Meet Sophia Smith’s Fiancé: Michael Wilson

Sophia Smith, one of the stars of the U.S. Women’s National Team at the Paris Olympics, is having a big year. Not only is she representing Team USA at the Olympics for the first time, but last month, she got engaged to her college sweetheart, Michael Wilson.

Here’s everything you need to know about Sophia Smith’s fiancé Michael Wilson:

Michael Wilson, the son of Ngaire and Orville Wilson, was born in February 2000. His dad is from Jamaica and his mom is from New Zealand, and Wilson has three siblings: Davon, Marcus, and Miles.

He comes from a sporty family; his aunt, Maureen Jacobson, played for the New Zealand women’s national soccer team. She was the first women’s player ever inducted into the Wellington Football Hall of Fame. His uncle, Craighton McFarlane, played football at Prairie View A&M.

After graduating from Chaminade College Preparatory School, he enrolled at Stanford University, starting all 13 games during his freshman season. He used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes during the pandemic to play a fifth year. During his time at Stanford, he was a two-time All-Pac-12 honorable mention and four-time Pac-12 All-Academic Honor Roll.

He graduated with a master’s degree in Communication and Media Studies in 2022 and a bachelor’s degree in Management Science and Engineering, Finance, and Decision in 2021.

At Stanford, Wilson met Sophia Smith, a fellow student-athlete, freshman year. They began dating that year, in January 2019, and Wilson makes his first appearance on Smith’s Instagram in February:

Smith would leave Stanford her sophomore year, in January 2020, to turn pro. “Doing [a] long distance relationship is very, very challenging, especially [at] a young age,” Wilson told ESPN last year. “There’s so much maturity that happens on both ends from 18 to 22, 23 years old. Like, her going back to 18, she’s pretty much a completely different person and so am I, so we’ve had to grow individually, but also had to grow together as a couple. So, we just support each other through the best that we can, the time change is tough, not seeing each other a lot [is] tough.”

He was selected in the third round (94th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft. After he was drafted, Smith posted on Instagram, “through the highs and especially the lows, you never stopped doing everything right. it hasn’t been easy but it’s been worth it. I’m so proud of you.” Wilson finished his rookie season having appeared in 13 games (12 starts) and recording 38 receptions for 565 yards and three touchdowns.

He lives in Arizona, while Smith is in Portland, where she plays for the Thorns. Smith said in an interview that dating long distance is “definitely hard and not ideal, because obviously when you’re with someone you want to see them all the time and be with them 24/7. But that’s just not realistic for us because we’re both young in our careers and just kind of have to be where we play. But it’s been so cool to see him just kind of live his dream because he’s always wanted to do this, and I have seen him go through a lot of hard times in college. So just getting to see everything kind of work out for him and being able to live a little bit of a different life and be the girlfriend [at NFL games] is definitely super fun.”

He wrote on his Instagram that they’ll be the Wilsons “soon,” but no word on when.

Source: ESPN