IN PHOTOS: Commanders star Zach Ertz's wife Julie stuns in new pregnancy photoshoot
Zach Ertz is among those NFL players who are married to an ex-athlete. However, his wife -- ex-United States Women's National Team midfielder Julie Ertz -- is more famous than others.
The couple already have a son, Madden Matthew, who was born in 2022. But another baby is set to join the family this summer, as they had announced in April. And on Saturday, Julie released excerpts from a pregnancy photoshoot on her Instagram account:
During her shoot, Julie Ertz wore a black sports bra, leaving her pregnant belly exposed. She also wore beige slacks with a matching suit, which hung on her right shoulder.
One of the NFL personalities who commented on the post was Zach Ertz's former Philadelphia Eagles teammate (and current Fox Sports 1 talk show host) Emmanuel Acho:
Lets' gooooo!!!
A history of Zach Ertz's relationship with wife Julie
This relationship can be traced back to 2012 when they crossed paths at a Stanford baseball game. At the time, Zach Ertz was a burgeoning tight end for the Cardinal who played with the likes of Andrew Luck and Richard Sherman under Jim Harbaugh, while Julie Johnston was a midfielder for Santa Clara University.
Their relationship was initially of the long-distance variety. He had been drafted by the Eagles, while she had signed with the Chicago Red Stars of the then-nascent National Women's Soccer League. After three years, he proposed to her at the very same stadium where they first saw each other.
They were eventually married in March 2017. Speaking to PEOPLE about the ceremony, Julie said:
“We wanted pops of just us, not just a typical wedding.”
Four months later, the couple appeared on ESPN Magazine's The Body Issue, where they discussed their support for each other:
ZE: "I love watching Julie play [soccer]. I know how much work she puts into her sport and her craft — to see that hard work pay off is very satisfying to me too."
JE: "I think it's a lot easier for me to watch Zach play [football] than it is for his other family members, just because I know how much he loves the sport and how hard he works at it."
Besides being spouses and parents, the Ertzes are also founders and heads of their eponymous Family Foundation. Founded in June 2018, it aims to "empower others by sharing faith, learning through sports & advancing education".