Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and model Christen Harper have been husband and wife since June 2024, but their love story began quietly, long before the public knew about it.

The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams met Harper in 2019, three years into his pro career. At the time, Goff chose to keep their relationship private, sharing the news only with a few trusted friends and relatives.

When Goff was traded to Detroit in a blockbuster swap that sent Matthew Stafford to Los Angeles, Harper showed her dedication by relocating across the country to be with him. Back in L.A., however, Goff had been cautious about revealing his personal life while also feeling the pressure to perform as a franchise quarterback.

A California native, Goff had never lived outside the state before the 2021 trade. Rumors about his relationship started circulating when Harper appeared at Rams games, but sources told SportsGossip at the time that Goff was deliberately keeping things quiet. “Jared is keeping her under wraps, only telling a few close friends,” one insider said in 2019.

Before meeting Harper, Goff admitted that dating in Los Angeles wasn’t easy — not because of meeting women, but because maintaining genuine relationships was difficult. “You can meet tons of girls out here,” he told ESPN, “but keeping them is the hard part.”

In a 2017 interview with Bleacher Report, Goff explained the connection between success and personal life in professional sports. “Do you think Tom Brady ends up with Gisele if he doesn’t win a Super Bowl? No one cares if you’re not winning,” he said. “It’s the same as being an actor or musician — if you don’t perform, people lose interest.”

Everything changed in 2019 when Goff and Harper connected on the exclusive dating app Raya. At the time, Harper had just come out of a long-term relationship and wasn’t looking for anything serious. “I wanted to stay single for at least a year,” she told Sports Illustrated. “Then I met Jared, and the rest is history.”

The pair got engaged in 2022 and married in June 2024. Just a year later, they welcomed their first child, Romy, in July 2025.

When Goff’s trade to Detroit required a major life adjustment, Harper embraced the move. “We’d always lived in California, so starting fresh was exciting but scary,” she told the New York Post. “My whole career was based in L.A., and I wasn’t sure how things would look outside of that. But moving gave me space to explore new opportunities I might have missed if I’d stayed.”

Now firmly established as one of the NFL’s most visible couples, Goff and Harper have turned what began as a secret romance into a lasting partnership both on and off the field.