Four years before his ex-girlfriend claimed he had slept with her mother’s closest friend, New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson invited two Brigham Young University Cougars cheerleaders to his high school prom.
In a 2018 photo from the high school event, Breanna Penrod and Brynn Hiatt, Wilson’s two older dates who were also Cougars cheerleaders at the time, gave him a peck on each cheek while he smiled coyly.
Wilson would go on to play football for the Cougars before joining the NFL. Wilson is a Mormon, a church infamous for supporting polygamy.
Abbey Gile, the football star’s ex, came under fire for rumors that she was dating his best buddy from college and wide receiver for the Washington Commanders, Dax Milne, and stated on Instagram that “He was sleeping with his mums best friend… that’s the true homie hopping.”
Gile and Wilson reportedly parted ways in January.
Wilson’s mother, Lisa Neeleman Wilson, the billionaire sister of JetBlue founder David Neeleman, has not responded to the controversy and has instead shared a lengthy Instagram video in which she referred to social media as being demonic.
In the video, she said that “Satan has devised a means to sneak right into your home and steal your child, without you ever noticing.” The worst aspect is? You allowed him to do it, and you even paid him to.
When Milne shared a photo of the newlyweds on social media with the phrase, “Word on the Street,” the argument broke out.
One commenter accused Gile of being a “homie hopper,” a word for someone who dumps one person and starts dating their closest buddy right away.
She responded, however, with a scandalous charge, to which someone in the comments offered support by saying, “Lol, it’s real.” I knew the mom of the best friend, and she freaked out for a long.
The irony of the allegations against Wilson’s past as a player on a team called the Cougars was widely recognized.
Idk what’s going to be the greater joke, this relationship or your NFL career, said Jets assistant equipment manager Joe McMahon as he launched a jab at Milne.
Wilson and Gile separated up in January, but neither party disclosed the precise reasons for the breakup. They did remove one another from their own social media accounts.
Gile appears to have deleted her Instagram account since that time. A 2021 New York Post article claimed that she and Wilson had been dating since high school.
Following Wilson’s 20th birthday, Gile is quoted by The Post as saying, “He’s the most unselfish, nice, hardworking guy I know.” I don’t know what I did to deserve him, but I’m the luckiest girl in the world,’ she exclaimed.
In a 2021 interview with Deseret News, Wilson identified himself as “A Mormon, an LDS Church member, for sure,” adding, “I consider myself a really spiritual person,” and “I feel like I have always had a good relationship with God in my life.”
He added that attending the BYU, which is supported by the Mormons, “helped me develop my relationship with God.”
Giles is a dancer in the school’s dance group and a current student at Utah Valley University in Orem.
Although not an LDS-sponsored institution, the university touts ‘the largest LDS Institute program in the world,’ according to its website, and provides a comprehensive Mormon studies curriculum.
Wilson’s mother has already made news for other reasons besides this one.
She has advocated Hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment on Instagram in recent years, posted rants against mask mandates, and backed former President Donald Trump.
In a video from May 2021, Neeleman Wilson declared: “Snapchat is for w****s.” She follows well-known MAGA figures like Madison Cawthorn and Candace Owens on the platform.
She was compelled to refute claims that she had an OnlyFans account in July 2021, stating: “I don’t have an OnlyFans account and I have no idea what it is.” Therefore, if my name is one, it’s a fraud. Some individuals should start living.
Wilson was one of his parents’ six children who was raised in Draper, Utah. In the 1990s, his father Mike played collegiate ball at the University of Utah.
Wilson claimed in the Deseret News article that the members of his family, including the brother who co-founded JetBlue, were responsible for his cool head and financial acumen.
Neeleman Wilson described her son as a “home kid” in the same piece. She claimed that her son cherished spending as much time as possible at home.
The article describes her as a personal trainer who is developing a clothing brand.
Neeleman Wilson described the hardship she and her family went through when she found out that her teenage daughter was speaking online with a sketchy person in the video she aired on the day of the charges against her son. In the video, she made the comment that “kids make errors.”
Wilson was spotted in June watching the Yankees play the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx with TikTok influencer Nicollette Dellanno.
On TikTok, Dellanno has more than 250,000 fans. When Wilson and Dellanno were spotted on Sophia Culpo’s Instagram page, speculations about them started to circulate.
Wilson’s teammate Braxton Berrios, with whom Culpo is romantically involved.
With only three victories in his first 13 games with the Jets, Wilson had a miserable rookie campaign. He also managed just nine touchdown passes. The annual value of his deal is $35 million.
Wilson stated to the New York Post in June that she had a lot of trust in herself.
Of course, I believe I am one of the best, and I believe that anyone who disagrees is not a serious competitor.
“And just like that, the legend of ‘Broadway Zach’ is born,” Outkick wrote in an article about Wilson’s alleged philandering, making reference to the Jets’ most well-known philanderer, “Broadway Joe” Namath.