Inside The Complicated Relationship History Of Travis Hunter And His Fiancé Leanna Lenee

Leanna Lenee first became aware of Travis Hunter’s affections when he slid into her DMs in 2022. But she made him wait two months for a reply. He was already clearly attached at the time.

In fact, Hunter even had the name of his girlfriend in his bio, as Lenee revealed in a TikTok post two years later. “I instantly knew he had a partner,” she told her followers (via Us Weekly), explaining that contrary to rumors she didn’t leave him on read for so long because she didn’t know who he was. “So, I exited the message and he sat there until he was single.”

Lenee, who stated that she’d been given permission from Hunter to speak on their relationship’s beginning, insisted that she had no interest in being a homewrecker: “I’m not a side piece. I don’t stand for any of those things. I support women. I would never do that to another woman because I would never want it done to me.”

Having kept Travis Hunter waiting for several months until he was officially off the market, Leanna Lenee eventually slid back into the Heisman Trophy winner’s DMs. And from there, an ever-eventful love story evolved.

The pair first told the world they were an item in March 2022 when they took to Instagram to share pictures from a vacation they’d enjoyed together in Hawaii. “I want this 4ever, ain’t no probably,” Lenee gushed (via Us Weekly) alongside a heart emoji.

And the loved-up couple continued to express similar sentiments throughout the year on social media. In November, for example, Hunter told Lenee (via People) that although he knows he drives her crazy, he wasn’t planning to go anywhere: “You are one of a kind, and I truly believe that we are meant to be together. You are the best girlfriend in the world, and I’ll paint the sky red by any means.”

If gushing about each other on Instagram wasn’t enough, Leanna Lenee and Travis Hunter have also utilized other social media platforms to let the world know they are madly in love.

Also read: Lauren Sanchez Steals the Spotlight with Her Bold Style Ahead of Historic Space Flight

In October 2022, for example, they started their own channel on YouTube, uploading footage of everything from their vacations and (spoiler alert) engagement parties to shopping for wedding outfits. They also appear to enjoy guesting on each other’s TikTok accounts; see Hunter’s August 2024 post in which he and Lenee are wearing animal onesies while busting a move.

And even when they’re doing something more mundane, they can’t stop telling the world how head over heels they are for each other. Just look at Lenee’s TikTok post in March 2024 in which she captions (via People) a late-night take-out clip, “What it feels like when God allows you to meet the man of your dreams at 19 and every night together for the past three years has felt like a sleepover with your best friend.”

In February 2023, Leanna Lenee and Travis Hunter celebrated their first anniversary. And as you’d expect from a permanently online couple, they both had to commemorate the occasion on Instagram.

Lenee essentially wrote a mini-essay for her public outpouring of love alongside a snap of the pair, telling the former Colorado Buffalo, and the rest of the world, that she believed their relationship was down to divine intervention: “I would constantly pray that God would give me a reason to keep moving forward so I can fulfill his plan for me,” she wrote (via Sports Illustrated). “That he would give me motivation to continue, and you were his answer.”

Lenee gushed about how Hunter provides her with solidarity and peace while acknowledging his patience and passion, eventually wrapping up her love letter with, “I pray God gives us many more years together.” Hunter, on the other hand, opted for the more succinct approach on his own Instagram page, simply captioning a video reel, “Happy Anniversary Babygirl More Years To Come I Love You So Much.”

Nearly two years after they went Instagram official, and just in time for Valentine’s Day 2024, Travis Hunter proved he was an old romantic at heart by getting down on one knee and popping the question to girlfriend Leanna Lenee. And the latter didn’t need to think twice about her answer.

“A million times, yes,” she captioned a series of Instagram snaps showing off the happy occasion (via People). And Lenee’s future husband left no expense spared on her engagement ring, either. According to reports, the one-time Jackson State Tigers star spent a cool $100,000 on the dazzling diamond jewelry.

Of course, Hunter is unlikely to have lost much sleep over such a hefty price tag. According to reports, he was already worth $2.3 million at the time, making him the third wealthiest college football player behind the two members of football royalty, Arch Manning of the Texas Longhorns and his fellow Colorado Buffaloes star, Shedeur Sanders.

