For decades, Bill Belichick was best known as the celebrated NFL coach of the New England Patriots, the team he brought to Super Bowl victory six times during his 24-year tenure. Sports fans respected his gruff, no-nonsense style (some of his most memorable catchphrases include “Do your job” and “No days off”). But in 2024, the public perception of the 73-year-old coach changed as his romance with Jordon Hudson — a former college cheerleader who is 49 years his junior — began making headlines. The May-December couple, who met on a flight in 2021, was first spotted together in early 2023 and made their red carpet debut in December the following year.
Once revered for his football prowess, Belichick’s professional accomplishments have been eclipsed by his relationship with the 24-year-old pageant contestant. Hudson — who’s now manager of Belichick’s personal brand — appears to be an omnipresent fixture in his life: she attended the December 2024 press conference announcing his new position as the head coach of the University of North Carolina’s Tar Heels and has been spotted on the sidelines of multiple games. She was his date to the Super Bowl in February and even made an appearance alongside him in the Dunkin’ Super Bowl ad with famous Bostonians Ben and Casey Affleck.
But Hudson has no problem stepping into the spotlight herself. In late April, footage went viral of her interrupting Belichick’s CBS Sunday Morning interview to shut down a question about when they met (“We’re not doing this,” she declared; Belichick later defended her actions in a statement saying she was “simply doing her job”). His appearance at her Miss Maine beauty pageant and the PDA posts Hudson shares on her Instagram page — in a pic from last Halloween, he posed as a fisherman catching her in a mermaid costume — have drawn ridicule. Belichick’s been the butt of jokes on late-night shows, Saturday Night Live and the ESPY Awards.
Hudson’s been branded a gold digger and an opportunist; a distraction who’s steering Belichick away from greatness and into the cringe-osphere. Megyn Kelly and a slew of online commenters have even accused her of elder abuse. But many people from her inner circle tell Us that she’s a sweet girl who’s deeply misunderstood. So, who is Jordon Hudson? Us Weekly spoke to her college teammates, a former boss, sources close to Hudson and insiders from Belichick’s camp to uncover the truth about the sports world’s latest polarizing figure.
Hudson was born in Hancock, Maine (population 2,500), where her parents ran a fishery; the family moved to Cape Cod in the early 2010s. (Us previously reported that she remains close with her mom and dad, who are divorced, and her siblings.) She studied philosophy at Bridgewater State University, where she was an NCA collegiate cheerleading champ, performing as a flyer who handles stunts at the top of the pyramid.
Former fellow cheerleaders describe her as smart, hardworking and kind. “She was always a really good teammate and someone I could look up to,” says Emily Rodriguez, who cheered with Hudson for two years between 2019 and 2021. Rodriguez says Hudson reached out to her after her mom passed away and also offered support when a work project didn’t pan out. “I [was] very touched,” she says. She recalls Hudson bringing extra water for her teammates, helping her sister with travel costs and letting Rodriguez stay in her apartment. “If somebody asks for something, she’s like, ‘What do you need, girl?’”
Rodriguez says Hudson was driven to succeed. “She’s focused and pretty headstrong. She exerts this kind of energy that if she wants to get something done, she’s really going to put her best foot [forward] in that.” (Rodriguez also says Hudson had a boyfriend freshman year, but dating wasn’t “her focus.”) Another former teammate, Crista Paulauskas, says some may have seen Hudson as formidable “because she was very dedicated and extremely good at the sport, so it could come off as people being intimidated by her.” But, she adds, “I never found her intimidating. She was willing to help anyone who needed it.” Adds fellow BSU alum Lizzy Pandiscio: “Any college-level athlete is competitive to some extent. Jordon was always very kind to me.”
