The perfect example of a sporting power couple is Jrue and Lauren Holiday together.

When both NBA point guard Jrue and former American soccer star Lauren were UCLA student-athletes in 2008, they initially crossed paths. After getting married in 2013, the couple has a boy named Hendrix and a daughter named Jrue Tyler.

In their relationship, Jrue and Lauren have each established successful careers in their respective sports. Prior to joining the New Orleans Pelicans, Jrue played one season of basketball at UCLA before being picked by the Philadelphia 76ers. He joined the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020 and helped the squad win an Olympic gold medal in 2020 as well as an NBA title in 2021.

Lauren played club soccer for the Pali Blues, Boston Breakers, and FC Kansas City after graduating from UCLA before being called up to the U.S. women’s national soccer team. At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, the squad took home gold medals. Lauren won the title of Female Athlete of the Year for U.S. Soccer in 2014.

Lauren gave up playing soccer professionally in 2015 to spend more time with her family. Since then, the couple has welcomed their kids, launched a charity social justice project, and kept up their public support for one another.

“It’s always been basketball, family, and God,” Jrue stated in an Andscape interview from 2019. It is a blessing for me to prioritize children over basketball. And since then, God has continued to bless me abundantly. Without my family, I don’t know whether I could continue playing.

Everything you need to know about the romance between Jrue and Lauren Holiday is provided here.

They met while attending UCLA

While attending UCLA, where Lauren played soccer and junior high basketball, the couple first connected in 2008.

When a young fan thought Jrue was his teammate Darren Collison and sought his signature, Jrue revealed he met Lauren at a UCLA women’s basketball game in a 2015 interview with ESPN.

He told the publication that Lauren turned to face him as soon as he sat down and remarked, “Don’t worry, you’re cuter than Darren is.”

“It was cool that she was older than me,” Jrue reminisced. She was probably a junior, and I was a freshman. Although we were both seeing other people at the time, we did wind up becoming friends, and we eventually began dating after I was drafted.”

They got married in 2013

In Malibu, California, Jrue and Lauren tied the knot following a year-long engagement. A large number of Jrue’s former 76ers colleagues, including Jason Richardson and his wife Jackie, Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, and Royal Ivey, attended the beachside wedding.

In the months preceding her wedding, Lauren stated in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, “Being engaged has been awesome.” “Obviously, I’m not very good at planning weddings, but it feels pretty cool to know that I’m going to be with him forever.”

They have two children together

Jrue Tyler, the couple’s first child, was born in North Carolina in September 2016, a few weeks before Lauren had brain surgery to remove a tumor. They welcomed Hendrix, a son, in 2020.

On social media, Jrue and Lauren routinely post pictures of their kids along with sincere compliments to one another. In an Instagram post for Lauren’s Mother’s Day in 2022, Jrue stated, “You as a mother… it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” “I’m always here for you because of the pure love you have for our children.”

Lauren was diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant with their daughter

Lauren had excruciating migraines and was told she had a meningioma, a kind of brain tumor, while she was six months pregnant with their daughter, according to ABC News.

In order to support his wife during her recuperation, Jrue declared in September 2016 that he would miss the start of the 2016–2017 season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

“My family is my top priority,” Jrue stated to NOLA.com. “Obviously, I consider myself fortunate to be in this situation and to be able to play this game, but my wife is everything to me. She takes precedence over everything else.

Lauren’s labor was ultimately brought on early by the doctors in order for her to receive the necessary brain surgery, which was performed in October 2016 at Duke University Hospital.

Following her delivery and a successful brain surgery to remove the tumor, Lauren thought back on her health struggles and acknowledged her five-month-old baby as her support system.

She said on Instagram, “Every time I see this smile, I’m reminded that joy does come in the morning.” It might not arrive in the following day or even month, but it does eventually. If this is the happiness I get to feel here on Earth, I can’t even begin to comprehend what heaven is like.

They founded a social justice nonprofit organization

With his remaining NBA contract for the 2019–2020 season, Jrue revealed in July 2020 that he and his wife would be starting a social justice venture. He clarified in an Instagram post that donations from the Jean and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Impact Fund would go to black-led NGOs, educational institutions, and programs in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Indianapolis.

“I have pledged the remainder of my 2020 NBA salary as a progressive step toward combating systemic racism as well as social and economic inequality that continues to prevent black communities from upward mobility,” Jrue stated.

“Honestly, when it came down to it, it was me and my wife talking about what we could do to kind of further this movement and progression and being able to help out our community and just being able to help,” he told ESPN following the announcement.

A mask bearing the words “Say Their Names,” which originated during the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations, was worn by Jrue when he showed up at the New Orleans Pelicans game later that month.

They are publicly supportive of each others’ careers

Jrue and Lauren have supported one another ever since they were collegiate athletes. In a 2021 New York Times article, Jrue stated that, in addition to supporting him, his wife gives him helpful criticism when he needs it.

She literally embodies the winner and athlete in our family. It means a lot to me to get it from her. Regarding Lauren’s criticism, Jrue remarked, “It’s real, and she backs it up. The sportsman added that Lauren was the one who pushed him to rejoin the NBA following the start of COVID-19.

The assistance is reciprocal as well. Even though Lauren has given up playing soccer, Jrue still acknowledges her accomplishments. He posted a video on YouTube in November 2022, shocking Lauren by telling her that she had been inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

They were involved in a $13 million insurance lawsuit

According to a February 2022 New York Times story, Jrue and Lauren, along with other professional athletes, filed claims against Morgan Stanley, claiming that they lost $13 million as a result of the company’s illegal investments.

Four brokers were accused of defrauding professional athletes a year later, in March 2023. The Times said that while the prosecution never identified Jrue and Lauren as the victims, the case’s specifics support their allegations.

Lauren has spoken out about the racism Jrue has faced

Following George Floyd’s murder and the June 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations, Lauren wrote an essay for The Players’ Tribune documenting the numerous incidents of bigotry her husband had experienced.

The soccer player recounted several frustrating incidents, but one in particular inspired her to speak up. When Lauren was pulled over by a police officer while driving with Jrue’s sister, she discovered that her license was missing. When Jrue came, the cops had handcuffed him after she had contacted him and asked him to bring it to her.

He was freed after fifteen minutes, and Lauren later thought back on the experience.