When Brandon Aubrey’s pro soccer career fizzled out, he thought his sports days were over. He and his wife, Jenn, relocated to his hometown of Plano, Texas, where he took a job in software engineering.
While Brandon spent his days in the office and Jenn pursued her dream of getting her pilot’s license, the two used their weekends to decompress — and watch plenty of football. One Sunday in 2019, the two were on the couch watching that weekend’s slate of NFL games when Jenn had an idea. She turned to her husband and suggested the ex soccer pro try to become a place kicker in the NFL.
“Having been a professional athlete, I thought she was crazy,” Brandon recalled in a 2023 interview on The Dan Patrick Show. “At that time, I just kind of got a ball and went to the field and tried to see if I could do it.”
That’s far from the only pivotal moment in the relationship between the two former Notre Dame athletes. Keep scrolling for Brandon and Jenn’s full relationship timeline:
2015
Brandon and Jenn met in college when he was a junior on the Notre Dame soccer team and she was a freshman on the lacrosse team. Brandon went on to play Major League Soccer for Toronto FC, while Jenn’s athletic career was hampered by injuries during her sophomore and junior seasons.
2018
Jenn started off 2018 by fulfilling her dream of following in her father’s footsteps and earning her pilot’s license. Brandon celebrated her accomplishment via Instagram, writing “She’s smart, she’s cute, she speaks Chinese, and now she can fly! So proud of my fiancée.”
January 2019
The couple announced their marriage via an Instagram carousel loaded with wedding pics.
“She’s beautiful, kind, and loving, but most importantly she’s an Aubrey!” Brandon wrote of his wife.
2019
After working in software engineering, Brandon told The Dan Patrick Show he knew it “wasn’t for me.” At Jenn’s urging, he tried kicking. Three years later, he was playing professional football in the USFL. He joined the Cowboys in 2022 and made the Pro Bowl in 2023.
December 2019
Just weeks after recommending Brandon try football, Jenn underwent successful brain surgery. While Brandon didn’t disclose much about what was wrong, he posted a thank you message via Instagram for all who supported the couple along the way.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the strength my wife maintained through all of the physical and emotional pain of the past couple months!” he wrote. “I’m delighted to say Jenn’s operation this past Friday was a success. While it hasn’t been smiles the whole journey.. We are all smiling today. We may be able to finally put this chapter behind us as Jenn is finally home and starting the road to recovery.”
Weeks later on New Year’s Eve, Brandon commemorated an eventful first year married to Jenn.
“Looking back on our first year of marriage, it has been by far the most challenging year of both of our lives,” he wrote via Instagram. “We have both had our ups and downs, but thankfully, we have always had each other to lean on when we couldn’t stand on our own. I can’t wait to see what challenges life throws at us next as we grow old together! Happy anniversary Jenn!!!”
January 2024
Jenn took to Instagram to honor the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary. Looking back on the year, she shouted out Brandon’s Pro Bowl nod, sharing a photo of the two of them together followed by a series of shots showing Brandon kicking field goals.
“If you know Brandon, you know how dedicated and humble he is,” she wrote. “It is truly amazing to see his hard work paying off. We would not be here without everyone who has supported us and given Brandon opportunities along the way. We are forever grateful.”
August 2024
Brandon and Jenn welcomed their first baby, son Colton, on August 12. With the Cowboys playing a preseason game in Los Angeles the night before, Jenn’s father flew Brandon from the West Coast back to Texas in time to welcome Colton.