Dougie Freeman, who owned the West End Salon in Provincetown, Cape Cod, met Hudson when she was in high school. He taught her how to do henna tattoo art and was her boss when she became a hairstylist. “She has a great work ethic and she’s a very gifted artist and is patient and gentle,” Freeman tells Us, noting that Hudson would occasionally wear her Miss Massachusetts sash — she was the third runner-up at the Miss Massachusetts Teen USA competition in 2020 — around the salon. “[That] was great for business, of course,” he says. “She was very beautiful, and still is.”
Their sentiments bear little resemblance to the Hudson that’s portrayed in the media — a conniving vixen who’s using Belichick for money (he’s worth an estimated $70 million) and as a stepping stone to a career in the spotlight. In May, after comedian Nikki Glaser defended Hudson’s actions during Belichick’s CBS interview, saying she jumped into the conversation “as his publicist,” Belichick’s daughter-in-law Jennifer Schmitt slammed the attention-grabbing move, noting that publicists “act in a professional manner and don’t ‘storm’ off set.” According to a Hudson family member, the comments did not sit well with Belichick, who “was not happy” about “fanning the flames” of what he considered a false narrative.
A source with behind-the-scenes knowledge of the CBS sit-down says the network was informed of Hudson’s attendance “shortly before” the interview and that her behavior was “surprising.” Adds the source: “her presence loomed large, to say the least. She was watching the feeds, standing beside the team. I would say that Bill was [generally] uncomfortable [during his appearance].” After the fallout from the interview, Hudson took to Instagram, writing, “I will not be cyber-bullied into submission. I will continue to stand for love, authenticity and permissibility of nonconformity. They can burn me at the stake, but they cannot burn out my light!”
In the spring, engagement rumors began to swirl. (The New York Times reported that Hudson had told “at least one person” she and Belichick are engaged and she’s been photographed wearing what appears to be a diamond ring on that finger.) A Belichick source tells Us it’s highly unlikely the coach has proposed, noting that Hudson could be telling people they are engaged, even if it’s not true. “[Their relationship] is just something fun.” However, Hudson’s family member insists the couple’s connection is “genuine.”
Belichick was previously married to Debby Clarke Belichick from 1977 to 2006, with whom he shares three grown kids, and was in a 16-year relationship with TV correspondent Linda Holliday, 62, before their split became public in the fall of 2023. (People reported that Hudson and Holliday had an “aggressive” verbal exchange at a Nantucket party last December, which culminated with the Miss Maine contestant being asked to leave the event.) “Bill Belichick is not going to get married; he is smarter than that,” says another source. “[Bill’s relationship with Jordon] is not a big deal. Whatever makes him happy.”
Another source told Us in May that cashing in is not Hudson’s M.O. “[Jordon] already had money and was living a happy and comfortable life before Bill,” said the source, adding that she had an estimated net worth between $1 million and $2 million thanks to her modeling career and real estate gig. “She has apartments in Massachusetts,” the source said. “She made her own money.” In April, multiple outlets reported that Hudson has a real estate portfolio estimated at $8 million. Per property records viewed by Realtor.com, she’d purchased three multifamily homes in the greater Boston area in December 2023, the same year she was first spotted with Belichick.
A source with mutual friends in the Nantucket social scene says Hudson is comfortable in Belichick’s world (in August, it was reported that he’s building a new home on the island after selling his $4 million beach cottage). “I don’t get the vibe that she really cares what people think of her because she doesn’t seem shy about being out and being recognized,” says the source. “She has a small group of friends she does things with, like going shopping, having lunches and dinners. She has her own life; it’s not like she just hangs on Bill all day long.”
In North Carolina, Hudson has attended Belichick’s UNC practices and his weekly radio appearances. An eyewitness tells Us that while she seems friendly with the other coaches’ wives and family members, she’s not overly involved in the social scene. “The previous football coach’s wife was well known for dining with the players, and Jordon is certainly not doing that,” says the eyewitness, adding that Hudson mostly seems focused on Belichick. “The public interest in her is huge, especially around UNC, so people are watching every move she makes.”
