’ll leave it at that.
“It took me six months to get the courage to talk to her again. I finagled my way to get invited to a party that I knew she’d be at,” he continued.
Brees played football at Purdue University. He was selected 32nd overall by the San Diego Chargers in the 2001 NFL Draft.
The couple has teamed up for charitable endeavors
In 2003 — the same year Brees and Brittany tied the knot — the couple established the Brees Dream Foundation.
With over $33 million contributed, the foundation seeks to “help improve the quality of life for cancer patients and provide care, education and opportunities for children and families in need,” per the organization’s website.
In March, Brees and Brittany pledged $5 million to the state of Louisiana to assist communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They’ve waded controversial storms together
Over the summer, Brees came under fire after stating he didn’t agree with anyone kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality because he felt it disrespected the flag.
The quarterback later issued multiple apologies amid the backlash.
“I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments. … In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused. In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country,” Brees said on Instagram at the time.
“They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character,” he continued.
Brittany also penned an emotional message amid the backlash.
“To all of our friends and anyone we hurt …we will do better,” she wrote on Instagram.
“We want to do better , we want to HEAR you, and we will fight for you because thinking we are not part of the problem…is checking the box it means we are are not doing enough. It’s our job to educate ourselves. We are sorry,” Brittany concluded.