Dame Laura Kelly has hinted that a miscarriage and desire for a second child could be the reason behind her shock retirement.

Britain’s five-time Olympic gold medalist today announced that she has retired from cycling after ending her dream of qualifying for this summer’s Olympic Games.

The mother-of-two, 31, from Harlow, appeared on BBC’s Woman’s Hour, where she discussed how motherhood had affected her distinguished career and how juggling both had meant constant ‘sacrifice’.

During the candid interview, she also revealed that a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy she suffered in 2021 played more of a role in the decision than I ever realized.

Speaking to hosts, Laura opened up about raising her two children Albie, six, and Monty, eight months, with husband and seven-time champion Jason Kenny, 35.

She said: ‘I was very open about having a miscarriage and the ectopic condition [pregnancy].

“I think that might have meant more than I ever realized or expected.

“All I ever wanted for Albie was a brother or sister. I always thought of Albie as a big brother – and that might not happen and I might not have another baby…

“Once it was here and I had another one, I just didn’t want to waste that time.”

Before Monty turns eight months old tomorrow, Laura said she feels a growing need to spend more time with her children.

She also shared that parenthood wasn’t as “easy” this time around compared to when she had her first son Albie, admitting that she may have “taken that time in her life for granted.”

She explained, “He is [Monty] is eight months tomorrow. I mean, I don’t know where that went, and I’ve been with him every step of the way, you know.

“Maybe I can sit here now and say that I took Albie for granted a little bit – how easy it was to have Albie. How easy everything seemed at the time. I would just ask my parents to come and take care of him.

‘While this time I just didn’t want to. I wish I was. I didn’t want to miss anything.”

The mother-of-two, 31, from Harlow, appeared on BBC’s Woman’s Hour, where she discussed how motherhood had influenced her distinguished career (pictured: Laura’s two children Alby, six, and Monty, eight months, with husband and seven-time champion Jason Kenny, 34)

Last year the Harlow-born athlete revealed the heartbreaking news that she had suffered a miscarriage, leaving her ‘so lost’ and ‘sad’.

Britain’s most successful female Olympian revealed in an Instagram post that the miscarriage occurred in November 2021 and that one of her fallopian tubes was removed in January 2022 due to an ectopic pregnancy.

She has since spoken openly about the personal difficulties she faced in competing, namely pursuing a fourth Games in Paris, despite only giving birth to her second son, Monty, last July.

With her chances of selection judged to be ‘slim’ by British Cycling bosses earlier this month, Laura decided to end her illustrious career altogether at the age of 31.

Speaking on Woman’s Hour, she spoke in detail about the physical challenges of mothering two children.

Kenny with husband Jason, the former Olympic track cyclist, at the Tokyo Olympics

Britain’s five-time Olympic gold medalist announced today that she has retired from cycling after ending her dream of qualifying for this summer’s Olympic Games (pictured at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Izu Velodrome on August 6, 2021 in Izu, Japan )

She said: “It just seemed right at the time [after birthing Albie] I was really into it, I went for it completely. While the recovery took longer this time, it took 12 weeks before I could cycle again.

‘And it’s just a lot. It’s just a lot to leave someone so young who was still eating. I mean, I’m still breastfeeding. It’s a lot to sacrifice’.

In response to a question about the pressure of having to qualify for the Olympics ‘so quickly’ and before next month, Laura noted that the ‘pressure’ was ‘really daunting’.

“It meant leaving them quick and sharp,” she added.

‘I just couldn’t do it. I just didn’t want to do it.”

She added that comments from her eldest child about being “sad” that she would be leaving for the Olympics were not something she could “live with”, and also revealed that she struggled being separated from Albie at the time athletes had to lock up two weeks before the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Olympics.

Last week, pop star Lily Allen sent shockwaves across the country over comments that having her two daughters “completely ruined” her career.

Kenny is Britain’s most successful female Olympian with five gold medals (pictured at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games)

In response, Laura disagreed and instead said that women “can have it all,” but questioned whether it was “worth it” in the long run.

She said, “I mean, I think you have to be prepared. I was recently asked this; someone said to me: was it worth it? Can you do both? Can you have it all?

“And I would say, yes, and I could have gotten back on the bike and I could have possibly qualified for the next Olympics, but you have to think about whether it’s worth it.

“Because in the long run it’s your luck that you’re playing with, you know – and it was chaos.

“Albie traveling the world and traveling the world with him and qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics was an absolute bloodbath.”

She admitted that she and her husband Jason made it look “easy,” “but it was far from it” and “there were some seriously heartbreaking sacrifices along the way.”

Laura won gold in the omnium and team pursuit at both London 2012 and Rio 2016. After giving birth to her first son Albie in 2017, she won the team race at Tokyo 2020 alongside Katie Archibald, as well as silver in the team. pursue. She also claimed seven world titles.

The five-time Olympic gold medalist told fans the news of her miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy in a heartbreaking Instagram post last year

Kenny wrote on social media: ‘Thank you cycling for everything you’ve given me – including a husband and our growing family!

‘For people to say that I have inspired women and girls to get active and get on their bikes means a lot to me.

‘Thank you to Team GB, British Cycling and all the partners who supported my journey. A special thank you to every teammate I have had over the years and of course to my family for being the best support unit I could ever ask for.

“Now it’s time to move on, but stay tuned for the next chapter.”

Kenny says she hopes to be in Paris in ‘some capacity’ but has ruled out becoming a coach like her husband Jason, who will work with the British men’s sprint team after his retirement in 2022.

“Nothing is set in stone, but there are things I’m so interested in,” she told the BBC. ‘Something to help the younger generation, whether that could be some kind of academy.

‘I could never become a coach because that’s just too much pressure for me, but maybe something in the background that gives the young people the opportunities that I had.’

Paying tribute to Kenny, British Cycling performance director Stephen Park said: ‘Laura hangs up her wheels not only as one of the sport’s greatest riders, but as one of the greatest sporting talents our country has ever produced.

‘Anyone who has had the pleasure of watching Laura compete will testify to her peerless combination of craft and determination, which led her to become Britain’s most successful female Olympian and the first British woman to win gold medals in three consecutive Olympic Games.

‘Equally impressive, however, is the impact Laura has had on her fellow Great Britain Cycling Team riders and the next generation of Olympic hopefuls.

‘She has been a beacon of inspiration to so many, young and old, and I am sure the entire British cycling community will wish her all the best in the next chapter of her life.

“From Welwyn Wheelers and our talent pathway to the very top of the sport, we are so proud of everything she has achieved, and I am sure she will remain one of our team’s biggest supporters for many years to come. ‘

OLYMPIC legend Dame Laura Kenny has announced her retirement from cycling at the age of 31.

The star won five Olympic gold medals and amassed seven World Championships during her illustrious career.

7

7

7

She had been scheduled to make a fourth competition appearance in Paris this summer, but after giving birth to her second child last July, she has now announced that will not happen.

Laura, whose surname was Trott before she married former cyclist and Britain’s only other more decorated Olympian, Sir Jason Kenny, in 2016, said BBC breakfast: “I always knew deep down that I would know when it was the right time.

“I had a blast, but now it’s time for me to hang up that bike.”

Laura continued: “It’s been in my head for a while: the sacrifices you have to make when you have to leave the kids and your family at home are really quite big and it’s a really big decision to make.

“I found it increasingly difficult. More and more people were asking me what races I was doing, what training camps I was doing – I ultimately didn’t want to go and that’s what it came down to.

“I knew it as soon as I got those feelings. When I said to Jase, ‘I don’t think I want to cycle anymore,’ I started to feel relief.”

The couple welcomed their first child, a boy named Albie, in 2017, but returned to cycling because she wanted to prove that athletes were capable of balancing both motherhood and the demands of the sport.

Laura suffered a miscarriage in 2021 and an ectopic pregnancy months later before their second child, a boy named Monty, was born in 2023.

BEST SIGN UP OFFERS FOR FREE BETTS FOR UK BOOKMAKER

She triumphed in London, Rio and Tokyo to become Britain’s most successful female Olympian ever.

Laura was part of the team pursuit quartet that claimed gold at London 2012, before winning another in the omnium.

She repeated this feat in Rio with two more golds in the same events.

And in Tokyo she followed up silver in the team pursuit with a dominant gold in the team race, together with good friend Katie Archibald.

In November, she announced she was planning a shock return to try to compete in Paris.

However, British Cycling’s performance director Stephen Park recently revealed that the chance of that happening was only a “remote chance”.

Laura added: “I started to have hesitant feelings.

“To win another gold medal, as much as I would love to do that, it didn’t give me the energy I wanted anymore, but it just wasn’t.

“I didn’t think, ‘I really want to go on and win one.’ I thought, ‘I really want to stay home with the kids’.”

In addition to Olympic success, the star is also a fourteen-time European champion and won three medals, including two golds, at the Commonwealth Games.

Now she says she is “open to anything and everything” after retiring from the job.

Laura added: “Nothing is set in stone, but there are things I’m so interested in.

“Something to help the younger generation, whether that could be some kind of academy.

“I could never become a coach because that’s just too much pressure for me, but maybe something in the background that gives the young people the opportunities that I had.”

7

7

7

The simple problem with Kenny Smith's comments on TNT during the best moment of All-Star Saturday was that they made no sense.

What Smith said when the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry defeated the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu in a three-point match made for great TV was distracting because of its lack of logic and timing. We were looking at a nice sports Picasso, and strangely all Smith could say was that the canvas wasn't quite right in his eyes.

Curry, considered by most to be the greatest shooter of all time, narrowly defeated Ionescu 29-26, shooting from beyond the NBA three-point line.

“She should have shot from the woman's line,” Smith said immediately after Curry's clutch shots. “That would have been a fair game.”

Reggie Miller, TNT's other analyst at the event, tried to get the broadcast back on track.

'Why are you imposing those boundaries on her? She wanted to shoot from there,” Miller said.

Smith continued, adding: “She should have shot from the line. There is a women's T-shirt in golf and there is a men's T-shirt for a reason.”

Everyone watching was more than willing to drop out of this conversation, but then things got extra weird when Miller added, “I think you want her to play with dolls.”

Smith said, “No, I want her to shoot from where you're shooting. And there's nothing wrong with playing with dolls.”

It is not outlandish to suggest that every shooter should shoot within the guidelines of his league's rules. But this is pre-match chatter, not something in the middle of a fun moment. And Ionescu himself wanted to shoot from NBA range.

What Smith said demeaned Ionescu's excellent performance. Had she just competed in the regular NBA three-point contest on Saturday night, her 26-point performance would have tied champion Damian Lillard's score in the final round.

If that had happened, the immediate response wouldn't have been, “Should she have shot from closer?”

The Smith and TNT issue was too much all night Statler and Waldorf and not enough party.

We're all for criticism, but this was a fun event, and every moment doesn't need to be compared as if it were up to some standard of the past. We are all looking forward to the event. A broadcast isn't Twitter/X, where you complain about everything (although Smith and Miller disagreed about the legendarily bad dunk contest judges).

Smith is a key part of the most iconic studio show of all time, “Inside the NBA.” What makes it the best — well, aside from Charles Barkley — is that the panelists will only say something curious about the NBA, or about each other, or about the world. It works because a studio show is a blank slate for creating sports TV art.

Saturday evening we all enjoyed the photos on our screen. While women's hoops was having a renaissance moment, led by Caitlin Clark, here we were on the biggest professional stage, with the man considered the greatest shooter of all time taking on Ionescu.

It was a great moment for basketball. That was what Smith was missing.

At that moment, when Ionescu went shot for shot with the king, the commentary should have reflected the competition. Smith's intentions may not have been bad, but unlike Ionescu, he just missed the moment.

(Photo of Kenny Smith: Jamie Schwaberow/NBAE via Getty Images)

Penny Lancaster turned heads in a busty white dress as she headed out for dinner with her husband Rod Stewart at The Ritz on Sunday evening.

The blonde beauty, 52, made sure all eyes were on her in the revealing number as she stepped out with her rocker partner, 79.

Her lace dress had a sparkling silver trim and hugged her curves. She was paired with a smart black blazer and Valentino heels.

She wore dangling earrings and opted for a glamorous make-up look, as her light locks were styled in loose waves.

The couple dined with ex-footballer Kenny Dalglish, 72, who won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year last month.

The blonde beauty, 52, made sure all eyes were on her in the revealing number as she stepped out with her rocker partner, 79

Rod opted for a chic black and silver suit and shiny shoes as he climbed into a waiting car with his beautiful wife after dinner

Rod opted for a chic black and silver suit and shiny shoes as he climbed into a waiting car with his beautiful wife after dinner.

The couple are fans of the chic hotel and last month Rod celebrated his sister Mary's 95th birthday with a family night out at the venue.

The hitmaker was joined by Penny and their two sons as they posed for fun Instagram photos during the outing.

Penny looked chic in a sleek cream suit as she posed for a photo with her sister-in-law Mary, son Alastair, 18, his girlfriend Eloise Darlington and son Aidan, 12.

