Christian Gonzalez has plenty to celebrate away from the football field, too.
The New England Patriots star seemingly went public with a new romance this week after fashion influencer Juliana Alvarado shared photos from the team’s Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Alvarado was hard to miss on the sideline. She wore a custom Patriots jacket featuring Gonzalez’s No. 0 prominently across the front, but it was what happened after she posted the photos that made their connection considerably less subtle.
Gonzalez jumped into the comments with a simple declaration: “HER!”
Alvarado responded directly to the Patriots cornerback: “mwah” followed by a heart emoji.
Neither Gonzalez nor Alvarado appears to have publicly put an official label on their relationship, but the exchange, combined with Alvarado representing Gonzalez’s number from the Patriots sideline, quickly fueled speculation that the two have taken their romance public.
Christian Gonzalez, Juliana Alvarado Put Their Connection on Display
Alvarado has built a sizable following on social media, including nearly seven million likes on TikTok. Her appearance at the Patriots-Steelers game offered a particularly public glimpse into her connection with Gonzalez.
The timing also made the photos stand out.
Gonzalez, 24, is in the middle of a major stretch both personally and professionally. He helped New England pick up its first victory of the season in Pittsburgh, and only weeks earlier, the Patriots made one of the biggest financial commitments in franchise history to keep their star cornerback in Foxborough.
New England signed Gonzalez to a four-year, $135 million contract extension that includes $102 million guaranteed, securing one of the cornerstones of its defense for the long haul.
The deal represented a dramatic change from earlier in the offseason, when Gonzalez’s contract situation had become one of the Patriots’ biggest lingering storylines.
Now, the uncertainty is gone. Gonzalez has his long-term future in New England secured, and his latest social media activity has Patriots fans learning a little more about his life away from the field.
Gonzalez Has Become a Cornerstone of the Patriots
Gonzalez’s rise in New England has been rapid.
The Patriots selected him with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he quickly established himself as one of the most important young players on the roster. His rookie season was cut short by a shoulder injury, but Gonzalez returned to emerge as one of the NFL’s premier cornerbacks.
His new contract reflects just how important the Patriots believe he is to their future.
That makes the attention surrounding Alvarado noteworthy for another reason. Gonzalez has largely kept his personal life separate from his growing NFL profile. This wasn’t a red-carpet appearance or a formal relationship announcement. Instead, it was a custom No. 0 jacket, a sideline appearance and a two-word Instagram exchange that did plenty of talking on its own.
For Gonzalez, it comes during a September in which his profile continues to grow.
He has the long-term contract. He remains one of the faces of New England’s defense. And now, after Alvarado’s trip to watch him play and their public exchange afterward, Patriots fans may have gotten their clearest look yet at the person cheering him on off the field.
Patriots Star Christian Gonzalez Goes Public With New Romance