Derek Jeter's Wife Confessed to Making a Huge Baseball Blunder When They First Met (2024)

When Yankees fans think of the greatest players who have wore the pinstripes, one name might come to mind — Derek Jeter. The former shortstop started with the team back in 1994 and retired nearly two decades later but his legacy lives on. His incredible career spanned five World Series championships and when he left the field for the last time his jersey number was retired. Derek is such a sports legend that he's now the subject of ESPN's docuseries The Captain, airing tonight at 10 p.m. ET.

A subject that may come up in the seven-part show is his wife Hannah Davis. Through the latter half of his career, he's had her support after they met in 2012 through mutual friends in New York City. At the time, Derek had recently ended a public relationship with Friday Night Lights actress Minka Kelly. As it turns out, Hannah had no idea who Derek was.

"I thought he was a pitcher," she wrote in a 2017 post on Derek's blog The Players' Tribune. "I know it sounds strange that I didn't know he was a shortstop. I can just imagine all of the New Yorkers reading this right now thinking, 'Oh, come aawwnn.' They probably don't believe me. You probably don't believe me. But it's true."

Hannah continued: "I didn't need much more to go on than this: I had met the nicest guy and I wanted to get to know him on my own terms. Not Google's. We met at the right time. To me, what matters in a relationship is being at the same place in your lives. And right from the start, I could tell that the timing of Derek's life and mine were aligned."

Despite her limited baseball knowledge, Hannah made an impression on Derek. The two quietly began dating, and rumors later swirled about the MLB star had proposing to the Sports Illustrated model when he referred to her as his “fiancée” in a blog post. According to a source Us Weekly, Derek had gotten down on one knee during their first anniversary on October 25, 2015.

Shortly after, on November 4, he confirmed the news himself on his blog while introducing the couple's pet named Kane. "I had no idea what I was in for as a new dog owner," Derek wrote at the time. "He was a Christmas gift last year from my fiancée, whose family had Mastiffs growing up. I've never owned a pet in my life."

It wasn't long until Derek and Hannah made it down the aisle. Less than a year later, the couple got married in an intimate wedding ceremony on July 9, 2016. About 100 guests witnessed them exchange vows in St. Helena, California, per People.

Fast forward, Derek and Hannah welcomed their first child, a daughter named Bella Raine, who was born on August 17, 2017. “Big moments also have a funny way of making you look ahead,” she wrote during this announcement. “Now, pregnant with our first child, Derek and I are looking to the future.”

Their family grew once again with the addition of a second daughter named Story Grey, who was welcomed on January 31, 2019. Derek and Hannah's family was complete with the birth of their third daughter, River Rose, on December 2, 2021.

While the last few years certainly have been busy for the couple, they still try to balance work and their personal lives. But it doesn't mean Derek doesn't appreciate everything his wife does to keep their family together while he's working. He even gave the love of his life a personal shoutout during his September 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame speech.

"Hannah, you thought you married into retirement. You didn't," he said. "It didn't take long for me to get back at it. I know you didn't envision that part, but we've been through so much over the past five years. You're the strongest person I know, which I'm sure you're gonna say is required when you're dealing with me. You're thoughtful, you're caring, you've been an incredible wife and even more amazing mother."

Derek continued: "I couldn't be luckier. Let me say it again, let me clarify — I couldn't be luckier that our paths crossed when they did. I love you so much, and there's been nothing more fulfilling in my life."