HOUSTON – JJ Watt posted the first photo of himself and his girlfriend, Kealia Ohai, on his Facebook page Tuesday morning.
He wrote, “Happy Birthday, beautiful. May this be your best year yet!”
Ohai is a star forward on the Houston Dash. She is also the sister-in-law of Watt's teammate, Brian Cushing.
After just a half-hour, the Facebook post already has more than 11,000 likes and more than 300 shares, as well as 500 comments – mostly from people congratulating the couple and wishing her a happy birthday.
Happy Birthday beautiful. May this be your best year yet!
Posted by JJ Watt on Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Ohai confirmed in October they’re a couple.
Ohai broke the news on the 2 Up Front podcast.
"The rumors are true. We are dating," Ohai said. "I've known J.J. for a really long time, and we've always been great friends, and yeah, I'm really proud of him for everything he's been going through, but it's been pretty crazy with all the rumors."
It appears Watt has a thing for athletes. Watt was rumored to be dating tennis star Caroline Wozniacki last year when they were spotted at the NCAA championship game between Duke and Wisconsin.
Watt was also linked to UFC fighter Paige VanZant in April 2016.
The dating rumors between Watt and Ohai had been going on for a while. In June 2016, they were both seen getting frozen yogurt together in Houston.
Ohai was named the team's MVP in 2015 for the Dash and the Player's Player of the Year.