She captioned the post: 'Happy 95th birthday Mary, we love you @alastairwstewart @aidenstew_1888 @sirrodstewart @eloisedarlington.'

Rod, the youngest of five children, also posed for a photo with his glamorous sister on his Instagram Stories and wrote: 'Happy 95th sister Mary.'

Rod is the youngest of Bob and Elsie Stewart's five children, and during his six decades in the spotlight, he has repeatedly praised his brothers, Don and Bob, and sisters, Mary and Peggy, for caring for him when he was young.

The world-famous singer was born in London in 1945 after his family moved south, while his four older siblings were born in Scotland. There were eight years between him and his closest brother.

Her lace dress had a sparkling silver trim and hugged her curves. She was paired with a smart black blazer and Valentino heels.

She wore dangling earrings and opted for a glamorous make-up look as her light tresses were styled in loose waves

The couple are fans of the chic hotel and last month Rod celebrated his sister Mary's 95th birthday with a family night out at the venue

Penny looked cheerful as she stepped out in the glamorous white dress, toting a small silver bag

After dinner, she hopped into a waiting car to head home, flashing a sparkling silver bracelet

Her ample assets were on display in the plunging midi dress that was made of flattering lace material

The pair looked like they had a great night at the chic hotel as they walked down the stairs to the car

After Peggy died in 1975 at the age of 40, and Don and Bob – who were both in their 90s – died last year, Mary is Sir Rod's only surviving sibling.

As an aspiring footballer in his youth, Sir Rod drew attention to the way his siblings supported him in every way, including washing his 'dirty pants' after training.

But as he got older, the father of eight decided he wanted to pursue a career in music – something he also credits to his siblings.

Speaking at Mary's 90th birthday party in 2019, for which his older siblings jokingly booked Rod Stewart impersonators to perform, the star paid tribute to how his older sisters and brothers had been 'instrumental' in helping him to get into music.

The Sun reported that he told the crowd: 'Whether it was football or washing my dirty underpants, I can't speak highly enough of these boys.

“We've had our arguments, haven't we, Don? A blow now and then, but I love you, and I love you, Mary.”

Sir Rod, Mary, Don and Bob formed a special bond after the death of their sister Peggy, who died in 1975 aged 40 from multiple sclerosis.

The music legend welcomed his eldest child, a daughter Sarah Streeter, in 1963 when he was 17 years old with his then-partner Susannah Boffey.

He then welcomed daughter Kimberly, 44, and son Sean, 43, with his ex-wife Alana Stewart, whom he divorced in 1984.

He paired his silver and black suit with a white shirt that also featured quirky glittering details on the front

As he headed home, he smiled for the cameras

The couple dined with ex-footballer Kenny Dalglish, 72, (right), who last month won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year

His sparkling shoes turned heads as he stepped out with the group for dinner in central London

Leaving Rod and Penny behind, Kenny looked dapper in a long black coat and dark gray trousers

Kenny and Rod shared a hug as they went their separate ways after dinner

They shared a warm embrace after dining together at The Ritz

They were joined by another male friend at the hotel and restaurant

Rod beamed as he headed home in his quirky suit

Rod also shares Ruby, 36, with former model Kelly Emberg, and has daughter Renee, 31, and son Liam, 29, with New Zealand model Rachel Hunter.

It came after Penny shared a splashy tribute to her eldest son on Instagram on his 18th birthday.

She shared a series of throwback snaps of herself and Rod with Alastair over the years and gushed about her 'amazing' son in a caption.

She wrote, “My beautiful firstborn son that I had dreamed of for 34 years of my life came to me as a gift that I have always cherished. Happy 18th birthday. So proud of the amazing man you have become xxxx.'

LOUISVILLE — Kenny Payne sounded like a man looking for hope in a hard reality. His Louisville basketball team came close, so painstakingly close, to finally doing it — winning one of those games upon which corners are turned. Instead, No. 19 Texas pulled away late, handing Payne his 30th loss in 36 games as coach of the Cardinals. This was four weeks ago, what, in hindsight, feels like four years ago.

Payne settled in for a postgame news conference at Madison Square Garden. There was a certain optimism to him that Sunday afternoon. He nodded and offered a knowing gaze. “It’s only going to get better,” he said. “It’s not going to get worse.”

It was difficult to imagine then how wrong he was.

The Cards lost to Indiana the next day. Then, uncomfortable home wins over New Mexico State and Bellarmine in a near-empty KFC Yum! Center. A loss at Virginia Tech. Another at DePaul, one of the few programs supposedly worse off than Louisville. Then, a home loss to Arkansas State. (Not Arkansas. Arkansas State.) Last weekend, a three-game skid was snapped with a win over Pepperdine.

That’s been the story on the court. Off the court, the place has come to feel like some cruel thought experiment on the long-term effects of fatalism. Fans are apoplectic. Program alumni are mortified. New embarrassments seem to come by the week. Most recently, fans went from talking about why freshman guard Ty-Laur Johnson sat out to start a game because he didn’t have his leggings to wondering what led to junior guard Koron Davis’ dismissal.

Louisville, as one proud former player puts it, is “utterly unrecognizable.”

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Payne returned to Louisville in March 2022 as a beloved alum. Beowulf, reclaiming his land to slay the dragons of this program’s recent past — the NCAA, the messy end of Chris Mack’s tenure, the cloud of Rick Pitino, the sordid headlines, the vacated wins, the dark days. All that would recede into memory as Louisville returned to glory.

But Payne, who wasn’t made available to The Athletic during a recent visit, went 4-28 in Year 1. Now he’s 5-6 in Year 2. The negativity surrounding the program is unmatched in college basketball. Most of it’s warranted. Some of it’s hyperbolic. Such toxicity turns every missed shot into a manifesto on the program’s future.

What’s most uncomfortable, though, is the seeming universal acceptance that sweeping changes are a foregone conclusion. That Louisville, operating as a bastardized version of a program with 10 Final Fours and three national titles (no matter what the NCAA record book says), is already past a point of no return with Kenny Payne.

At no time might that be clearer than this Thursday. Everyone knows what’s coming. The Yum! is about to turn blue as thousands of Kentucky fans take over the building for the annual rivalry game. It will be a sight no one can ignore, and the ultimate question again will be asked.

Where do the Cards go from here?