When it comes to giving birthday presents, Travis Hunter and Leanna Lenee appear to be smashing it. In 2023, the former gifted the latter a Tesla Model X complete with a Hello Kitty print on the doors’ insides. “MYYYYYY MANNNNNNNN, thank you to my man,” the newly 22-year-old wrote in response on Instagram (via People) alongside several smiley face emojis.

Not to be outdone, Lenee gave Hunter a Ram 1500 TRX for his 21st birthday in 2024 as she showed off on the couple’s YouTube channel. The wide receiver was left practically speechless after receiving his “dream truck,” instead resorting to jumping on the vehicle to show his appreciation.

Later that year, Hunter again displayed his perfect boyfriend credentials when he surprised his beau with a romantic getaway. “Baby, I hope you enjoy your flowers, cake, win, and room decor,” he wrote (via Sports Illustrated) in an accompanying card which Lenee proudly showed off on Instagram. “I love you so much. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.”

Having always presented themselves as a picture-perfect couple, Travis Hunter and Leanna Lenee inevitably made headlines in late 2024 when they were filmed engaged in a public spat.

The drama occurred in the stands shortly after the Colorado Buffaloes defeated Oklahoma State University. When Hunter leaned in for a post-match kiss, his fiancee looked visibly perturbed and the pair subsequently appeared to get into a brief slanging match. So what exactly went down?

Well, Hunter was more than happy to set the record straight during an appearance on “The Pivot Podcast” less than two weeks later. “There’s a lot of stuff that could be happening in the stands, people don’t understand that,” he said (via Daily Mail). “She might look irritated towards me, but at the same time, there’s a lot of stuff she deal with during the game. There’s a lot of stuff people don’t see off the camera.” Of course, that didn’t stop tongues wagging, and the pair would provide plenty of other gossip ammunition soon after.

The Heisman Trophy is the highest accolade a college football player can receive. But Leanna Lenee didn’t appear impressed when her fiance Travis Hunter was crowned its winner in 2024, sparking an online debate about the state of their relationship.

The rumors began when Lenee failed to stand up alongside the rest of the crowd after Hunter took to the stage to receive the honor, an act many saw as a clear sign of disrespect. But in an eight-minute video uploaded to TikTok, the Kennesaw State University graduate explained how everything had been blown out of proportion. “When his name was called, I instantly was going to get up,” she revealed (via E! News). “If you watch the video, his mom didn’t get up, so I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I don’t get up, I just sit here.'”

A tearful Lenee insisted she was aware of the often-divisive Deion Sanders’ presence at that particular moment and didn’t want to be accused of trying to steal the spotlight from him or Travis. “I got out of the camera, purposefully, so they can have their moment. That’s all it was. No one told me to stand up, no one had to tell me to celebrate with him. I was just sitting there crying, I wanted to take it in — I was super excited for him.”

Of course, the Heisman Trophy ceremony wasn’t the only time that Leanna Lenee had to explain her seemingly negative behavior that weekend. Shortly after winning the prestigious award, the Kennesaw State University graduate joined Travis Hunter at a scheduled fan event. And it seems fair to say she didn’t exactly put on a happy face.

Also read: MacKenzie Scott: A Journey of Giving and Resilience Beyond Bezos

Indeed, while the football player was taking photographs with a female admirer, a nearby and clearly irritated Lenee could be heard asking (via Daily Mail), “What do you want me to do? … I’ll just sit here then.” In response, Hunter suggests she could leave if necessary, adding, “You could go to the hotel, you can walk around …”

In the same TikTok clip where she addressed her previous ‘show of disrespect,’ Lenee said that she had no problems with Hunter’s fans. “The things that I’ve seen people make up is truly crazy,” she remarked (via E! News). “Because it’s not what happened, and I just think that people are finding every little thing and try to make it what it’s not. And bird-brained individuals are just accepting what they see online.”

