A’ja Wilson and Bam Adebayo have become one of the cutest athletic couples in the spotlight, but it wasn’t always like that. They kept their relationship private for months, until they were secure enough to handle the outside noise.
In a new Vanity Fair cover story published May 12, the Las Vegas Aces star explained that she and the Miami Heat player wanted to make sure their relationship was solid before putting it fully in the public eye.
“We just wanted to make sure that we were secure in ourselves, our relationship, and our foundation,” Wilson said.
The two first sparked dating rumors during the summer of 2024 ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, but stayed pretty quiet about things. Wilson finally soft-launched the relationship publicly earlier this year during NBA All-Star Weekend, and since then, fans have been getting little glimpses into their dynamic.
© GettyStill, Wilson made it clear there are limits to what she wants the public to know. “People know more than they knew before,” she said, “but it’s still a situation that we hold really close to us only because this world is nasty.”
© GettyNow, the couple lives together in a house in Vegas. And despite both being professional basketball stars with packed schedules and nonstop pressure, Wilson says the relationship works because they genuinely have fun together.
“That is why I love our relationship — we never lose the fun,” she told the outlet. “We’re just really two big kids.”
Wilson even opened up about wanting marriage and kids in the future.“I would love to just dive into being a wife, being a mother,” Wilson shared.
© GettyBack in her Time Athlete of the Year cover story, Wilson also hinted at building a future with Adebayo, calling him her “life partner.”
Adebayo has reciprocated the love. When reporters jokingly asked when wedding bells might happen, he made it clear it would happen eventually. “Y’all will know,” he said. “Because people are nosy and they’ll look at her hands.”
© GettyThe couple has also become one another’s biggest cheerleaders. Wilson admitted she tries watching Adebayo’s games “as a fan,” but quickly slips into analyzing everything like a player.
“I do have so much happiness when watching him succeed, because I see the hours that he puts in,” she said.
Meanwhile, Adebayo has clearly been returning the support. Just this week, he was spotted courtside cheering Wilson on during the Aces’ huge win over the Los Angeles Sparks, with the arena broadcast hilariously referring to him as “Mr. A’ja Wilson.”
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