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Who is LIV Golfer Brooks Koepka's Wife, Jena Sims?
The 34-year-old model and actress, who is pregnant, recently celebrated being featured in the 2023 edition of the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Professional golfer Brooks Koepka is having one heck of an awesome year. Though the 33-year-old native of Jupiter, Florida was lambasted by fans and pundits for departing the PGA tour for the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf tour — along with fellow players Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith, Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau among others — the five-time major champion blocked out his haters’ noise as he began the year and just narrowly missed out on a victory at the Masters, tying Lefty for second place.
Then, the former world number one again quieted the doubters to capture his third PGA Championship. While his reported $100 million sign-on fee to join the controversial LIV Golf tour dwarfs the $3.1 million he earned for winning the prestigious tournament, Koepka’s dominant outing proved he is and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the links, whatever tour he’s playing on.
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Still, Koepka reached a milestone in 2023 far sweeter than hoisting the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy for a third time. On May 3, he and his wife Jena Sims announced they were expecting their first child. So, while Koepka, who’s currently ranked 13 in the world, is well-known for bombing golf balls down the fairway, it’s time to shine the spotlight on his better half.
Where did Brooks Koepka’s wife Jena Sims grow up?
Born Dec. 30, 1988, Jena Sims grew up in Winder, Georgia. While attending Winder-Barrow High School, Sims was bitten by the pageantry bug, propelling her down a path that saw her win the Miss Georgia Junior National Teenager competition back-to-back in 2004 and 2005.
Considering how engrained golf is in the culture of the South, it was only a matter of time before she gravitated toward the game, watching major televised tournaments with her family at home. After graduating from high school in 2007 — the same year she was crowned Miss Georgia Teen USA — Sims left the Peach State to briefly attend Belmont University in Nashville, where she studied international business before she heard the call of Hollywood, according to Golf Monthly.
How did Brooks Koepka meet Jena Sims?
Koepka and Sims first met through social media when she sent Koepka an Instagram message, according to Sports Illustrated. Their first in-person encounter came at the 2015 Masters.
Though Koepka posted a paltry even par to slide into a crowded, five-person tie for 33rd place, meeting the love of his life was about as wonderful of a consolation prize as one could hope for. Speaking with Golf Digest in 2019, Sims recalled the moment she met Koepka.
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"We met at the 2015 Masters," states Sims. "We were on Hole 7, which I don't even remember, but he's like, 'Oh, I remember what you were wearing, where we were standing, everything.' It was cool... We were just friends at that point."
While the couple avoids engaging in too much golf talk when they’re together, Sims has been a constant support for Koepka, telling People magazine this year that she attends most tournaments with her man.
"I love being able to support Brooks and watch him because he's so talented," gushed Sims. "He'll say to me all the time, 'It must be so boring walking around in the crowd watching me play.' And I'm like, ‘No way. I actually really enjoy it.’"
When did Brooks Koepka and Jena Sims get married?
After announcing on Instagram in March 2021 that Koepka had proposed, the happy couple tied the knot in a lavish ceremony in June 2022 in the Turks and Caicos, treating close friends and family to a special performance by rapper and Fast & Furious franchise co-star Ludacris during an afterparty.
Sims posted a photo on May 3 of herself, flaunting her baby bump at sunset on a beach as the happy dad-to-be Koepka held a printout of Sims’ ultrasound. After Koepka won the 2023 PGA Championship, Sims posted a video to TikTok of her growing stomach as she proudly congratulated her husband on the victory. While the couple has yet to announce a name, Sims revealed on Instagram that she and Koepka are having a boy.
"I cannot wait to become a boy mom,” Sims wrote in the caption of a series of photos that featured Sims and Koepka decorating donuts with blue icing.
What is Brooks Koepka’s wife Jena Sims known for?
Sims has enjoyed a fruitful modeling and acting career, sharing the silver screen with Hollywood elite like Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Jeremy Renner. Sims’ film credits include Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader and Sharknado 5, while her television credits include Entourage, One Tree Hill and Dexter, according to Golf Monthly.
Sims also runs her own non-profit called The Pageant of Hope. Through the organization, where she serves as CEO, Sims dedicates considerable time to working with special needs children and those suffering from cancer by providing them with an assortment of pageant workshops that have been held in 16 states as well as six international regions. According to The Pageant of Hope’s website, the organization “…aims to raise awareness and support in giving children and teenagers who face serious challenges the opportunity to shine and be celebrated for who they are. The main takeaway the participants receive is tremendous confidence, self-esteem and appreciation of their own inner beauty.”
In addition to her early success in teen pageants and her philanthropic endeavors, Sims recently enjoyed a major career milestone in the modeling world when she was featured in the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue this year. Sims clarified for her trolling critics that the reason she wasn’t in attendance for Koepka’s 2023 PGA Championship win was because she was in pursuit of making it into the magazine’s legendary edition.
“I was actually pursuing a dream of mine,” Sims said in a TikTok video. “I’m a top-seven finalist in the Sports Illustrated SwimSearch, which means I’m in the running to be a Rookie for the magazine. I was watching Brooks every single chance I got, but I’m so honored to be such a part of this community and this weekend was launch weekend. ... This was really my first chance to meet more of the swimsuit models and get some quality time with the staff, which I did.”
Be sure to watch as the U.S. Open Golf Championship comes to NBC's family of networks June 15-18. Here's where to find the action.
