Joe Burrow's rumored girlfriend, Olivia Ponton, turned heads this week after sharing glimpses of her vacation in Lake Como, Italy. Ponton, a model and social media influencer, has been linked to the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback since 2024.
Before dating Ponton, Burrow was in a long-term relationship with Olivia Holzmacher, whom he met at Ohio State University. He enrolled in 2015 but did not join the football team until 2016. He spent two seasons there as a backup quarterback.
In 2018, Burrow transferred to Louisiana State University, where he emerged as one of college football’s top quarterbacks. He won the 2019 Heisman Trophy and led the LSU Tigers to the national championship before entering the NFL.
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Burrow and Holzmacher stayed together throughout most of his college career and early NFL seasons. However, their nearly seven-year relationship reportedly ended a few months before he was linked to Ponton. Since then, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model has received increased public attention for her ties to the star quarterback.
On Wednesday, Ponton shared several photos from her Lake Como getaway on Instagram. The post included selfies and scenic views of the Italian destination, though Burrow did not appear in any of the images.
"I feel like Padmé," the 24-year-old influencer captioned the post.
The caption references Padmé Amidala, the Star Wars character played by Natalie Portman. Padmé served as queen and later senator of the planet Naboo before secretly marrying Anakin Skywalker, who became Darth Vader.
In "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," Padmé and Anakin share a lakeside retreat and later marry on Naboo. Those scenes were filmed around Lake Como.
The post sparked excitement among fans, who quickly reacted in the comments section.
"Gorg😍," a follower wrote.
"⭐️🍭 Stunning🔮🔥," another commented.
"Woahhh," a fan remarked.
"Beautiful 😍," another said.
"Italy looks reeeally good on you 🍝🥰," a supporter wrote.
"Hello Beauty Queen! 😍😍😍," another added.
Following his standout college career, Cincinnati selected Burrow first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. The now-29-year-old emerged as one of the NFL’s biggest stars in his second season in 2021. He ended Cincinnati’s 31-year playoff drought and led the team to Super Bowl LVI.
He also helped the Bengals win back-to-back AFC North division titles for the first time in franchise history in 2021 and 2022.
Burrow’s relationship with Ponton first made headlines following a December 2024 burglary at his Ohio mansion. Police reports revealed Ponton discovered the break-in while Burrow played a game in Dallas.
The police report described the model as an employee of the veteran quarterback. However, a PEOPLE insider said the two had been casually dating since early September 2024.
The pair was last seen out together publicly at the Fanatics Flag Football Classic party in Los Angeles in March.
