Maryland native and retired footballer Darren Waller ended two chapters of his life within a year of one another shocking fans of his professional and personal life. In June 2024, he retired from the National Football League where he played with the Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders and, last, with the New York Giants. A month prior, a little over a year after marrying his wife, Kelsey Plum, Darren and the WNBA star announced their divorce.
Throughout his adolescence and adult life, Darren has struggled with substance abuse, later completing rehabilitation programs for reinstatement into the league. His return was marked by achieving his first 100+ yard game, backed by over a thousand more yards and becoming the highest-paid tight end in 2022. While little is known about whether his career impacted his marriage, here’s what we do know about the footballer and Darren Waller’s wife.
Who Is Darren Waller?
Darren Waller played football, as a wide receiver, at Georgia Tech before being selected in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. A native of Maryland, this selection propelled him into the league where he competed for a roster position before being placed on the injured list by the end of the season. In the next season, he would transition into the wide receiver role although fulfilling the role would be cut short by three years of substance abuse violations. After rehabilitation he was reinstated, and played his three best seasons of professional football, leading to him becoming the highest paid tight end in the league and another unfortunate injury.
Despite the rollercoaster of adjustments around his sobriety and bodily health, Darren launched the Darren Waller Foundation in 2020 to educate youth on addiction and help those who are pursuing sobriety (and their families) feel supported in their treatment and recovery journeys. He would go on to marry Las Vegas Aces point guard Kelsey Plum three years later.
Who Is Darren Waller’s Wife?
Kelsey Plum is the wife of retired American footballer Darren Waller. Darren filed for divorce in April 2023 and has not spoken to his decision since making it. Kelsey, however, has expressed devastation via social media sharing that she plans to share her side of the story at a later date. With the help of continued support and love from her friends and family, Kelsey plans to move forward with the life she feels blessed to have. In her own right, Kelsey is not only the point guard for the Las Vegas Aces, but a two-time Olympic gold medalist. She was named MVP in her first WNBA All-Star game. The San Diego native comes from a family of athletes.
She attended the University of Washington where she broke theNCAA Division I women’s basketball all-time scoring record, earning her the first pick selection in the 2017 WNBA Draft. After playing for the San Antonio Stars for one season, she joined the Las Vegas Aces where she’s made history for the last six years. In the midst of her success, she also became a PAC 12 broadcaster and analyst in 2020.
Kelsey Plum: Darren Waller’s Wife, WNBA Star and Gold Medalist
Kelsey Plum has come forward to share that she is devastated by Darren Waller’s divorce filing only weeks after they celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary. Darren, however, has not expressed his feelings one way or another, at least publicly. She described the sum of their relationship by saying she “walked through fire for that man,” followed by “but it’s time to go.”
She plans to continue choosing joy as she receives love and support from family, friends, teammates and fans. And, while fans speculated that the couple was headed for trouble following Darren’s TikTok post and caption insinuating a breakup, he claimed that it was only a joke. Since then, the split has conspired and now fans are wondering what sparked Darren’s choice. We wish both athletes the best in their personal lives and professional careers.