A Timeline of Kate Upton and Justin Verlander’s Relationship

The model and Verlander met sometime in February 2012 when they appeared in a commercial for the Major League Baseball 2K12 video game, which was released that same year. In the commercial, Upton highlights a wall of baseball MVPs and turns a disguised Verlander away when he tries to sneak into an exclusive club.

Approximately one year after Upton and Verlander met on the set of the Major League Baseball 2K12 commercial, the two were spotted vacationing together in St. Thomas in January 2013, which led many to believe that they were dating. Upton, however, shut down the romance rumors in a February 2013 interview with Fox News 2, saying (via E! News), “Actually, I’m single right now, so I spent my holiday in Melbourne, Fla.”

The status of Upton and Verlander’s relationship was ambiguous at the beginning of 2013. But by June 2013, however, the pair no longer appeared to be together, as Upton started dating “Dancing With the Stars” dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy in June 2013. The two dated for the remainder of the year before ultimately splitting in December 2013, as reported by People. Not long after her split from Chmerkovskiy, Upton would find herself back with Verlander by the new year.

It didn’t take long for Upton and Verlander to rekindle their relationship, and by January 2014, the two were officially back together. Per Us Weekly, the couple went to the Bahamas together, and according to a source, they were “looking very cozy having dinner at the restaurant Mahogany House near Lyford Cay.” One month later in February 2014, Upton and Verlander were photographed together at GQ’s Super Bowl Party, according to People.

At the 2016 Met Gala, Upton debuted a stunning diamond ring with her outfit, which immediately drew everyone’s attention. Turns out, the ring was indeed an engagement ring. Verlander proposed to the model one month prior, but the pair kept the exciting news out of the spotlight initially. Speaking with E! News at the event, Upton said, “I’m really excited, he asked me right before season started so we’ve been keeping it on the down low for quite a while. . . . So I’m excited to finally be able to share it with the world!”

Upton and Verlander nearly missed their November 2017 wedding due to Verlander being in the World Series with the Houston Astros that year, according to their interview on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.” The pair jokingly revealed the circumstances of their wedding clashing with the World Series, saying, “Everybody is in Italy! Everyone is at the venue! We had an event that night and everyone’s texting us saying, ‘Your wedding is so pretty. Wish you were here!'”

Immediately after the Series concluded, the pair traveled to Italy to tie the knot in the presence of friends and family in Tuscany. “It was really important to Justin and me that it feel like we were on vacation with our closest friends and family,” Upton told Vogue.

In August 2018, the Astros star revealed how Upton came into his life while he was experiencing a rough patch, which was ridden with depression and a potential career-ending injury. “She was instrumental in me not . . . like, jumping off a bridge. . . . I was depressed and kind of just upset at the world and trying to hide my own sh*t,” Verlander told Bleacher Report. “She was what I needed.”

On Oct. 23, the Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees in the League Championship Series and advanced to the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Upton, who has been by Verlander’s side throughout his career, congratulated her husband on Instagram, writing, “I am so proud of you @justinverlander . . . ASTROS ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!! ❤️❤️❤️.”