Touching down on one of the two runways at Bowman Field, the small airport southeast of downtown Louisville, Kenny Payne stepped out of a private plane and into an American dream. It was March 17, 2022. Denny Crum, his former coach, had lived long enough to see one of his own inherit his program. The 85-year-old waited on the tarmac alongside Wade Houston, another Cardinal legend and Payne mentor, both men smiling. Lowering his head, Payne ducked his 6-foot-8 frame through the plane door, inhaled a familiar air, hugged them both and waved to fans along a perimeter fence line.

This is what so many wanted. Louisville’s post-Pitino world was one of lost identity. Program alum David Padgett admirably navigated the tumult of 2017-18 as interim coach but wasn’t trendy enough to be the school’s long-term option. Chris Mack was the hottest name on the market, so Louisville went and got him. The marriage was hailed nationally as a can’t-miss hire in March 2018. Twenty-one months later, Mack coached the No. 1-ranked Cards to a home win over No. 4 Michigan in front of 21,674 packed shoulder-to-shoulder in December 2019.

This was a new era.

Until it wasn’t.

Mack didn’t make it to the end of Year 4 in his seven-year contract, getting pushed out 14 games into the 2021-22 season amid another NCAA investigation and player discontent. Another ugly ending. Another round of preposterous headlines. (Seriously, what other program has had two head coaches entangled in extortion cases?)

Many around Louisville say that then-interim athletic director Josh Heird had little choice in the 2022 coaching search. Trustees, ex-players, boosters — most wanted Payne. Louisville is a place where the streets go backward, where some loyalists and ex-players are still upset Crum was forced into retirement in 2001, and others still regularly relitigate Pitino’s various cause célèbres. The school needed someone to tie its binds.

Payne, 57, was born and raised in southeast Mississippi but is a son of Louisville. He was a freshman on Crum’s 1986 national championship team. He played with legends Billy Thompson, Milt Wagner and Pervis Ellison. He led the program to the Sweet 16 in 1988 and ’89. He carried all imaginable Card credentials and had a coaching résumé to go with them. Payne honed his recruiting chops for years as an assistant coach at Oregon and Kentucky, then sharpened his coaching prowess with a few seasons in the NBA.

This was the right man at the right time for Louisville. More impactfully, Payne stood as the first Black head coach for a program with a long history of racial barrier-breaking. The size and scale of his hiring wasn’t lost on him.

“It’s bigger than me,” Payne told The Athletic in October 2022. “That’s the best way to say it: It’s bigger than me. It’s a lot.”

That was only 14 months ago.

Today’s version of college basketball, with its transfer portal and its Name, Image and Likeness jockeying, comes with an inherent stress of assembling talent as fast as possible and winning games now, not later. Louisville saw Payne as a tap to a keg of all readily available talent. His 10-year tenure at Kentucky turned him into a near-mythic figure. He was critical in landing and developing Anthony Davis and other five-star future NBA lottery picks. He coached nine big men who were drafted in the lottery, including two No. 1 overall picks. He was best friends with basketball’s ultimate power broker — William “Worldwide” Wesley. NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns once called Payne “the horse beneath the jockey driving Kentucky basketball.”

The math was easy. If Payne did that at Kentucky, imagine what he’d do on his own horse in Louisville.

Immediately after the hiring, several top-rated recruits were suddenly rumored to be heavily interested in Louisville. In May 2022, Payne hired Milt Wagner, his former teammate and U of L luminary, as the program’s director of player development and alumni relations. Wagner’s grandson, D.J., happened to be the No. 1 recruit in the country at the time.

The flood of talent to Louisville felt all but imminent.

But things aren’t so simple.

Payne’s first recruiting class, cobbled together late, ranked a respectable 26th in the 247Sports Composite rankings but lacked a top-50 prospect. He mined the portal for two pieces, notably Tennessee transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. But it wasn’t enough. The Cards’ 2022-23 roster, with a handful of returnees, had 10 scholarship players. They won four games. Losses included an exhibition to Division II Lenoir-Rhyne and regular-season upsets by Bellarmine, Wright State, Appalachian State and Lipscomb. They went 2-18 in the ACC and finished 290th in KenPom’s ratings. The next closest high-major was California at 270.

On top of the losses, things soured through Year 1 as, one by one, all that rumored incoming five-star talent went elsewhere. D.J. Wagner not only declined Louisville’s scholarship but also committed to Kentucky.

What’s gone wrong? Theories abound among those in grassroots basketball. About Payne spending his entire coaching career at Nike schools (Oregon and Kentucky) and now being under the Adidas umbrella. About Payne and assistant coaches Danny Manning, Nolan Smith and Josh Jamieson not pounding the pavement. Whatever the reason, the flood hasn’t come.

Seven scholarship players entered the transfer portal in Payne’s first offseason, including three captains. Then came a more significant loss. Trentyn Flowers, a five-star recruit who reclassified to enroll early at Louisville and headlined the Cards’ five-player 2023 recruiting class, opted out of his commitment. He did so after practicing with the team for weeks last summer. A potential starter, Flowers left the program on Aug. 14 and signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League in Australia.

The 2023-24 Louisville roster would feature nine new players, including key sophomore transfers Skyy Clark (Illinois) and Tre White (USC) and a freshman class that, despite Flowers’ departure, ranked No. 6 by 247Sports. Most agreed the roster was upgraded.

Eight current Louisville players entered college as top-100 players in 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings. Four of them — Huntley-Hatfield, Dennis Evans, Clark and White — ranked in the top 50. The Cards are exceedingly young, though. The roster includes nine freshmen and sophomores. Payne’s team ranks 301st in the country in DI experience, averaging 1.19 years. The only other high-major programs with less experience are UCLA and Notre Dame.

It was a year late, but, even without an influx of five-stars, this is what Louisville theoretically signed up for with Payne. Accumulate young talent, go through some growing pains, rebuild the program and climb back to the top of the ACC in a few years.

Luke Hancock, the hero of Louisville’s 2013 national title and now an analyst for ACC Network, says he sees “some pieces of what could be a good team” and wonders, if this group stayed mostly intact, grew a year older, added a top recruit or two and a couple veteran transfers, what might that look like?

“It’s not that I’m grasping at straws here,” Hancock says. “There are real positives. It ​​could be dramatically better going into Year 3. But are Louisville fans going to give them enough time for all that to really come to fruition? It doesn’t seem like it.”

Therein lies the rub. In only 14 months, things went so bad, so fast, that few are willing to see where this will go. If this were Year 1, maybe some would be willing to ride things out.

But it is not Year 1.

Losing is one thing. Being embarrassed is another.

Koron Davis could be seen right out in the open. Some fans recognized the 6-foot-7 guard from the program’s annual preseason scrimmage. Now he was sitting in the Yum! stands.

