Who Is Kansas City Chiefs’ Star Safety Tyrann Mathieu’s Fiancee Sydni Paige Russell?
Tyrann Mathieu, the star defender for the Kansas City Chiefs, is getting ready to tie the knot with his long-time love, Sydni Paige Russell. The two started dating as far back as 2011 and got engaged in the spring of 2019. With Mathieu and Russell set to exchange vows in 2020, here is everything we know about his fiancée.
How did Mathieu and Russell meet?
Mathieu and Russell met while attending Louisiana State University. Mathieu played football for the LSU Tigers while Russell enrolled in 2011, majoring in journalism.
We do not know the specifics behind how they met, but Russell followed Tyrann Mathieu to Arizona when the Arizona Cardinals drafted him in 2013. Russell finished her degree at Arizona State University in journalism and mass communication.
Upon her graduation in 2015, Russell posted on social media about her accomplishment and how it was not easy juggling education with her duties as a mother and a dancer in the NBA.
Russell added that she never really found college challenging, but the circumstances in her personal life made things more difficult than they needed to be.
Russell and Mathieu welcome their first child
In the summer of 2014, Tyrann Mathieu and Russell welcomed their first child together. The couple named their baby boy after Tyrann Jr., and Russell posted a heartfelt tribute to her son on Instagram shortly after the birth.
“For some reason I fell in love with you even more today when I thought I couldn’t possibly love you more,” she shared. “I feel like I don’t deserve you BUT I am so grateful I was so lucky!”
Mathieu and Russell’s son will turn six years old this summer and clearly holds a special place in his mom and dad’s heart. He has also made a few appearances at his dad’s football games and is super adorable on the sidelines.
The Chief’s Landlord and Russell welcomed their second child, a daughter they named Mila, in November 2019,
Mathieu also has a son with a former girlfriend named Megan Edwards. He was born in 2013 and showed up on Mathieu’s Twitter account last summer.
Inside Russell’s dancing career
When she was attending classes at LSU, Russell landed a job as a dancer for the New Orleans Hornets. The cheerleading team for the Hornets was called the Honeybees, though the team later changed its name to the Pelicans.
Looking back, Russell loved her time on the court and felt honored to be a part of the experience. She left the squad in 2013 after Tyrann Mathieu was drafted into the NFL.
Russell went on to dance for the Phoenix Suns the following year and wore the same number jersey as Mathieu.
Russell finds a job in Houston
After a few successful seasons with the Cardinals, Tyrann Mathieu signed on with the Houston Texans in the winter of 2018. A few months before Mathieu signed his new contract, Russell had snagged a job in Houston working as a public relations coordinator.
She was also employed as a booking manager for a company called AENL, though it is unclear how long she worked in Houston.
In 2019, Mathieu signed a massive contract with the Kansas City Chiefs and was an integral part in leading the team to the Super Bowl.
Tyrann Mathieu pops the big question
According to Heavy, Mathieu and Russell got engaged in May of 2019. Mathieu proposed with a stunning 3.35 carats diamond ring that cost him a staggering $250,000.
The couple later shared a video of the proposal on social media. The company that designed the ring, ZoFrost, also posted a close-up video of the impressive rock on Instagram.
Although the engagement ring came with a hefty price, there is little doubt that Mathieu can afford it. He signed a $42 million contract with the Chiefs last year and $26.8 million is guaranteed.
Russell has NFL ties in her family
While Tyrann Mathieu ranks as one of the best safeties in the NFL, Russell has her own ties to football. In fact, Russell’s stepfather, Todd Bowles, was a head coach in the NFL and was married to her mother, Jill Jenkins Bowles, between 2000 and 2007.
Bowles served as a coach for the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns when Russell was growing up. His latest coaching gig was with the New York Jets, which ended in 2018.
Russell’s mother tragically passed away in the winter of 2017. She was only 50 years old at the time of her death.
Sydni Paige Russell is currently in Miami to watch Tyrann Mathieu and the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
