Sometimes, the beginning of a love story is much less complicated than people might expect. For Haley Cavinder and Jake Ferguson, it apparently took just one question about golf to set the wheels in motion.
Cavinder recently revisited the unexpected start of her relationship with the Dallas Cowboys tight end during an appearance on PEOPLE’s WAG World series.
Haley Cavinder shows off the look she wore while supporting Jake Ferguson at training camp
Speaking with host Skyler Caruso in an episode released on Friday, October 9, the former college basketball player explained how Ferguson first reached out to her on social media.
“He just DMed me and asked how my golf game was,” Haley, 25, told WAG World host Skyler Caruso in the Friday, Oct. 9 episode released exclusively on the PEOPLE app.
It was hardly the grand romantic gesture associated with a Hollywood love story, but the casual opening proved to be enough to get a conversation started. The pair eventually became a couple in 2023, and their relationship has since progressed to marriage.
At the time, Cavinder had recently graduated from the University of Miami. Although she was not actively searching for a relationship, circumstances made it relatively easy for the two to spend time together in Florida.
“When I first met Jake, I just graduated from the University of Miami,” she recalled of their beginnings in 2023. “His mom has a place in Fort Myers Beach, and my grandparents live in Naples, so we were very close, like two hours.”
The geographical connection helped create an opportunity for the relationship to develop naturally. What followed was a stretch of time together that convinced Cavinder there was something special about the NFL player.
“I don’t like to get high or too low when it comes to that stuff,” she said. “I wasn’t looking for anything, and I don’t know if Ferg was at that time either. But then we spent 10 days together straight, and he’s just a good, down-to-earth human being.”
Why Ferguson won over Haley, and her twin sister Hanna
For Cavinder, the relationship became about much more than Ferguson's profile as a professional athlete. She explained that his personality quickly stood out, particularly given the pressures and expectations that can surround dating someone in the public eye.
“Right away I was just like, wow, outside of who he is on the field, dating athletes in this space and even probably dating us, we all come with a lot and being in the environment, you never know what you’re going to get,” she admitted. “I found a good one. My first impression is still who he is today.”
She also credited Ferguson with having a positive influence on her life, adding, “He’s just really, really grounded. He makes me better in everything.”
There was another important person whose opinion mattered as the romance developed: Haley's twin sister, Hanna Cavinder.
The sisters have long shared a close bond, having played college basketball together and built a substantial social media following as a duo.
Hanna admitted that she initially found the situation difficult to believe, especially when considering whether Ferguson's good behaviour would last beyond the early stages of dating.
“I thought it was fake, really, because I thought that’s way too good to be true. There’s no way somebody’s going to continue that,” Hanna said, noting she wanted to see how things progressed in six months.
Haley understood why her sister's approval was important. “Hanna’s the most important human being in my life, and I think that she knows me best,” she said.
“So when you bring another person into our relationship, it’s not in a weird way. It’s like, obviously you want the person closest to you to like the person you’re dating and spending time with.”
As it turned out, Ferguson passed the test. Haley joked about the fact that his affection has continued long after those early months, pointing to her engagement ring and wedding band as evidence.
“Hanna’s the most important human being in my life, and I think that she knows me best,” Haley said of her twin's role in her life. Ferguson's consistency ultimately helped convince Hanna that the relationship was genuine.
From a beach proposal to a Miami wedding
The couple's relationship reached another major milestone in April 2025, when Ferguson proposed to Haley in a beachside setting.
The engagement marked the next step in a romance that had begun with a simple online message and grown through time spent together away from the spotlight.
On June 20, 2026, the pair married in a beachfront ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami. The wedding brought together their personal connection to Florida and celebrated the relationship they had built since meeting in 2023.
Reports on the event also highlighted the playful details that reflected their personalities, including a ranch dressing fountain at the reception and a reception entrance set to Fergie's “Fergalicious.”
Despite the significance of getting married, Haley said the transition into married life had felt remarkably natural.
“Married life is great... I think that it’s just what we were doing. I think nothing’s changed. I still feel like we’re dating, but we’re married,” Haley said.
“I didn’t want anything to change,” she continued. “I think that maybe it’s more serious, I would say. Serious meaning we’re family now. I have my family, but now we have our family... and my little puppy, Boozer.”
For the couple, marriage appears to have strengthened a relationship that was already working well rather than completely changing their everyday lives. Their story also offers a reminder that meaningful connections can begin in the most ordinary ways.
In this case, a question about golf opened the door to a relationship that has included an engagement, a wedding and a shared family life. What started with a direct message has become a lasting partnership, and a story Haley is now happy to share with fans.