Stunning twist of fate that saw Brittany leave Patrick Mahomes weeks after he was drafted by the Chiefs…
Of all places, it was an airport in Iceland where his future with the Kansas City Chiefs, for a moment at least, may have felt overwhelming for Patrick Mahomes.
It was July 2017, three months after being drafted by the team. He had moved from Texas to Missouri and dived head first into Andy Reid’s playbook, which he had packed into his suitcase. Figure that out, and he would hold the keys to the rest of his career as an NFL quarterback.
But he was in Iceland for his girlfriend, childhood sweetheart Brittany. In a remarkable twist of fate, she was moving overseas weeks after the Chiefs traded up to the 10th NFL Draft pick to swoop for Mahomes, a decision that would change the course of football history.
Brittany, however, was chasing her own dreams. In an opportunity she couldn’t refuse at 22 years old, she had a chance to forge a professional soccer career in Iceland after an outstanding run in college with the University of Texas at Tyler. This was her first step on that journey and it forced the young couple, who had been together since the age of 15, into a long distance relationship.
As they touched down in Europe, Patrick was spotted by a group of Chiefs fans, about 3,300 miles away from Kansas City, who raced over to greet their surprised new quarterback. If the boy from Texas didn’t already know how famous he was quickly becoming, it was another thing he was having to learn fast.
Then, out of the crowd came another figure in Sigurbjart Sigurjonsson, the president of the Icelandic team Brittany was playing for, and the man whose home they would be staying in.
The glamorous couple have been together since they were teenagers and had far more humble beginnings than the lives of luxury they lead now
Patrick and Brittany Mahomes headed to Iceland in 2017, where she pursued a soccer career
Brittany headed to Europe just weeks after the Chiefs drafted Patrick in the first round in 2017
Patrick and Brittany were childhood sweethearts who first met when they were at high school
‘I had no idea who he was,’ Sigurjonsson said. ‘He was here with her for ten days, exploring the country. We didn’t suspect he was some kind of star. They often asked where they could go to eat, and we always suggested moderately expensive places because we didn’t think they had much money.’
Ironically, the opposite was true. Mahomes’ rookie contract with the Chiefs was worth $16.4milion – making him a billionaire in Iceland.
They stayed in the small town of Mosfellsbaer in the east of the country, renowned for its natural beauty. As Brittany settled in, they explored hiking trails, visited lagoons and went whale watching. But Patrick still made time to study his playbook.
‘I didn’t always understand what he was doing with a flimsy folder that he was constantly looking through,’ Sigurjonsson said in 2018. ‘Of course, he was going over all the systems and preparing for the season.’
An NFL quarterback for a house guest wasn’t easy. The beds in Sigurjonsson’s spare room weren’t big enough for Mahomes and his 6-foot 2, 225-pound frame.
‘He was too big for the beds, so he had to sleep on the couch,’ Sigurjonsson explained. ‘It turned out to be difficult to host him.’
But otherwise, the young couple were unassuming as they explored one of Europe’s most fascinating countries.
‘We sometimes joke that he could have bought the whole block, set it on fire and not noticed,’ Sigurjonsson said. ‘He got to live with me for free and enjoyed it.’
Brittany was in Europe just weeks after the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick in round one
The young couple, pictured after landing in Iceland, had been together three years at that stage
They were both heavily into sports in their high school days, with Brittany into cheerleading and playing soccer and Mahomes doing both football and baseball
After nine nights on the sofa, Patrick headed back to the United States and Brittany began her shot at making it as a professional in the other football. In 2013, she had gone to Texas Taylor as an aspiring cheerleader before friends encouraged her to return to the soccer field.
‘I don’t know where it came from,’ she said years later, reflecting on her college time. ‘In my senior year, I just got this insane attitude, drive, where I was like “I’m not losing.”
When she put pen to paper on her contract to go and play in Iceland in May of 2017, she was determined to become a star.
‘These last four years (at college) have made me fall in love with soccer all over again and want to go on and play professional,’ she said. ‘An opportunity opened up for me in Iceland and I could never pass up such an amazing experience to go do what I love.’
Without Patrick she began training harder than ever, gaining three pounds of muscle and developing a passion for fitness that remains to this day. But that newfound strength, however, was not enough to translate to success on the field for UMF Afturelding/Fram.
‘She wasn’t the best player even though she was a nice girl,’ Sigurjonsson said. ‘She just wasn’t strong enough for the Inkasso league here at home so we decided not to sign her.’
Brittany struggled too, with the distance from her family and especially with the distance from her parents while Patrick was locked in on his new NFL responsibilities.
She eventually left having made five appearances for the team, scoring twice, and on her return to America joined Patrick in Kansas City where she tried to forge a new career as a fitness influencer.
‘Setting down roots in Kansas City was huge for us. I think the people are what we love the most about Kansas City,’ Patrick said when Brittany joined him. ‘We’re trying to be here for a long, long time.’
After returning from Iceland, Brittany turned to fitness and left her soccer career behind
‘By the end of my first season, I truly began to fall in love with being in the gym more than being on the soccer field,’ she said on the website where she launched her personal training work.
‘Playing sports my whole life got me into fitness and playing in college taught me about strength training, wellness and maintaining peak fitness to perform at an elite level.’
In December 2020, the same year Patrick won his first Super Bowl with the Chiefs, the National Women’s Soccer League awarded an expansion team to the Kansas City Current, where Brittany is part of the ownership group.
Patrick joined that group in 2023, and the couple regularly attend games in the first stadium in the world that is purpose-built for a professional women’s team. Brittany also makes effort to be available for the players and forge relationships with them away from the sport.
USWNT international and Current striker Michelle Cooper told People: ‘She drops in a lot. She comes and says hi to the girls, and she’s awesome.’
Brittany and Patrick are now both part of the Kansas City Current ownership group
Brittany has also seen her star rise through her blossoming friendship with Taylor Swift
Mahomes and Brittany will have a front-row seat when Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift get married
And of course, since September 2023 her profile has rocketed amid her friendship with Taylor Swift. The pair have built a close bond, despite Brittany’s support for Donald Trump being at odds with Swift, who backed Kamala Harris and the Democratic party at the last election.
She’s sure to have a front-row seat as Swift and Mahomes’ Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce get married in Rhode Island later this year – a wedding the whole world will be watching.
It’s a far cry from the fjords of Iceland and something neither Brittany nor Patrick could have imagined when they landed in Reykjavik in 2017.