Nothing made sense. Davis was recruited to bolster the Louisville backcourt. He played junior college ball at Paris (Texas) Community College and Los Angeles Southwest College, and committed to the Cards in January 2023 after Payne visited him in LA. He was considered a nice pickup and a potential contributor.

But Davis has never suited up for a game. Payne delivered cryptic explanations. He said Davis was not in trouble, and was still part of the team, but was told not to come to games. Rumors swirled that he’d been involved in a practice confrontation with Payne.

Things turned more bizarre on Dec. 13. Louisville issued a statement announcing Davis was transferring, marking an abrupt end to the saga. Except then Davis, who posted a picture of his first-semester report card on social media that same morning, refuted the tweet, saying, “I never asked to transfer.”

I didn’t express to anyone at U of Louisville that I wanted to transfer. I never asked to transfer. I enjoy being a Cardinal. The fact an official statement was released giving false information is disheartening and sad.

— Koron Davis (@KoronDavis) December 13, 2023

Louisville issued a second release, this time saying Davis was dismissed from the program.

So what went wrong? In an interview with The Athletic, Davis says the practice at the root of the matter occurred in mid-November. That day, in a post-practice huddle, Payne told the group Davis bad-mouthed the team. “He told my teammates: ‘Koron said f— all y’all.’” Davis says. “Things escalated from there, but never turned physical.”

In a separate interview with The Athletic, a current Louisville player, granted anonymity so as to corroborate events without facing repercussions from the program, confirmed Davis’ retelling of the event.

Davis’ status with the team was limited after that day, but he was still part of the program. He maintained access to facilities, remained enrolled, and conducted occasional individual workouts with coaches. Program sources push back on the idea of a single incident being at the root of Davis’ quasi-suspension, but what’s clear is no one understood the terms.

Teammates were confused. So were fans and media. And athletic department officials. In an already combustible equation of a coach on the hot seat and a team losing games, now came controversy.

“It was so weird how they handled it,” the current player says.

Davis requested a meeting with Heird and spoke to the Louisville AD on Dec. 6. Heird, who confirms this meeting, asked Davis if he wanted to remain at the school. Davis responded yes. Heird told Davis he would speak to Payne.

Soon after, according to the current Louisville team member, some players met with Payne and the coaching staff. They advocated for Davis to rejoin the team, saying he could be a valuable player. Moreover, they said the drama surrounding the situation was distracting and could be avoided if Davis was allowed to sit on the bench. According to the current player, coaches responded by again claiming that Davis had told them he didn’t care about the team and wanted to transfer.

Nothing was any clearer by the end of Dec. 13. Following the loss to Arkansas State, Payne offered no further explanation. Two Louisville players, Huntley-Hatfield and Clark, said they still speak to Davis and support him.

Associate athletic director Zach Greenwell said in a statement to The Athletic on Wednesday that the university would honor Davis’ scholarship.

“All of our head coaches are empowered to make decisions related to their rosters that they believe are in the best interest of their programs as a whole,” he said. “If Koron Davis wishes to transition from being a student-athlete to a student at the University of Louisville, he is welcome to do so and his scholarship will be honored. Should he choose to continue his basketball career elsewhere, we will support his decision and wish him nothing but the best.”

Davis says he plans to remain enrolled at Louisville next semester, then decide where to play in 2024-25.

The handling of the situation — from Payne’s puzzling news conferences, to the poor messaging, to the confusion of Dec. 13 — was, according to an athletic department source, roundly seen as an unnecessary debacle. While some say Payne felt Davis’ long-term future wasn’t at Louisville and wanted to help him land somewhere as a transfer, they simultaneously acknowledge the ordeal could have been dealt with more deftly.

Some felt it marked the first time Payne’s tenure actually embarrassed the school. That this, in the big picture, was an exemplar of a program with broader issues.

It’s another game on another night in this very uncomfortable time to be a Louisville Cardinal. Attendance is announced at over 10,000, but fewer than 5,000 dour faces dot the 22,090-seat arena. That’s inside. Outside? You know it’s bad when barstools are empty in a city built on bourbon.

“We need a better team,” says the general manager of one neighboring establishment. “We have to get all the (bar) owners on the whole street together to start recruiting some guys.”

The GM doesn’t want his bar named here. Might be bad for business, he says, and business is bad enough. Real estate and operating costs near the downtown arena are priced to include 18 nights of 15,000-plus crowds coming downtown for Louisville men’s basketball. Right now, the numbers are off.

After years spent ranked among the most highly attended teams in college basketball, Louisville slipped to 22nd in average attendance last season. Average ticket sales were announced at 12,497 per game, per NCAA records. In 2019-20, the last time things were cooking around here, Louisville announced an average crowd of 16,658. That ranked seventh nationally.

But the real problem is, the Cards aren’t drawing anywhere near what’s being announced at games. According to university records requested by The Athletic, last year’s actual through-the-gates attendance averaged 6,557 per game. Only three games drew over 9,000. The Cards’ highly successful women’s program, riding a wave of five Elite Eights and two Final Four appearances since 2018, averaged 5,269 per game.

This year is worse for the men. The first three regular-season home dates drew 16,037, total. Or 5,435 per game. Season ticket sales have fallen from 10,501 to 9,099.

These are numbers that put bars out of business and leave hotel rooms empty.

They’re numbers that speak to a city missing part of its identity. Most places, a first-year homegrown football coach (Jeff Brohm) leading a program to its first-ever ACC Championship game appearance would occupy all the oxygen. Here, it’s a nice distraction. Louisville is a basketball town. It’s where this year the mayor displayed a replica 2013 national champion banner on Metro Hall to celebrate its 10th anniversary, since it can’t hang at Yum! Center because the NCAA vacated the title.

All that passion doesn’t disappear. It gets repurposed. A harsh shift has occurred from people supporting Kenny Payne as a person to people being so distraught by losing that it turns personal. Everything Payne says is seemingly subject to interpretation and attack. After this season opened with a 71-68 exhibition game loss to Kentucky Wesleyan, Payne said, “We can’t beat teams with talent. We’re never going to be the most talented team.” Payne meant his young team can’t simply show up and expect to win, but fans and media pounced on the quote.

After the loss to Indiana, when asked if he expected the Hoosiers to shift to a late zone defense, Payne said, “I did not. I knew (Mike Woodson) wouldn’t play zone — or I thought. He tricked me.” Again, the line scorched social media. Yet as of that day, Indiana had played, per Synergy, 27 possessions of zone defense and 5,781 in man-to-man in three years under Woodson. Twelve of those 27 zone possessions came in the final eight minutes against Louisville. Payne was justified to not prep for a zone. But all people heard was a struggling coach say he got tricked.

