Sean Payton has been married to his wife Skylene Montgomery since 2021.
The NFL coach and former quarterback met Skylene in 2014, during his 15-year tenure as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, when she was trying to get tickets to a game. Their first meeting came shortly after Payton’s divorce from his first wife was finalized, and they dating for several years before Payton proposed in 2019.
They tied the knot in 2021 and have been enjoying married life together ever since. According to Skylene’s friend Jennifer Ansardi, per Nola.com, Payton’s wife is “independent and wise, poised, caring and fun,” and she supports her husband in his NFL career. In an interview with the outlet, Payton described Skylene as “excited” after he took the head coach job with the Denver Broncos in 2023.
So who is Sean Payton’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Skylene Montgomery and her relationship with the NFL coach.
She is from West Virginia
Skylene grew up in Parkersburg, West Virginia, with her parents, Skylar and Darlene Montgomery. She was an only child, and has described herself as a tomboy while growing up.
Skylene told Nola.com, “I had a bowl-cut haircut and was that kid in messy, baggy shorts and a Nike tee who played baseball,” while Darlene said of her daughter, “She always gravitated toward the new kids in school, to make sure they felt comfortable.” Darlene wanted Skylene to take dance lessons, but she played all-state volleyball and softball instead.
Skylene stayed in West Virginia for college, attending Marshall University, where she studied exercise physiology alongside serving as vice president of the school’s Delta Zeta sorority chapter. In 2009, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia University’s nursing program, per The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
She met Payton at an NFL game in 2014
Skylene and Payton first crossed paths in 2014 at an NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints, the team Payton was coaching at the time, per Nola.com. Their meeting came shortly after Payton had finalized his divorce from his first wife, Beth Shuey.
At the time, Skylene was working as a nurse in North Carolina, and asked a friend if he could get tickets to the game for her and some coworkers. The friend gave Skylene a phone number to call, and it turned out to be a number Payton used. She met Payton for the first time during the pre-game ceremony, and thanked him for the tickets.
She and Payton got engaged in November 2019
On Nov. 10, 2019, it was announced at the end of a game between the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons that Payton and Skylene had gotten engaged two days before, on Nov. 8.
The proposal took place during a private party, and Skylene thought she was attending an anniversary celebration. Other guests, including Skylene’s parents, believed the party was for Skylene’s 35th birthday.
It was only when country singer Heidi Newfield began performing the song “Johnny and June,” and Payton got on one knee, that Skylene realized something more was going on. Following the proposal, she and Payton got matching tattoos of the letter “J” on their ankles in tribute to the song.
She married Payton in June 2021
Payton and Skylene got married on June 18, 2021, in a private ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The wedding was officiated by Payton’s friend Avery Johnson, a basketball commentator and former player and coach, per WDSU. Originally, the couple planned to get married in March of the same year, but they had to postpone the nuptials by a few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, per Nola.com.
Before the wedding, Skylene told Nola.com, “Short of my being on his insurance, and having a big ol’ rock on my hand, nothing will really change when we marry.”
Payton has two children from his marriage to Shuey: daughter Meghan and son Connor.
She competed in beauty pageants and worked as a nurse
Skylene has competed in various beauty pageants, and won the Miss West Virginia title in 2008. She then represented the state in the Miss USA competition that same year. Before this, she entered Miss Teen West Virginia at the age of 14, and finished as first runner-up.
She has also worked as a nurse, including in the Gastrointestinal Intensive Care Unit at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. Outside of pageants and her nursing work, Skylene also was a volleyball coach with the Bayou Sports Club-USA Club volleyball team, per The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.
Skylene has discussed the time she spent working two jobs after graduating, telling Nola.com, “I did a lot of growing up.” She said that her parents taught her independence, with her father refusing to help her out when her cell phone was turned off due to mismanaging her money. “I was never late on a payment again,” she recalled to Nola.com.
She is involved in charity work
Per Nola.com, Skylene is involved with Payton’s Play It Forward Foundation, which aims to improve the lives of families and children in the areas of health, education and social welfare.
She also has worked with New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson on the annual Moonlight & Miracles Ball to benefit Ochsner Cancer Institute, and she supports the Harvest at Home fundraiser for Second Harvest alongside her husband.
She doesn’t seek the limelight
Skylene’s friend Jennifer Ansardi told Nola.com that she “is not someone who seeks the limelight,” while Skylene herself said — after being filmed by the jumbotron and appearing on the screen while watching a Saints game from Payton’s suite — that she thought the camera was capturing actor Vince Vaughn, who was sitting next to her at the time.
Ansardi also credited Skylene with being incredibly resourceful, detailing to Nola.com, “She can handle any emergency with something in her purse. If you have a blister from your shoe, she has a Band-Aid; if you break a strap, she has tape or a sewing kit.”
She is interested in fitness
Skylene has a dedicated fitness routine that includes boxing classes, hot yoga, CrossFit and golf, which she often plays with Payton — the couple even named their dogs after CrossFit workouts.
Skylene’s boxing sessions take place with Keith Director, who told Nola.com, “She’s talented. She works hard. She’s just good! Strong. Fast. Lean.” In a workout, she will use battle ropes, weights, jump ropes and resistance bands, before finally sparring with Director.
Source: People
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