Leanna Lenee’s eight-minute TikTok clip proved she could easily stand up for herself after the Heisman Trophy weekend backlash. But to provide that extra bit of support, Travis Hunter leaped to her defense to say she was totally misunderstood.

During a fan conversation on Twitch, Hunter revealed that Lenee had been crying herself to sleep over the negative comments she’d received and implored those responsible to keep their mouths shut. “My girl’s been with me for five years,” the wide receiver began (via E! News), throwing their 2022 origins story into doubt. “Y’all are just now starting to talk about me and just now starting to be with me. Come on, man.”

“I feel the same pain that she feel,” Hunter added before describing himself and Lenee as inseparable in his own unique way. “… We’re with each other. If she hurting, of course I’m going to be hurting.”

As well as clarifying her conduct over the Heisman Trophy weekend of 2024, Leanna Lenne was forced to defend herself over previous comments she made about Travis Hunter. The Kennesaw State University graduate once admitted Travis hadn’t been her type, but she claimed that, contrary to online gossip, she wasn’t referring to his appearance.

“I did not mean attractiveness,” Lenne told her TikTok followers (via People). “I don’t have a physical type. Period. No two men that I’ve previously dated look the same.” She added she’d previously gone out with men of all races and looks didn’t come into the romance equation. “How they honor God and how they treat the people around them,” was how she described her most important trait.

“So when I said he wasn’t my type, I meant because he was younger than me,” Lenne claimed. “I never dated anybody younger than me, and he had cheated on his girlfriend. I don’t know if your type is cheater but mine isn’t. So no, he wasn’t my type at first off of those two things.” Despite these usual no-nos, she believed Hunter was worth giving a chance to and she’s since discovered that he’s a “wonderful human being.”

Leanna Lenne and Travis Hunter’s turbulent relationship appeared to take another turn just before Christmas 2024 when footage emerged of the former twerking next to a man who definitely wasn’t Travis Hunter.

Considering all the differing origins stories — the couple first went Instagram official in 2022 but Hunter seems to have implied they were together for several years before this — it’s not clear whether Lenne was with the football player at the time. But the X user who shared the offending video, Poetik Flakko, claimed it was taken in 2021 when the pair were very much together.

Online sleuths added further weight to the theory when they recalled how Hunter once used to transport Lenne to parties, spend hours outside in his vehicle waiting, and then drive her back home. And just when you thought the situation couldn’t get any trickier, the same social media user also uploaded screenshots showing Lenee corresponding with another man via DM in 2020.

Travis Hunter and Leanna Lenne did little to quell the rumors that there was trouble in paradise when they both deactivated their Instagram accounts.

The former Colorado Buffaloes player was the first to make the online move, and it happened to be on the same day footage emerged of Lenne twerking next to another man at a party three years earlier. Hunter only kept away for a few weeks, reactivating it in the New Year to share the trailer for Amazon’s “Coach Prime,” a documentary series about his famously-nicknamed old coach, Deion Sanders.

Interestingly, though, he’s yet to upload any new snaps of Lenne, the woman who’d previously dominated his page. Mindful of the negative publicity surrounding their relationship, he also switched off the comments mode on all new posts. His girlfriend appears to have fully committed to the digital detox, however, as of March 2025, her Instagram page remains out of order.

In January 2025, after a three-week break from the spotlight, Travis Hunter and Leanna Lenne proved that they were still an item by attending the annual Sports Illustrated Awards together. The pair were all smiles for the cameras on the red carpet. But don’t expect such photos to be a regular occurrence from now on.

Indeed, during one particular episode of his eponymous YouTube show later that same month, Hunter revealed he cutting back on posing for photographs. “All the haters are messing up for my supporters,” he said (via Daily Mail), referring to the backlash that his relationship with Lenne had received. “I rarely take pictures now cause you never know what they going to do with it.”

The future first-round NFL draft pick also told listeners the negativity had got so intense he’d felt compelled to hire extra backup: “People scare me, dawg … because you never know who got good intentions … Yeah, I got a new security guard. I walk around with security.”