One program alum living in town, who requested anonymity to speak freely, says he dreads stopping at Starbucks for his daily coffee. He ducks his head, trying to be inconspicuous. But that’s impossible. He’s instantly recognized and the questions come before he can place an order. What do we do about Kenny? How’d it get so bad? Who should we hire?

Publicly, the ex-player voices support for Payne and the program. But truthfully?

“I think it’s too foregone at this point,” the ex-player said. “‘Sad’ is the word that comes to my mind, you know? By now, I would guess like 95 percent of the fan base has given up on this working. It’s hard to argue. The negativity is overwhelming.”

Multiple alums echoed the sentiment. That they don’t bother looking at social media anymore. They cringe seeing Yum! so barren. They worry about the current players trying to navigate something they didn’t sign up for.

As Peyton Siva puts it, playing college ball in a town like Louisville is “a gift and a curse.”

“When it’s going good, it’s so great. They show you love,” Siva says. “When it’s going bad, man, there are some people who make it tough.”

Heird, the Louisville athletic director, is sitting in an empty practice gym connected to the Yum! Center. Groans are audible from the arena. Asked how it’s come to this, he admits that he, too, is trying to understand.

“I think that’s the most difficult part of being an athletic director,” he says. “Everything can align to say, ‘This is the one.’ Right? ‘A can’t-miss (hire).’ The example I always use is Scott Frost. Name one person in the country, when he was at UCF, that thought that wasn’t going to work at Nebraska.”

Heird pauses, waiting for an answer that doesn’t come.

“There wasn’t one,” he concludes.

Whatever happens next at Louisville will ultimately be in Heird’s hands. He’s not a native, but he knows the place. He spent 2006 to 2017 in the department, as it expanded and improved wildly under former AD Tom Jurich, before spending three years at Villanova. Heird returned as deputy AD under Vince Tyra in 2019, before ascending to the top seat. Now he oversees a department that is winning in every sport except the one that matters the most.

Heird knows all the rumors. That he’s supposedly going to fire Payne if he loses this game or that game. Heird counters that he would never treat a single result as a line of demarcation.

“That’s unrealistic to put on any coach,” he says.

Instead, Heird says, he looks for progress. Even if it is gradual. Is there progress?

That probably depends on how hard one is willing to look.

It was Heird and Louisville that decided to hire a first-time head coach for one of the most prominent jobs in college basketball. As one ex-player put it: “They hired KP and got KP. Don’t you have to give him a chance to figure this out?”

Asked if Payne has been given any degree of grace as a first-time head coach, Heird draws a long pause.

“No, but I didn’t expect him to, and he didn’t, either,” Heird says. “You’re the head coach of Louisville men’s basketball. Nobody cares that you’re a first-time head coach, you know? Nobody cares.”

Heird says he hasn’t discussed with Payne any assurance that he’ll make it to the end of this season. It’s on Heird to decide whether the program can afford to give Payne a chance at a third season or pay an $8 million buyout to remove him before March 31. The buyout drops to $6 million after that date.

Some see an in-season move as an inevitability. That, though, would come with its own complications. What is there to realistically be saved? Who would be a viable interim coach? What’s the harm in giving Payne a chance to salvage … something?

Louisville fans, meanwhile, who’ve seen 13 losses to sub-150 KenPom opponents over the last 34 games, will continue to wait for what’s next. They’ll talk about Mick Cronin or Bruce Pearl or Andy Enfield; or Randy Bennett, Sean Miller, Dennis Gates, Chris Beard. Some will dream the ultimate dreams — Billy Donovan or Jay Wright. Still, some other Card fans, albeit a few, will hold out hope that the answer is still right in front of them.

As for Payne, he told reporters last week that he doesn’t spend time thinking about his job security. He coaches for the players and the community, he said, not himself.

“I learned at an early age,” Payne said, “that if you’re motivated by the critics, or if you’re motivated by praise, you’ll set yourself up to be heartbroken.”

(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

• The comedian’s death remains under investigation after initial reports that he died in a collision turned out to be untrue

By Paul Farrell for Dailymail.Com

Published: 03:51 EST, December 15, 2023 | Updated: 04:16 EST, December 15, 2023

Beloved comedian Kenny DeForest tragically died Wednesday, less than a week after being hospitalized following a horrific crash in Brooklyn. He was 37 years old.

According to a GoFundMe On the page set up by DeForest’s friends, the comedian was riding his e-bike when the December 8 crash occurred. He died five days later at Kings County Hospital.

DeForest was best known to mainstream audiences for his appearances on the late night comedy circuit, including stand-up bits on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Doctors tried to relieve pressure on his brain by removing a piece of skull, but the operation was unsuccessful. The money raised will go towards helping his family pay medical expenses.

Deadline reports that the crash occurred in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. Friends and family initially believed DeForest was killed when his bicycle was hit by another car, but the ambulance report made no reference to any other vehicle being involved.

DeForest was best known to mainstream audiences for his appearances on the late night comedy circuit, including stand-up bits on Late Night with Seth Meyers and The Late Late Show with James Corden.

In 2020, DeForest went viral when he told a story about Dave Chappelle appearing at a performance at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and discussing police brutality against people of color with the audience.

The crash happened here, along Sterling Place, in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood. The cause is still under investigation

‘We received more information today from an ambulance report. Kenny was on an e-bike and crashed. I spoke to cross guards in the area today and am still looking for more information. There is no police report because it was not a hit and run as first believed,” his friend Ryan Beck told the website.

“He was a great person and comedian. All of us in the New York comedy scene are truly devastated,” Beck added.

DeForest, a native of Springfield, Missouri, recently promoted a series of shows in his home state on his Facebook page. In high school and college, DeForest was known as a basketball star.

In 2015, he was named one of Comedy Central’s “Funniest People to Watch.” That same year, Brooklyn Magazine named him one of the 50 funniest people in Brooklyn.

“Kenny DeForest was a widely beloved comedian who died tragically and far too young. His relaxed, confident performance always stood out,” read a moving tribute on Late Night with Seth Meyers’ official X page.

“As you can tell from his late night debut on LNSM, he wasn’t afraid to tackle controversial topics, but never just be edgy – always in service of an original angle and a great joke. It’s a shame we don’t get to see what he comes up with next.’

