Who Is Kyrie Irving’s Wife Marlene Wilkerson? Meet the 31-year-old popular Instagram and YouTube influencer – EssentiallySports

“Me and this guy have been through a lot. In the best way he tells me about himself, which is very, very embarrassing. Among the many people who have appreciated Kyrie Irving in their lives, no one comes close to the NBA player’s wife! After being together for six years, Kyrie Irving and Marlene Wilkerson have become one of the most remarkable NBA couples of the modern generation. While The Sporting News described the Mavericks star as “a more private person than some of his peers,” Wilkerson also followed the same path. She has documented various parts of her life through social media, but in a limited way.

So without further ado, let’s dive into Kyrie Irving’s significant other and the life they’ve built together.

Who is Marlene Wilkerson?

Marlene Wilkerson, born in August 1993, spent much of her childhood in Los Angeles. She is of mixed ethnicity, with her mother being American and her father being of African descent. Although she was unable to form a close relationship with her father as she was raised by her mother as a single parent, Marlene is said to have maintained a strong relationship with her aunts and uncles.

In a 2021 video on her YouTube channel, The Find Guru, she explained “I grew up in the same house as my aunts and uncles because my youngest aunt is only five years older than me.” She added, “I say that to say that I was kind of grouped in among the eight, and then when my aunts and uncles started having kids, they’re technically my cousins, but they’re more like my nieces and nephews.”

After graduating high school, Marlene went on to study marketing at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Unlike many NBA players who meet their future spouses while attending the same university, this was not the case for Marlene and Kyrie Irving. Kyrie spent just one year of college (2010-11) at Duke University. But despite the 2,536.8 miles between them then, we know their paths will eventually cross.

What other athletes has Marlene Wilkerson dated?

like “Pop Culture” highlighted in November 2020, Kyrie Irving wasn’t the first athlete Marlene was involved with. In fact, she previously dated Lavin Kurzawa, a famous French footballer who won 16 domestic trophies during his tenure with the Paris Saint-Germain club.

At one point, she was also in a relationship with Dexter Strickland aka Baden Jackson. Although the shooting guard/point guard never made it to the NBA, he was once a teammate of Kyrie Irving! The duo played together during their time at St. Patrick’s High School.

How is the relationship between Marlene Wilkerson and Kyrie Irving thriving?

The future NBA couple was first linked in 2018, although little is known about how their first meeting and relationship began. Speculation of their romance surfaced in December of that year when Marlene attended the first annual Kyrie Invitational, the NBA player’s youth basketball tournament.

By September 2019, relationship rumors turned to engagement rumors after the Daily Mail photographed the couple leaving a Chris Brown concert, with Marlene wearing a diamond ring valued at over $270,000. However, all the details of the wedding remain confidential. Yet, after Marlene called Kyrie once “The best partner, the best husband I could ever have,” it’s safe to call them husband and wife.

Who are the children of Kyrie Irving and Marlene Wilkerson?

In 2020, Marlene Wilkerson was reportedly celebrating her 27th birthday when she discovered she was pregnant. Contrary to the trend of publicly sharing personal milestones, she and Kyrie Irving kept the news under wraps until their baby was born. In June 2021, they shared a video titled “Our Pregnancy Journey”, where Marlene detailed their experience welcoming their first child, including clips from her maternity photo shoots and the natural water birth she had at home, giving birth in a bathtub.

“Even though my pregnancy was private, just the unsolicited opinions were a little too much for me when I was like, ‘You know what, I don’t want to tell anyone because I’m doing something that a lot of people think is weird, but it’s something, which is natural to me and resonates with me and what I believe in,” Marlene said during the YouTube video.

Now 3 years old, Kaire Irving has already made several appearances at his dad’s games and even had his own viral Press Break moment, much like Riley Curry and Deuce Tatum. Kyrie is lucky to have an older sibling to look up to — Azuri Elizabeth Irving, Kyrie’s daughter from a previous relationship.

Kyrie and Marlene also aimed to keep the details of their second pregnancy under wraps. However, then-Nets head coach Steve Nash revealed the baby’s arrival in October 2022 while explaining Kyrie’s absence from practice. Although the couple has yet to share the name of their second son, he was spotted at a playoff game with his mother in May. In a clip shared by the Dallas Mavericks’ official Instagram, the toddler handed the ball to his father, who in true Kyrie style dunked it in from distance.

Does Marlene Wilkerson have her own business?

According to her LinkedIn, Marlene worked as a marketing associate at Victoria’s Secret for over two years. A year after leaving the brand, she launched her YouTube channel, The Find Guruin 2015. Originally created to promote businesses, the channel has grown to now boast nearly 768,000 subscribers and features content ranging from beauty and fashion tips to lifestyle blogs, self-care tips and how-to fitness.

While Kyrie continues his NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks, Marlene supports him as he raises their family and occasionally shares snapshots of their lives through her popular channel.