Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech at Benedictine College has caused an uproar, prompting heated responses from several public figures, including Maria Shriver.
Speaking to a crowd of college graduates May 11, the Kansas City Chiefs kicker compared Pride Month, which honors the LGBTQIA+ community, to a “deadly sin” and proclaimed that women should embrace “one of the most important titles of all” as “homemaker.”
When sharing his thoughts on the latter point, Butker praised his wife, Isabelle Butker, for proudly taking on her roles as a housewife and mother, and giving up her professional dreams.
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“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he said.
“I’m on this stage and able to be the man I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation.”
Below is everything you need to know about Isabelle.
She met Harrison in middle school
Harrison shared in his Benedictine College commencement speech that he met Isabelle when they were still kids in middle school.
“I am beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith and become my wife,” the NFL player said as he held back tears, “and embrace one of the most important titles of all, homemaker.”
She and Harrison were high school sweethearts
Isabelle and Harrison took their friendship to the next level when they began dating while attending Westminster High School in Atlanta.
The couple went to prom together in matching red ensembles, and Harrison captioned a photo of them from that night via X in April 2013, “The night of all nights with @tayronasaurus #prom.”
She graduated college and was a student athlete
Isabelle studied at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., while Harrison went to Georgia Tech.
While there, she played for the women’s basketball team as a forward and guard. Her student athlete bio notes she “recorded a career high six rebounds” during a game against Oglethorpe University in 2014.
Isabelle, who went by her maiden last name of Tehrani at the time, graduated from Rhodes with degrees in computer science and Spanish in 2016.
She and Harrison got engaged in 2017
Harrison proposed to Isabelle on a football field, per a since-deleted carousel of photos on Instagram.
He wrote in the caption of the May 2017 post, “After almost 7 years of being best friends with this girl, I finally popped the question.
“From the first moments of our relationship, back in freshman year of high school, I always envisioned marrying you and raising a family together.”
Harrison then praised Isabelle for “pushing” him to be a “better man,” adding that she is “so patient and forgiving” when he falls short.
He then said, “I am truly amazed at how God has worked in your life and our relationship and pray we continue to learn and grow from each other.”
She and Harrison tied the knot in 2018
Isabelle and Harrison got married on Feb. 10, 2018 with a traditional ceremony in Saint Brigid Catholic Church in Georgia. They then held a reception at the Ivy Hall in Roswell, Ga.
Later that year, Harrison commemorated their big day with a post via X, in which he quoted a bible verse that read, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
“I will continue to pray for the strength and perseverance to sacrifice for you everyday of our marriage,” he added in the April 2018 alongside pictures from their wedding day. “I love you Izzy!”
She converted to Catholicism after she started dating Harrison
Isabelle was not raised as a Catholic and converted to the Christian faith after she began dating Harrison.
In an interview with EWTN, a cable network that airs Catholic-themed programming, she shared, “I finally, I had a moment one day when I was asking God, you know, ‘OK, I need you to show me, you know, what is right. What is the right path? Like, do I go this way or do I go with what Harrison’s doing.”
“It’s weird. In that moment, I actually felt like I was physically being embraced,” Isabelle added, “and we were at mass at the time, and that was kind of the moment when I decided I want to be Catholic.”
She keeps a low profile on social media
Isabelle doesn’t appear to have Instagram or Facebook. An X, previously known as Twitter, profile that Harrison used to tag her in photos, @tayronasaurus, has been deactivated.
She is a mother and shares two children with Harrison
Isabelle and Harrison welcomed their first child, James Augustine, in January 2019.
“Chiefs Kingdom is happy to have you, little one! Happy birthday,” the proud dad wrote via X in a since-deleted post at the time.
The couple then welcomed a daughter in the years that followed. Her name has not been revealed.
The two kids were seen supporting their father on the field in Arizona when he and his teammates won the Super Bowl in 2023.
