Q: Did you and your husband always know you wanted to get married young?
I always knew that I was going to get married young. My parents weren’t as young, but they got married in college, so I always knew that. Me and my husband were actually friends in high school, and then we started dating when I graduated high school in 2022. He’s a year older than me. He was not always thinking that he was going to get married young. He wanted to get married in college, but more like when he was about to graduate. When we started dating, I was like, “I think we should get married. I love you, and I want to marry you.” He was like, “OK, yeah, I love you too. Let’s get married.”
Q: What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve faced when it comes to balancing the married life, as well as the student-athlete life?
When we first got married, we lived 30 minutes away from where we went to school. I would leave in the morning and I’d
go to practice, then I’d be at school all day long, and then have another practice and on top of that, I would have this commute home. My husband would go to school all day and then he would work, so we were both just really busy. We were like, “How do we find intentional time to spend with each other? How can we make the most of this small period of time we have together?” We’re still kind of trying to balance life with being married. It’s been a big learning curve, but the biggest blessing of all time.
Q: What is something your husband has taught you about being a better student, athlete and all-around person?
I can think of two things right off the bat. Before we got married, I was a horrible student. I would never go to class and was getting straight D’s in all of my classes. When we started dating, he was like, “This is not going to fly. I’m going to sit here and watch you do your homework.” He was always an amazing student and it’s been amazing. I really just needed someone to push me to actually try. And then, I have always been so bad with money. My husband has really helped me value saving and learning how to budget. He really takes care of all of the bills and financial stuff, but I feel like I’ve just learned so much about finances and the importance of budgeting through him.
Q: How has your husband been that support system for you when it specifically comes down to swimming?
When we first got married, I was struggling really bad with loving my sport again, and I didn’t really want to do it anymore. He was kind of the person that pushed me, saying, “No, you need to keep going. I see your potential and I know that you can be an amazing athlete.” I transferred to Fresno State, so during that transfer process, my husband was on every single call. He was just always so supportive. Even though this past season I didn’t do as well as I wanted to, he was the first person to remind me, “You put in work, you have had an amazing career and just because you didn’t live up to your own expectations, everyone is still so proud of you.” I can do all the nitty-gritty and put in all the work, but I need him to help me mentally.
Q: What is a piece of advice you would give to someone that is thinking about getting married young, but they’ve heard backlash about the decision, or they’re in college, and maybe an athlete and they’re questioning if they can balance it all?
I always tell people to just get married. Obviously, things can happen, and life will get hard, but you can grow and work together. My cousin is thinking about getting married, and she’s in college right now, so she’s kind of worried about it. I have told her, “Girl, it gets so much easier.” You’re not having to drive to see each other every day and you’re not going to have to fix your schedule so you guys can spend time together. It gets so much easier when you’re married and you know your husband is going to be at home when you get home. Just get married, and you can deal with everything together.
