Who Is Quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s Girlfriend Olivia Carter?
The Atlanta Falcons have dealt with a quarterback carousel for a while now from Marcus Mariota to Desmond Ridder to Taylor Heinicke. The team tried to gain stability at the position by signing veteran Kirk Cousins in 2024. But before his first season even concluded, Cousins was benched for rookie Michael Penix Jr. who the Falcons selected with the eighth pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
Prior to that announcement, a lot of fans didn’t know much about Penix. So here are some things about the athlete and his girlfriend, Olivia Carter.
How long Penix and Carter have been together
Penix started his college career playing for Indiana University. But after a few injury-filled seasons, he transferred to the University of Washington and led the team to an appearance in the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship game against the University of Michigan.
Penix earned the prestigious Maxwell Award in 2023 which is the same year he began dating and appearing on social media with Carter.
She gushed over her boyfriend on his birthday in May with a heartfelt post via Instagram writing: “Celebrating you is easy and loving you is even easier. You are a beautiful human inside and out. You are one of a kind. Nobody is even close to how special you are. You are so consistent and intentional in everything you do. You never miss a beat and lead by example every single day. Thank you so much for being you.
“Michael you are my best friend and the man I’ve always prayed for. I thank God he brought us together. The best chapter of my life started the day you walked into it and I am so blessed to have a boyfriend like you.”
Carter is an athlete as well
Carter is an athlete as well.
She was born to parents Christopher and Regina in Washington and has two siblings, Quincy and Theo.
Growing up not far from Seattle, Carter attended Kent-Meridian High School where she was a multi-sport athlete playing basketball, soccer, and track. After high school, she enrolled at the University of Nevada-Reno. According to her Nevada Wolf Pack profile page, she was on the women’s soccer team and studied biochemistry before graduating in 2022.
Carter took to Instagram to share her proud moment captioning photos of her in her soccer uniform and graduation dress: “Proud to announce I will be graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno with my bachelors of science in biology. God is good.”
Carter’s reaction when it was announced that Penix was going to start for the Falcons
On Dec. 17, 2024 Falcons head coach Raheem Morris announced that Penix would get the nod over Cousins saying: “After review, we have made the decision Michael Penix will be the Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback moving forward. This was a football decision, and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game.”
Following the news, Penix’s girlfriend shared her excited reaction on her Instagram Story by posting two photos of her beau ahead of his first NFL career start.
