Manti Te’o has overcome a lot since he was very publicly teased during college, which is the subject of the Netflix documentary Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. Luckily, Te’o now has a lovely family – he’s married with a little girl and a second child, a son, who is on the way.
Te’o, 31, married 34-year-old Jovi Nicole Engbino on August 29, 2020 in La Jolla, California. Engbino is a fitness trainer and is currently training to become a nurse. According to her Instagram bio, she is a “future nurse-injector,” or a nurse who specializes in botox injections and other types of cosmetic procedures.
A few months after the couple tied the knot, Te’o posted a sweet message of support for his wife on Instagram, writing, “My wife. My best girl friend. The Bonnie to my Clyde. The yin to my yang I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but damn I got this one right. Despite all the hurts, jokes, memes, hashtags, doubts and mistakes, she held me and stood up for me just like my family did and that’s how I knew it. When the world turns its back on you, look around. . . The ones who are still there are the ones who will ALWAYS be there.”
Te’o and Engbino welcomed their first child, a daughter named Hiromi, in August 2021. Te’o often shares cute pictures with his little girl, and on April 12, he posted a video of himself and his daughter to Instagram with the adorable caption, “Looking at you…I’m home ❤️ #daddysgirl.”
The couple also has another baby on the way. In an Aug. 16 interview on CBS Mornings, Te’o revealed that he is expecting a baby boy. “I am a loving and caring husband, I have a great wife. I have a daughter and we have a son on the way,” he said. His family also includes an English bulldog named Prince.
Te’o has come a long way since his days at Notre Dame. He was a star football player who was enthusiastically recruited by the NFL when his girlfriend and grandmother died on the same day. He continued to play well and his history of resilience earned him national attention and support – until an investigation revealed his girlfriend actually didn’t exist. Te’o had been hooked, and although he later played in the NFL, he was the subject of scrutiny and criticism for years. However, the Netflix documentary highlights his pure heart and good intentions, spurring fans new and old to apologize and support, prompting him to deliver his own message of gratitude.
Preview some of the cutest photos of Te’o’s growing family.