In the sports world, power couples belong to all arenas including Lacrosse. Just ask Noah Gray, the Kansas City Chiefs‘ tight end who became a back-to-back Super Bowl champ last season. His wife, Mary Elise Gray, was a lacrosse star in her own right during her college days at Duke. Their love story is one for the ages – a touchdown of a romance that blitzed through the sidelines of athletic excellence.
From first locking eyes at the infamous “Bunker” hangout to becoming an endzone celebration pair, Noah and Mary’s journey traces the ultimate playbook of a storybook relationship. Don’t bench your curiosity just yet, because we’re just getting warmed up on their romantic tailgate party.
The Lacrosse phenom who stuck by her two times as Super Bowl champ
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While Noah Gray was snagging rings with the Chiefs, becoming a back-to-back Super Bowl winner after that storybook comeback dub over the San Francisco 49ers in February 2024, his wife Mary Elise was leaving her own hall-of-fame legacy out on the lacrosse field. Born on October 22, 1998, in Marietta, Georgia to parents Kevin and Holly Markwordt, Mary was destined for athletic greatness from the jump – sporting genes ran deep in her family.
A four-year letter winner at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School, she was an All-American lacrosse assassin as a sophomore, junior, and senior – racking up a mind-blowing 310 goals and 157 assists over her prep career. Her 103 tallies as a senior alone were the kind of scorched-earth stat line that would make Wilt Chamberlain blush.
The dominance continued at Duke, where she was a two-time All-ACC selection and led the Blue Devils to the promised land of the ACC title game as a freshman in 2018. While injuries, unfortunately, derailed her junior season, the resilient attacker battled back to produce an encore senior year worthy of the highlight reel.
Her 14 assists in 2020 were the third-most on the team as she captained Duke to another deep NCAA Tournament run. With athletic talent flowing through her veins – her brothers Nicholas and Michael played college hockey at Georgia Tech – overcoming adversity was simply programmed into her DNA.
Noah Gray and Mary’s love story from “The Bunker” to the endzone
Noah Gray sparked some electric chemistry between him and his wife Mary Elise when they first locked eyes at Duke’s infamous off-campus party basement ‘The Bunker’. “We were both friends with Mark, and the Bunker was the place to be on weekends,” Mary recalls on their wedding website. “Noah and I argue over who made the first move (it was definitely me), but soon we were talking constantly, going on dinner dates for calzones.”
While their meet-cute played out like a scene from Old School, their athletic ambitions were nothing to joke about. As Noah was bullying defensive lines en route to becoming a standout tight end for the Blue Devils, his future wife was busy shredding the opposition’s game plans with her cold-blooded lacrosse prowess.
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Their unbreakable competitive bonds and shared love for sporting excellence became the foundation of an unshakable relationship. “My friends were asking who the ‘handsome 35-year-old looking guy’ was on my social media,” Mary joked, giving a nod to Noah’s old-soul demeanor that complemented her youthful zest perfectly.
When Noah’s pro dreams materialized after getting drafted in the 5th round by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021, their power couple narrative only heightened. Less than a year later, the storybook pair said their vows in a fairytale Georgia wedding defined by plenty of gridiron glitz and glamour. Their first Super Bowl championship came shortly after in February 2023, when the Chiefs mounted an epic comeback to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles.
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But just like any elite twosome, Noah and Mary’s profoundly deep connection extends far beyond the chalk lines. Their shared academic excellence at the prestigious Duke program – he studied political science, she public policy – forged an intellectual bond that could probably help them run sophisticated defensive schemes on Capitol Hill. Their core values, ambitions, and life philosophies have made them an absolutely unstoppable team – one that just continues raking in championships, whether it’s on the field or off it.
These days, the lacrosse phenom-turned-NFL spouse prefers to go incognito, keeping her Instagram private. But that same ferocious competitive fire that made her such a lacerating force has simply found a new end zone – serving as the ultimate emotional linebacker and ride-or-die supporter for her hubby Noah through the grind of championship campaigns. Sounds like a scoring threat no defense can game plan for.
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