She’s his MVP off the field. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen found love with Brittany Williams before he signed on to play football for the NFL.

The athlete and his girlfriend met as children in Fresno, California. They both recall being about 8 years old when they attended a birthday party for Allen’s brother. However, their first date came almost a decade later. Williams asked Allen to be her date to her school’s Sadie Hawkins dance — but it wasn’t as romantic as planned.

“I asked him to come to Sadie’s at my school, which is the big school to him and he was nervous,” Williams explained during a September 2022 episode of Kelly Stafford’s “The Morning After” podcast via the New York Post. “And my friends were crazy, we were taking a party bus… [Allen] had never been on a party bus and was just so overwhelmed with everything. And the boys at my school were mean to him.”

She continued: “After that, honest to God, I don’t think we talked for a year after that night … He was just so shy, and I wasn’t at the time. He ghosted me for like a year, but at the same time, I was like ‘OK, I get it, things are just not in our timing right now.’ I knew it wasn’t meant to be at the time but I always knew in the back of my head it’s not over.”

They reconnected as college freshmen. Williams studied at California State University, Fresno, while Allen attended Reedley College, a two-year community college.

“I was dating another guy at the time. I specifically remember [Allen] reaching out to me a whole year later and just randomly texting me, saying, ‘I messed up.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, you haven’t talked to me in a year.’ But at the same time, I liked it,” Williams said.

“It gets worse for this guy [her then-boyfriend]. So, [Allen] sends me that text and the next night, my brother’s having his graduation party and my parents invited the Allens and they came. I really didn’t know if Josh would come or not … He shows up at the party and my poor boyfriend at the time is there, he didn’t stand a chance. The second Josh walked in, I was like, yeah, it’s over for this guy.”

They got together in 2015 and quickly faced their first challenge as a couple: long distance. Allen transferred from the California community college to the University of Wyoming. The Fresno State cheerleader often visited her boyfriend, who was more than 1100 miles away. However, they managed to overcome the hurdle.

Weeks ahead of Williams’ college graduation in spring 2018, Allen was drafted to the NFL to play for the Buffalo Bills. “Watching your dreams come true was a moment I will never forget️ Here we come Buffalo! #BillsMafia,” she captioned a post via Instagram.

The pair moved across the country to Buffalo, New York, together, and the pilates instructor was still in awe of him four years later.

“It’s amazing watching you put your head down and work every day to be the best teammate, leader, and football player you can be. Through the ups & downs of this season, you remained calm and confident and it showed every time you stepped on the field,” she captioned a 2018 tribute to her beau. “I really don’t know how you balance everything, but you always do it with a smile on your face and with the biggest heart. I love you ️ @joshallenqb.”

Scroll down for their full relationship timeline: