The mother of Detroit Lions defensive standout Aidan Hutchinson has shut down an online rumor claiming her son secretly tied the knot between games.
Melissa Hutchinson—who has become something of an NFL celebrity herself since Aidan entered the league in 2022—posted an obviously AI-generated photo to her Instagram story. The doctored picture showed Hutchinson standing beside a woman in a wedding gown, along with phony comments implying he was defending their relationship.
Melissa made it clear the image wasn’t real, joking: “Love seeing who Aidan’s married to this week,” followed by several laughing emojis.
Hutchinson, who recently agreed to a four-year, $180 million extension with Detroit, is still believed to be in a relationship with Alivia Rose. The couple maintains a relatively low public profile, though Rose has shared a few photos of them together at Lions games.
Melissa has become a familiar face to fans, especially after the Lions’ dramatic 38–30 win over the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season. Late in the fourth quarter of that matchup, Aidan forced a crucial fumble by knocking the ball out of Derrick Henry’s hands, a play that helped seal Detroit’s victory. As the team celebrated, ESPN cameras repeatedly cut to Melissa and Aidan’s sister Mia in the stands—something many viewers quickly noticed.
Fans took to social media with playful requests for more family reaction shots, with comments such as:
“ESPN, let’s get more screen time for Aidan Hutchinson’s mom,”
and
“I hope Hutch keeps making plays so we see his mom and sister again.”
Another viewer chimed in: “Aidan Hutchinson, tell your mom I said hello.”
Melissa has drawn attention before. During Aidan’s season-ending knee injury the previous year, she publicly reassured supporters that he’d return to top form. And when he was selected second overall by Detroit in the 2022 NFL Draft, Melissa captured the surreal whirlwind of watching her son become one of the league’s most coveted prospects.
Reflecting on that period, she wrote about how grateful she was for the people they met and the experiences they shared, calling the family’s sudden rise to national attention “unchartered territory.”
Long before becoming an NFL mom, Melissa built a name for herself in pageantry. As a teen, she pursued modeling and earned the title of Miss Michigan in 1998—a milestone her daughter Mia astonishingly matched in 2022, just months after Aidan was drafted.
