Things weren’t easy for Haley Cavinder at the start of her relationship with Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson.
The TCU women’s basketball guard recalled having a “mental breakdown” after she read comments attacking her appearance on social media when the news became public that she and Ferguson are dating.
“I was in Forever 21 having a great day with my mom and Hannah and I got this post and I just started looking at the comments about my face,” Haley recalled in a recent Q&A on YouTube with her sister, Hanna Cavinder.
“I’m a confident girl, but when people are saying stuff about you — if you have a boyfriend and someone is talking about you online with your boyfriend… like coming at your features — I’m like, this is new and obviously Jake is a great guy, but you don’t want to be called ugly on the internet 24/7, and your boyfriend sees it. That’s not going to make anyone feel cool.
“So I had a mental breakdown, but that was a while ago. Honestly, I’m very confident and comfortable sharing my relationship because Jake was very loud about it… He was always like that so it made me feel very comfortable and confident sharing him as well… He’s a big part of my life and will continue so it’s not something that I [want to] keep private. I go to Cowboys games and he’ll be at my games.”
Haley, who previously played for the University of Miami and helped lead the Hurricanes to their first-ever Elite Eight, committed to TCU for her fifth year of eligibility last November.
Haley and Ferguson were first linked last September when fans noticed they were flirting on social media and she was sporting Cowboys gear, including his No. 87 jersey, in various posts.
The influencer — who rose to internet fame with her sister on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic — went on to explain that she met Ferguson through social media in June, and they were a couple by October.
“He DM’d me,” Haley said of Ferguson, a former Wisconsin star and fourth-round 2022 NFL Draft pick. “He likes to say I DM’d him, but I didn’t.
“I was in Fort Lauderdale at the time. He has a place in Florida as well and we went on a date and just kinda met up — and then hung out for 10 days straight.
“It was so fun because it was the Fourth of July weekend, we were always seeing each other, but it just took time. I’m not one to jump into a relationship and then we started dating in October. Now we’ve been dating since then and it’s been really really good.”
Hanna, who was a guard for the Hurricanes, opted to forgo her fifth year of eligibility to focus on their brand and businesses.
She also said she is currently single after ending a long-term relationship last year.
