- Dustin Johnson and his wife, Paulina Gretzky, met through Gretzky's parents, Wayne and Janet, in 2009.
- The golf star and the singer turned model married in 2022 and have two children.
- Johnson returned to Augusta this week. Gretzky was his caddy at the Par 3 event before the Masters.
The 38-year-old has been No. 1 throughout 139 weeks in his career, according to CBS. That puts him behind only Tiger Woods and Greg Norman for most weeks in the top spot.
However, in recent months, he's fallen out of the top 50. When he officially landed at 51 in February 2023, it was the first time in 13 years he'd been out of the top 50, according to Golf Digest.
He celebrated his Masters win with a trip to the Caribbean, tequila shots, and many games of giant Jenga.
Days before heading to Augusta, Georgia, for the 2021 tournament, he sold his Florida mansion for $16.5 million, triple what he bought it for six years ago, Insider reported.
In 2022, he tied for 12th place.
Johnson officially announced his resignation from the PGA Tour, formerly the only major golf tour in the world, in June 2022, The New York Times reported. "For right now, I've resigned my membership on the tour," he said.
LIV Golf is a new golf league backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund and run by Australian former professional golfer Greg Norman. It's aiming to reinvigorate golf through "rich paydays, star players and slick marketing," according to The Times.
As Insider has reported, LIV Golf has been plagued with controversies, as some A-list golfers like Tiger Woods have refused to join, and LIV golfers have sued the PGA Tour in order to play in both leagues.
According to the Sun, her song "Collecting Dust" was featured on "Laguna Beach" back in the day.
Speaking to Golf Digest in 2014, Paulina Gretzky, now 34, claimed to have looked like a "ragamuffin" during their initial 2009 meeting, but she added that Johnson was a "really cute guy" and an "endearing gentleman."
She also said her mother talked her up upon meeting Johnson.
"I'm sure he was rolling his eyes, and so was I when my mom invited me over to meet this golfer she had just met," she said.
According to Golf.com, Janet Jones Gretzky invited Johnson over for dinner and he remained friendly with the family.
"I don't know if you can call it a date since my dad tagged along," Gretzky told GOLF in 2016.
Wayne Gretzky added, "That's how it goes in our family. Janet and I go out to eat, and we somehow always wind up with seven or eight people at the table. Everyone is invited."
The Gretzkys themselves have been married since 1988, and they have five kids together, including Paulina.
"She said yes!!!," Johnson tweeted. She added on Instagram, "Never been happier."
It led to her getting a deal with TaylorMade, she later told Golf Digest.
"The most important thing for me right now is my relationship with Dustin. It's what makes me happiest, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's important for people to realize it's okay to be happy in love. If you don't want to give up something, that's okay. But if you're in love and have to give up something, that's okay too," she told Golf Digest.
Of course, the Gretzkys are famous for hockey, but her family is into golf as well.
"I didn't appreciate golf as much when I was little, probably because my mom put us in tennis camps and golf camps," Gretzky told Golf Digest.
She has played, though. "I walked all 18 holes in my dad's tournament. Felt like the longest day of my life, but I stuck through it. The truth is, I was a total tomboy and loved sports. Dad always says I was his best athlete. I played softball until the sixth grade, and that's when I said, 'Dad, stop. I'm a girl,'" she told Golf Digest in 2014.
But between her parents' love of golf and her choice of husband, she's become more enamored with the sport of golf.
'I'll go with him to the range every once in a while, but mostly I just love being with him and watching him play," she said of her now-husband.
Golf.com reported Johnson failed drug tests for cocaine and marijuana. In July 2014, he said he would be taking a leave of absence to "seek professional help for personal challenges I have faced."
Fox News reported that Wayne Gretzky had taken to mentoring Johnson, and reportedly warned him to clean up his act and stop partying.
"@djohnsonpga & i are so excited to finally share with you all our amazing news..we're having a baby!!" Gretzky wrote on a since-deleted Instagram post on September 24, 2014, the LA Times reported.
Tatum was born on January 15, 2015.
"Paulina and I are happy to announce the arrival of our baby boy, who was born in Los Angeles on Monday morning,"Johnson wrote on Instagram, Us Weekly reported.
"Both Paulina and the baby are healthy, resting comfortably, and in great spirits! We sincerely appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received and plan to release further details in the coming days," he added.
"Over these past four or five months I've really grown up," he told Sports Illustrated in January 2015, "and I am starting to become the person I want my kids to look up to."
Sports Illustrated also reported that the couple frequently ate breakfast and dinner with Gretzky's parents when they lived nearby.
She caddied for him during the Par 3 contest, an event in which many professional golfers choose their family members or friends to act as caddies for them.
This was Johnson's first Majors win, and Gretzky was there at his side when he earned his silver trophy.
He added that the size of the wedding doesn't matter to him.
"That bill is going to Wayne," Johnson joked.
In the post, Johnson hit a golf ball that exploded into blue powder, signifying they were expecting another son.
River was born on June 12, 2017.
"I'm so thankful for my family and the new addition River Jones Johnson @paulinagretzky," Johnson posted on Instagram upon River's birth.
Gretzky has 1.1 million Instagram followers.
"Honey, i'm forever & always your biggest fan. so proud of you," Gretzky wrote on Instagram to celebrate her husband's Masters win.
During an appearance on her sister-in-law's podcast "The Netchicks," Gretzky said," I don't know if people know if me and Dustin are really married or not. We're not. We're so in love."
She added, "I don't want anything from Dustin other than I love him."
Johnson, along with his Team USA teammates, secured the Ryder Cup win in September 2021. His then-fiancée was there to celebrate his big moment by leaping into his arms and giving him a giant hug.
On October 31, 2021, Johnson posted a photo of himself, Gretzky, and a few of their other friends on Halloween on Instagram captioned "Happy Halloween!!!," alongside Trump.
Both shared photos from their joint parties in March on social media, with Gretzky captioning her series of photos, "P's Last D" and "No Regretzkys."
Almost nine years after Gretzky and Johnson got engaged in August 2013 — and two kids later — the golfer and his now-wife tied the knot on April 23, 2022, in Tennessee.
It was an evening filled with celebrities, a personalized golf cart, and even a performance by Kid Rock.
Since joining the LIV Tour in June 2022, Johnson has played multiple tournaments with Gretzky cheering him on from the sidelines.
"Full Swing's" first season consisted of eight episodes, each focusing on different golfers. The fifth episode, "American Dreams," focused on Johnson and Matt Fitzpatrick.
In it, fans got a closer look at Johnson and Gretzky's relationship, and she explained why, in her opinion, her husband joined LIV.
"I don't think Dustin would ever make a bad choice for his children and people have to understand at the end of the day, that's who he chose this for," she said. "Of course, I get what everyone's saying, but my dad being a hockey player — I'm sure as a kid, there were times when I'm like, 'Why does my dad have to play on my birthday?' This is about Dustin and the kids and me and taking care of us and being there with us."
Johnson put it a little more succinctly during the episode: "For me, it was playing less, and making more money. Pretty simple."
Gretzky was once again there to support her husband during the Par 3 competition.
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By: [email protected] (Áine Cain,Gabbi Shaw)
Title: Paulina Gretzky caddied for her husband, Dustin Johnson, during the Masters Par 3 competition — here's a timeline of their relationship
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/dustin-johnson-pga-paulina-gretzky-relationship-2018-4
Published Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2023 14:36:51 +0000