Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald’s wife, Stephanie Macdonald, knew there was a problem with their relationship before they had even gone on a first date.
The two had connected on Bumble while Stephanie was a Baltimore Ravens cheerleader and Mike was working on the Ravens’ coaching staff. Stephanie told Graham Bensinger in a September 2026 interview that once she figured out who her match worked for, the Ravens’ rules made the situation pretty simple.
They would have to wait.
Mike Macdonald & Wife Stephanie Had to Wait for Their First Date
Stephanie said she initially did not know Macdonald coached for the Ravens. His Bumble profile, however, contained enough clues.
“I saw pictures of you on your profile and you had on all this Raven stuff,” Stephanie recalled during the Bensinger interview. She eventually asked Macdonald directly whether he coached for the team.
When he said yes, Stephanie told him they couldn’t continue because her contract prohibited her from dating Ravens players, coaches or staff.
She wasn’t interested in testing the policy.
“I didn’t want to lose my job,” Stephanie told Bensinger.
She did give Macdonald her phone number, however. The two waited until the offseason and finally went on their first date the following March.
That did not take long to turn serious.
“I knew I was done after that night,” Stephanie said, adding that she believed Macdonald felt the same way.
The couple eventually married in 2021, according to Macdonald’s official Seahawks biography.
Stephanie Macdonald Spent 8 Seasons as an NFL Cheerleader
Stephanie’s connection to the NFL predates her husband’s rise from Ravens assistant to Seahawks head coach.
She spent eight seasons as an NFL cheerleader with three organizations: the Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders. The Seahawks reported that one of her career highlights came in 2014, when she represented Baltimore as a Pro Bowl cheerleader. She also sang the national anthem before a Commanders game.
That background helps explain something Stephanie told Bensinger about their marriage: she already understood what an NFL coach’s schedule demands.
“Football takes a lot,” she said.
Macdonald’s job can consume August and much of the fall. Stephanie said seeing that reality up close before their relationship helped her understand what she was signing up for rather than discovering it afterward.
Mike & Stephanie Macdonald Are Expecting Their Second Child
Their family has changed quickly since Macdonald left Baltimore for Seattle in 2024.
Stephanie gave birth to the couple’s first child, Jack David Macdonald, on December 3, 2024. Macdonald returned to the Seahawks the following day and told reporters both Stephanie and Jack were healthy, calling his wife a “warrior.”
In the Bensinger interview, the couple revealed another addition is coming.
Stephanie said they are expecting a daughter, Molly, with a due date of December 5. The interview even caught the couple discussing whether they should schedule an induction around Seattle’s football calendar.
“If we just leave it up to Molly,” Stephanie joked, “she’s gonna pick game day.”
The exchange was funny because it landed on the same theme as the rest of their story.
First the Ravens’ schedule dictated when Mike and Stephanie could date. Now the Seahawks’ schedule is part of planning for baby No. 2.
Football has been in the relationship from the beginning. They have gotten pretty good at working around it.
Seahawks Coach Mike Macdonald’s Wife Shares How They Met on Bumble