Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow married fianceé Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters Monday in a 30-minute ceremony in her native South Africa.
Tebow, who is now pursuing a career in Major League Baseball and is a college football analyst for ESPN, announced the wedding Monday night on Twitter.
The tweet – which included a photo of the couple in their wedding attire – simply said, “Forever @DemiLeighNP.”
Forever @DemiLeighNP pic.twitter.com/HZyBAkMKNu
— Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) January 21, 2020
People magazine later confirmed the sunset nuptials in Cape Town.
“I’ve been looking forward to three things,” Tebow told the celebrity magazine. “The first moment I see her in her wedding dress, the first kiss, and the first dance together as man and wife. It’s such a special night.
“I’ve been waiting my entire life for someone special, who I can spend the rest of my life with. I was waiting for the right person to come along. And now I’m marrying Demi. I can’t wait to see what our future holds. All of my dreams have come true. It was 100 percent worth the wait.”
The couple became engaged a year ago after dating for six months. Nel-Peters, Miss Universe 2017, is a model. As Christian Headlines previously reported, in preparation for the proposal in January of 2019, Tebow flew in Nel-Peters family and South African singer Matthew Mole, who serenaded the couple during the big moment.
Just days before the wedding, Tebow told Good Morning America they were heading into the “final stretch” of wedding details.
“Wedding planning has been great,” Tebow told GMA. “It’s been so much fun planning the day and seeing it all come together. We have some really unique moments that will be a part of it. But honestly, I just mostly say ‘Yes, babe.’”
About 260 guests were in attendance. Tebow told ABC they had registered kitchen items to help with their love of entertaining, but also provided guests with an option to donate to his charity.
“Something we really believe in is using any opportunity you have to help fight for people who can’t fight for themselves,” the athlete said. “It’s been my life mission since I was 5 years old. So when we started doing the planning, incorporating an option for our guests to donate to the Tim Tebow Foundation in lieu of a traditional gift was a non-negotiable for both of us.”
Tebow came to national prominence in 2007 after winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Florida Gators to two national championships. The Denver Broncos drafted the quarterback in 2010. Throughout his college career and beyond, Tebow has openly shared his faith. At Florida, he often wore the Scripture reference John 3:16 in his eye black, while his practice of kneeling on one knee in prayer on the field became known as “tebowing.”
After a January 2010 wildcard playoff victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers—a game in which he threw for 316 yards while averaging 31.6 yards per completion—fans took notice and John 3:16 became the top-searched item on Google, according to an article carried by Christian Headlines. Tebow’s time in the NFL was brief, however, logging just over two seasons between the Broncos and New York Jets. He has been playing baseball in the New York Mets farm system since Sept. 2016.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Dimitrios Kambouris/Staff
Lori Arnold is a national award-winning journalist whose experience includes 16 years at a daily community newspaper in San Diego and 16 years as writer-editor for the Christian Examiner. She owns StoryLori Media and is a member of the Evangelical Press Association.
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