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How Supermodel Kate Upton, MLB All-Star Justin Verlander Met

The power couple had a funny beginning to their love story.

Ananya Panchal

Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander  and wife Kate Upton pose during the All-Star Red Carpet Show at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. 

Kate Upton and Justin Verlander owe their perfect relationship to baseball — an MLB commercial, to be more specific.

Upton, 30, and Verlander, 39, met in early 2012 while shooting an ad campaign for the Major League Baseball 2K12 video game. Verlander, then a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, said he thought Upton was cute and wanted to shoot his shot.

Justin Verlander, Kate Upton and daughter Genevieve arrive at the 2022 MLB All-Star Game Red Carpet Show in Los Angeles. 

“I had my microphone on and didn’t realize,” he told Us Weekly. “I told my friends that I was gonna get her number and she heard me.” Fortunately, Verlander knocked the ball out of the park and he and Upton made their public debut in January 2013. 

Verlander proposed in 2016 and the next year the couple found themselves on the move to Houston when the right hander was traded to the Astros mid-season. Less than three months later, Houston won the World Series and the two officially tied the knot in Italy. “He gets down on one knee and he pops open the ring box,” she told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. “In my mind I was like, ‘Don’t look at the ring. He’s going to think you’re materialistic.’” 

Upton and Verlander walked the MLB All-Star Red Carpet together with 3-year-old daughter Genevieve last July. Verlander told the Houston Chronicle that his daughter has started to recognize him when he plays on TV. He also revealed to People in 2019 that he hopes to play into his forties so that Genevieve can continue to watch him.

“It’s the most amazing experience in my life and to be a dad, I really can’t even put into words how much I love this little girl,” he said. “It goes so quickly, it’s been an amazing experience that I’m not taking for granted. I’m relishing every moment.”

Upton is also smitten with motherhood saying, “Being a mom is, and forever will be, my greatest accomplishment.”

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a NYC-based Lifestyle & Trending News writer at SI Swimsuit. Before joining the Swim team, the Boston University Alum worked for culture & entertainment beats at Bustle, The San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. When Ananya is not writing or doom-scrolling on social media, she can be found playing sudoku, rewatching One Tree Hill or trying new restaurants. She's also a coffee and chocolate (separately) enthusiast. 

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