How did J.J. Watt meet his wife Kealia?

Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt shocked the NFL world on Tuesday morning when he announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season. The 33-year-old posted a photo to his social media accounts that showed him and his wife Kealia and their infant son Koa on the field before Sunday's Christmas night matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Koa’s first ever NFL game.
My last ever NFL home game.

My heart is filled with nothing but love and gratitude. It’s been an absolute honor and a pleasure.

🙏🏼 https://t.co/wXbDUcHM8B

Kealia Ohai Watt is a professional soccer player who played for the Houston Dash of the NWSL when she met J.J. Watt. The two began dating in 2016 and were introduced by J.J.'s former Houston Texans teammate Brian Cushing. Cushing is married to Kealia's sister Megan and the couple introduced J.J. and Kealia. They got engaged in 2019 and got married in the Bahamas in February 2020.

Kealia was traded to the Chicago Red Stars in January 2020. She was the Dash's first ever draft pick for Houston after playing her collegiate career at the University of North Carolina.

The Watts welcomed their first child, a son named Koa, in October 2022.

How long did J.J. Watt play in the NFL?

J.J. Watt played college football at Central Michigan and then the University of Wisconsin before being drafted by the Houston Texans with the 11th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

He played for the Houston Texans from 2011 to 2020. During that tenure, he was named the Defensive Player of the Year three times in 2012, 2014 and 2015. He was also a five-time Pro Bowler during that span as well. While with the Texans for 10 seasons, he racked up 101 sacks and 172 tackles for loss.

In 2017, he was given the coveted honor of being named the Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient after his countless hours of work helping the Houston area recover from Hurricane Harvey. He helped raise over $37 million to help those impacted by the hurricane.

Not only was @JJWatt one of the most dominant defenders of his generation, he was also one of the greatest men off the field.

After Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas in 2017, he raised over $37 million towards relief efforts in just 19 days. ❤️ #WPMOY https://t.co/PyKFchttWF

After the 2020 NFL season, he and the Houston Texans agreed to part ways and he was released from his contract. Shortly after, he made the decision to sign with the Arizona Cardinals on a two-year, $28 million contract. Earlier in the 2022 NFL season, he announced that he had experienced atrial fibrilation and had to have his heart shocked back into rhythm. He was medically cleared to play.

This was the final year of that current contract and he would have been a free agent if he had not made the decision to retire after this season.