DeForest pictured with James Corden backstage in 2019

The official Twitter account for Late Nigh with Seth Meyers paid tribute to DeForest with this post

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel retweeted DeForest’s story about Dave Chappelle in 2020

At the time of writing, DeForest’s crowdfunding page has raised nearly $180,000. Among those who donated are movie star Kristen Bell, as well as Saturday Night Live alum Sasheer Zamata and comedian Tim Dillon.

In 2020, DeForest went viral when he told a story about Dave Chappelle appearing at a performance at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and discussing police brutality against people of color with the audience.

Adam Conover, creator of Adam Ruins Everything, paid tribute to DeForest, writing on Instagram that the comedian was “one of the funniest and most beloved comics we knew.”

Conover ordered his followers to view DeForest’s recent comedy specialtitled You Don’t Know Who I Am?, which was released on YouTube in September.

“What I’d give for one more car ride together, taking turns playing songs for each other, me laughing at him for being a little too hippie and young, and him laughing at me for being a little too bitter and old. Just look at that smile. I will never forget you Kenny Deforest,” wrote fellow comedian James Fritz.

“Kenny DeForest was always a clown. A bright light. You will be missed,” Atsuko Okatsuka tweeted.

American sports commentator and former professional basketball player Kenny Smith is famous for being selected by Sacramento in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft with the sixth overall pick.

What is Kenny Smith’s age?

Kenny Smith was born on March 8, 1965, in Queens, New York in the United States of America. He is currently 57 years old. At birth his sun sign is Pisces. By nationality, he holds American citizenship and is of African American ethnic background. He spent his childhood in LeFrak City. Annie Mae Smith is his mother’s name. The information about his father’s identity is missing from social media sites.

Likewise, he is not just the son of his parents. He has one brother with whom he grew up. Vincent Smith is his brother’s name. Likewise, he follows the Christian religion. His parents raised him with a lot of love and care. He grew up in a loving and friendly environment with his friends.

Kenny Smith’s educational background

Regarding his educational background, he seems to be a qualified and well-educated person. He completed his higher education from Archbishop Molloy High School. There he is called McDonald’s All-American. He then attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina.

What is Kenny Smith’s Net Worth and Salary as of 2022?

Kenny Smith is a millionaire. He has collected a good sum of money during his professional career. According to celebritynetworth, he has an estimated net worth of $20 million from 2022. Likewise, he has an annual salary of $4 million. He has received more than $13 million in salary during his decade-long NBA career. He is a rich player. Kenny listed his Encino home for $3.6 million in January 2018.

Additionally, he owns a home in Stevenson Ranch, California (CA). Through his career, he has earned a name for himself in addition to the happiness of money. As of now, he is living a happy and luxurious life with his family from the money he earns. In the coming days, his net worth and annual income will definitely increase.

How tall is Kenny Smith?

Kenny Smith is a handsome man with a boisterous personality. He has an athletic body. He has a good height of 6 feet 2 inches tall or 1.88 meters. Likewise, depending on his height, his total body weight is approximately 77 kg. He has dark brown eyes with black eyes.

Who is Kenny Smith’s ex-wife?

Well, Kenny Smith has been married twice in his life. Initially, he exchanges his wedding vows with his long-term, beautiful girlfriend Dawn Reavis. Before getting married, the couple was in a relationship for a long time. The couple then exchanges their wedding vows.

The couple shared two children from their marriage. Kayla Smith is their daughter’s name. KJ Smith is the name of their son. But their relationship didn’t last long as expected. So they both signed divorce papers and broke up.

Then he met Gwendolyn Osborne. By profession she is an English model. Initially, they met at the charity event in the year 2004. After two years of relationship, the couple exchanged their wedding vows on September 8, 2006.

The couple was blessed with two children (daughter and son). Malloy Smith is the name of their son. London Smith is their daughter’s name. But like his previous relationship, their marriage didn’t work out as expected. In the year 2018, they filed divorce papers and got separated.

Is Kenny Smith currently in a relationship or single?

As of now, Kenny Smith is living a single life. He is not in a relationship with anyone. It seems like he is only focusing on his professional career. In the coming days, he will definitely get involved in the relationship with the girl he wanted to date.

Kenny Smith’s career

Frequently Asked Questions from Kenny Smith

What is Kenny Smith’s profession?

Kenny is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player.

Why is Kenny Smith famous?

Kenny Smith is famous for being selected by Sacramento in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft with the sixth overall pick.

Where was Kenny Smith born?

Kenny was born in Queens, New York in the United States of America.

By Kinta Walsh-cotton for Daily Mail Australia

Published: 8:56 PM EST, November 20, 2023 | Updated: 7:50 AM EST, November 21, 2023

Jett Kenny endured a year-long harrowing ordeal with a Tinder stalker that ultimately forced him to ask out his current girlfriend Lily Brown.

Jett, 29, claims he matched with a woman on the dating app ‘years ago’ and she showed up at the same spot as the Ironman.

Recounting the story in detail with Lily on her podcast Red Hot The Pod last Monday, the son of Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny said his ‘stalker’ even turned up outside his Sunshine Coast home once.

Jett even saw her sitting on a bench across from his house by the river, until one day she handed him a letter and asked him out.

He called Lily, who was only his girlfriend at the time, and read her the letter, explaining all the details of his apparent stalker.

Jett Kenny endured a year-long harrowing ordeal with a Tinder stalker, which ultimately forced him to ask out his current girlfriend Lily Brown

It was at this point that Lily, 25, suggested the SAS Australia star tell his former Tinder flame he had a girlfriend.

“I didn’t mean when I said you have a girlfriend, I didn’t mean me. Clearly this damn king succeeded. But I just meant for you to say it to throw her off,” she said.

Jett replied, “At the same time, I realized in that moment that you were my girlfriend. Sorry, not ‘were’, but this is someone I wanted to pursue something with.”

Jett asked Lily out during that phone call and made things official.

After telling the shocking story to their listeners, Lily smiled about stealing Jett from the ‘stalker’ and said: ‘I hope she listens [to the podcast]. This is for you, little creep. Small climbing plant. I win.’

Jett, 29, claims he matched with a woman on dating app ‘years ago’ and she showed up at the same spot as the Ironman

Recounting the story in detail with Lily on her podcast Red Hot The Pod last Monday, the son of Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny said his ‘stalker’ even turned up outside his Sunshine Coast home once.

Lily and Jett announced their relationship last December after weeks of rumors.

The model and the influencer both shared the same photo of them kissing on Instagram on New Year’s Eve.

Jett captioned his romantic post, “To the future,” alongside a few love heart emojis.

Lily, meanwhile, wrote alongside her own repost of the photo: “You’d be hard pressed to keep a secret.”

