As New York Yankees‘ right fielder Aaron Judge gears up for his first playoff game tonight against the Cleveland Guardians, there’s one fan who will be cheering for him the loudest — his wife, Samantha Bracksieck.
The couple have come quite a long way since high school, where they met back in 2010. But the professional baseball player and his partner, despite being a major name in the sport, remain fairly under the radar and tend to keep their relationship private — well as private as one can when one-half of the couple is a star slugger for the Yankees.
But how did the Major Leaguer and his now-wife of two years go from being high school sweethearts to husband and wife?
The 30-year-old 6’7″ baseball player met his 28-year-old 5’2″ wife back when they both attended Linden High School in Linden California. The two dated on and off through high school before reuniting at Fresno State University, where she studied Kinesiology.
Although Aaron rarely posts personal photos and Samantha doesn’t appear to have social media, Samantha was first spotted on Aaron’s Instagram in a 2014 Thanksgiving post, over a year after he was drafted to the Yankees.
There was a short period of time when the couple split for a bit back in fall 2016. A few years later though, but they rekindled their relationship in 2019.
Aaron Judge and Samantha Bracksieck at a Brooklyn Nets game in April 2022.
Around this time, Aaron and Samantha made their red carpet debut at the LegaCCy Gala held on September 16, 2019 in New York City. The couple was snapped together against at several Super Bowl events in February 2020.
Fast forward, in late 2021, Daily Mail broke that news that Aaron and Samantha had tied the knot. According to the outlet, they got married in a small private ceremony in Maui, Hawaii at the Montage Kapalua Bay Resort on December 11, 2021. The longtime duo exchanged vows in the presence of family and friends.
Aaron Judge with his wife, Samantha Bracksieck, in July 2022.
It was rumored the two were engaged after Samantha was spotted with a diamond ring on her finger in June 2021 but no formal engagement was ever announced. Few details are known since the wedding was kept secret but a few photos obtained via paparazzi showed Aaron wearing a sleek black tux while Samantha stunned in a formfitting white gown and long veil.
Since then, the two have continued to keep their relationship fairly under wraps, occasionally being spotted at other sporting events together. More recently, when Aaron broke the single-season American League 1961 home run record on October 4 when he hit his 62nd home run, Samantha was right by his side to celebrate the achievement. A video of the two holding hands after Aaron’s historic night made its rounds on Twitter.
In past interviews, Aaron has said that Samantha helps keep him balanced amid “the media frenzy” that has come as he approached Roger Maris’ original record.
“My wife has been with me through it all and she’s calm as a cucumber, that’s for sure,” he told the New York Post in September.
Although Samantha remains quiet on her relationship with Aaron, it’s clear she is one of his biggest supporters, often being spotted at every home game. And we’re sure if the Yankees continue to advance through the playoffs toward the 2022 World Series we’ll be seeing even more of the two’s adorable dynamic.
Annie O’Sullivan (she/her) covers holiday, gift guide, travel, and lifestyle content at Good Housekeeping. She has a degree in magazine journalism from Syracuse University and previously reported for Runner’s World, NBC New York/NY 4 and Woman’s Day. Annie also has experience writing entertainment news and celebrity-focused content.