According to her college friends, Hudson’s negative public image is an inaccurate one. “I would say there are misconceptions,” says Paulauskas. “Bill has money and fame and fortune, and people think [it’s] going to her head and making her [into someone who’s] not actually the person she is.” Joshua L. Zuckerman, a 65-year-old businessman Hudson dated shortly before hooking up with Belichick, also pushed back on claims that she’s with the future Hall of Famer for his money. “She is wise beyond her years,” he told TMZ, “much more than any 20-something I’ve ever met in my life.”
In May, a source told Us that Hudson had started to prefer the company of “older gentlemen” after becoming disenchanted with “immature” guys her age. Added the source: “I can understand she wants to be treated more than just a sexual relationship and to have a connection.”
Still, there’s concern that Hudson is exerting too much power over Belichick’s life. In April, fans railed against her for interacting with him on the sidelines while the UNC Tar Heels warmed up, and in May, Pablo Torre claimed on his podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out, that as part of Belichick’s deal with the school, he wanted Hudson to earn a six-figure salary for her managerial duties. Torre also claimed that Hudson was no longer allowed at UNC’s football facilities because of her over-involvement, though UNC denied the claim in a statement, saying Hudson is “welcome” at the facilities.
The New York Times also reported that NFL Films pulled out of a planned series of Hard Knocks focused on Belichick’s first season with UNC because Hudson insisted on having content approval and partial ownership of the show. The NYT stated that Belichick had been in favor of the project, but Jessica Boddy, the NFL’s vice president for commercial operations and business affairs, told UNC’s counsel that “the conversation took a turn we were not comfortable with.” (Belichick announced in August that Hulu will air a docuseries centered on his tenure with the UNC team later this year.)
Others insist Belichick is happy and is benefiting from the relationship just as much as Hudson. Mahlon Williams, owner of the high-end sports art company I Love Boston Sports, has spent time with Belichick and Hudson and tells Us the couple is the real deal: “I have not seen [Bill] smile more than I have seen him smile in the past year.” Williams adds that when he was with the coach last November at his high school Hall of Fame induction, it was “a very different Bill Belichick” than people are used to seeing. “There’s a warmth [to him],” Williams says, noting that he was cracking jokes and smiling throughout the night.
An insider who’s spent time with the couple says Belichick values Hudson’s hands-on presence in his life. “I have seen her do very normal, everyday things for him, and I think he appreciates that she takes care of him. I would say that his [previous] partners, while very nice and loving, were not as hands-on because they were accustomed to having staff or people helping them, and Jordon does not live that way,” explains the insider. “He is very happy. He is clearly proud to be in a relationship with Jordon, and I think he really likes the companionship.”
An insider close to Hudson tells Us they don’t understand why the former cheerleader and Belichick aren’t more open about their relationship. “[Jordon] is a totally normal person,” says the insider. “I’m not sure why they don’t want people talking about them. I guess she likes to stay mysterious.”
While her endgame may be unclear, she’s not going away anytime soon. The insider tells Us Hudson will be involved in the Hulu docuseries as she handles all of Belichick’s media and personal deals. “He really looks to her for things like this because it goes against his nature to deal with the press,” explains the insider, adding that Hudson encourages him to pursue deals and appearances he normally wouldn’t, and that he trusts her instincts. (Belichik called Hudson his “idea mill and creative muse” in his May memoir, The Art of Winning.) “Bill’s time at UNC can be extremely profitable for him in many areas,” continues the insider, “and I think Jordon sees that. ”
In April, Hudson and Belichick filed to trademark some of his catchphrases (the applications were recently denied), and in August, she also filed to trademark “gold digger” — making it clear she’s in on the joke, or at least ready to profit from it. “I believe you are going to see Jordon Hudson the book, Jordon Hudson the movie, Jordon Hudson the brand, Jordon Hudson the perfume,” says Freeman, adding that his former salon employee has serious staying power. “You either have star quality or you don’t, and I believe Jordon Hudson has star quality.”
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