Inside the Lives of Sport Spouses: TikTok reveals a lot, good and bad about being the wife or husband of a pro athelete

By: Jennie Brouse

A newer trend on TikTok is bringing sports fans and non-sports fans together in a mutual love of an underrated aspect of sports: sports spouses, and more specifically, Allison Kuch, wife of football player Isaac Rochell.

The rise of athletes’ spouses on social media platforms allows sports fans to dive deeply into a more personal aspect of what life is like in the world of professional sports. 

Kuch gained popularity quickly on TikTok, eventually beginning a trend of her followers calling her NFL husband, Isaac Rochell, “Allison’s Husband.” The traffic surrounding her account quickly reached the eyes of social media teams of several sports companies, including the NFL and “Air Jordan,” earning Kuch swag packages that made her husband jealous. 

Rochell has made several comments about his wife’s increasing fame, as even the Browns TikTok account, the team Rochell played for, has made content questioning him about his affiliation with Kuch. Rochell responded by holding up his jersey and pointing out that it was his name, not hers, and that he was putting in the work for his name, not hers. 

The TikToks are all in good fun, and Kuch made a response video of her fixing their couch to be slept on with the caption “Mr. Kuch woke up on the wrong side of the bed so let me fix that.”

Rochell was a former defensive end for the Cleveland Browns. Kuch’s TikTok account opened her audience to the downside of a career in professional sports when she revealed on Nov. 13 that Rochell had been released from the Browns. Kuch shows that there is a downside to what many view as a luxurious lifestyle and that not everything is positive.

“You make connections, build friendships and even plan for the holidays, but at the end of the day, the NFL is a business,” Kuch said in her video announcing the release. 

“What really matters is how you respond to situations like this,” Kuch said as she closed out the video. She mentions flying back to be with her husband while they work together to navigate the release. 

In the days since Kuch’s initial video announcing the release, the couple made an announcement that Rochell will still be a member of the Browns, just on their practice squad. While this change will still leave him liable to be picked up or removed from the team, he will still be able to play with his team outside of official games. Kuch shared that their lives will be able to stay stationed in Ohio for the foreseeable future. 

Kuch has taken the opportunity to use her platform to educate her audience on the ins and outs of the NFL, and with these new developments, has been sharing with her viewers intimate details of the professional sports world that not many people speak publicly about.