After confiding in Lily about his issues with the stalker, the influencer, who was only “in the talking stages” with Jett at the time, convinced him to make things official with her.

By Sharon Mai for Dailymail.Com

Published: 9:32 PM EST, November 12, 2023 | Updated: 02:27 EST, November 13, 2023

Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin got married this weekend in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.

The couple exchanged vows at the romantic Hacienda Don Carmelo on Saturday with 65 of their loved ones after two years together.

The reality TV star, 42, and his now-wife, 27, previously met and got engaged during season seven of Bachelor in Paradise.

In an interview with People which was published the day after their ceremony, the bride opened up about the significance of their wedding date.

“I believe in signs and numbers, and so obviously 11/11 is seen as a special number and it means good things,” Pepijn revealed before noting that they also planned to have their wedding take place on Veterans Day.

Just married! Kenny Braasch and Mari Pepin got married this weekend in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. The couple exchanged their wedding ceremony at the romantic Hacienda Don Carmelo on Saturday with 65 of their loved ones after two years together

Pepijn explained that the date carries an extra sentiment because her father served in the military for 25 years.

“I’m his only daughter, so that’s special,” she said, adding that they want to give her father a nice memory during the holidays.

“He hasn’t had the best association or memories with Veterans Day, so hopefully we’ll change that this year and for Veterans Day in the future,” she continued.

As for how they decided to have a wedding in Puerto Rico, Pippin said much of her family lives there.

By having their wedding ceremony there, she and Braasch were able to keep their big day “smaller,” “easier to manage” and “more intimate.”

Two of their special guests for their wedding in Puerto Rico were their dogs, Dice and Monster.

Pippin said they flew their precious puppies out and had them dress up in tuxedos for the ceremony.

“We definitely wanted our dogs there, so they flew with us,” she added. “That was a bit of an adventure.”

Special Guests: Two of their special guests for their wedding in Puerto Rico were their dogs, Dice and Monster. Pippin said they flew their precious puppies out and had them dress up in tuxedos for the ceremony

After two years together: The reality TV star, 42, and his now-wife, 27, previously met and got engaged during season seven of Bachelor in Paradise

Intimate wedding: As for how they chose to have a wedding in Puerto Rico, Pepin said much of her family lives there. By holding their wedding ceremony there, she and Braasch were able to keep their big day ‘smaller’, ‘easier to manage’ and ‘more intimate’

Their love story: During their reception, they nod to a special moment they had together on Bachelor in Paradise: the ’80s-themed prom they attended. The newlyweds chose Foreigner’s I Want to Know What Love Is as the song for their first dance

She explained that they also want to have other celebrations and hinted at a possible party with their Bachelor Nation friends.

“We’ve always had the idea of ​​organizing a few other celebrations so we can get more people involved as well,” she said.

During their reception, they nod to a special moment they had together during Bachelor in Paradise: the ’80s-themed prom they attended.

The newlyweds chose Foreigner’s I Want to Know What Love Is as the song for their first dance.

“When we walked in, that song was playing and everyone was dancing slowly,” Braasch remembers.

Bachelor in paradise alums Mari Pepijn-Solis And Kenny Brasch got married two years after their reality TV romance began.

Pepin-Solis, 27, and Braasch, 41, got married on Saturday, November 11, in Puerto Rico. The next morning, the bride showed off the couple’s rings via her Instagram Story.

“The morning after ” she wrote on Sunday, November 12, while sharing a photo of Braasch showing off his wedding ring during breakfast.

The couple met during season 7 of the ABC series, which aired in August 2021. While they quickly hit it off, the pair hit a bump in the road when the former pageant queen said she wanted to keep her options open.

Braasch went on dates with both of them Demi Burnett And Tia Booth, but he and his now-wife ultimately concluded that their bond was by far the strongest. They got engaged during the season finale in October 2021.

“Mari, you know, as soon as you came down the stairs and through the gate paradise, I was honestly in awe of how beautiful you were. You know, I don’t know if it was love at first sight, but it was definitely something – something I’ve never felt before,” the boy band’s manager said as he proposed in front of the cameras. “At the end of the day, we’ve been through a lot of relationship issues in real life, and we were tested like no other couple paradise, I think. …I’m shaking. Mari, I’m so fucking in love with you. And I literally can’t see my life without you. You are such an amazing woman that you have changed my entire outlook on life. … Mari Pepijn, will you marry me?’

Shortly after the finale aired, the then-fiancés opened up about their future together — and their wedding plans.

“So we haven’t set a wedding date or anything like that yet, but I’m going to be moving to Chicago in the next few months,” Pepin-Solis told exclusively We weekly in October 2021. “So that’s our first step, and we agreed to get married in Puerto Rico, [which is] where I come from. So there is that.”

Nearly two years later, the duo said they were “making progress” when it came to organizing their big day.

Related: ‘Bachelor in Paradise’ couples who are still together

There is something about Mexico that makes someone fall in love. While many get engaged on Bachelor in Paradise, only a handful have stayed together, married, and even had children! Marcus Grodd and Lacy Faddoul were the first ‘successful’ Bachelor in Paradise couple after he popped the question during the season 1 finale in 2014. While […]

“It was a lot of fun planning the wedding. I think we are still in the preparatory phase, we are still trying to find some suppliers and get the most important things booked,” Pepin-Solis said exclusively. Us in February. “We did a lot of research and we just had a good time with it. Often planning a wedding can be boring and stressful and as much work as it is, I think we just try to have a good time with it.”

The reality stars planned a wedding in Puerto Rico – scheduled for November – and a second ceremony in Chicago in March 2024.

Related: Bachelor Nation couples who are still going strong

Some Bachelor Nation splits have been hit harder than others. The Bachelor franchise has been matchmaking since 2002. In 2003, Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter became the first Bachelor Nation couple to walk down the aisle. The pair, who met while filming the first season of The Bachelorette, celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary in December 2022. […]

“We have multiple looks! Because we have two weddings, we have to pull out all the stops,” Pepin-Solis said Us. “It was such a good experience. I actually went [wedding dress shopping] with Kenny’s mother and sister. My mother lives abroad, so unfortunately she couldn’t be there in person. But I feel so lucky that his family is so hospitable and so loving that they would do something like this for me – [it’s] very special.”

Before his romance with Pepin-Solis, Braasch was a contestant Clare Crawleys 16th season of The bachelorettewhich premiered in October 2020. Pepin-Solis, in turn, made her ABC debut on Matt James’ season 25 of The Bachelor in 2021.