The Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker‘s wife, Isabelle Butker, drew attention following his viral commencement speech at St. Benedictine College last year.

Butker told the women at the small Catholic school on May 11, 2024, “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.

“I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother. I’m on this stage today, able to be the man that I am because I have a wife who leans into her vocation.

“I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker.”

Isabelle, who shares three children with Butker, previously deleted all her social media accounts. Over a year since his speech, she opened up the backlash Butker received for the first time.

EWTN/YoutubeChiefs kicker Harrison Butker and his wife, Isabelle Butker.

Speaking to The Daily Wire at the Courage Under Fire Gala last week, Isabelle didn’t hesitate to say she was “not oppressed.” She said, “I love being a wife and mother. I actually love being in my kitchen. Cooking for my family is one of my favorite things.”

While she was “really disappointed” by the backlash online and “took it a little personally,” she’s since let it go. “Harrison’s an amazing man, and I feel so blessed to be his wife and to be able to take care of his children every day, and I’m not oppressed. It’s a choice, and it’s been the best choice of my life.”

“I think most of the people who had opinions weren’t people who were even married, or are not blessed to have a loving relationship,” she added. “It seems there’s a lot of people out there who need a lot of prayers, and they have a lot of things that have shaped their lives in sadly negative ways that skews their perception of other people’s reality.”

GettyChiefs kicker Harrison Butker at Arrowhead Stadium on September 05, 2024.

Overall, Isabelle is very content with her life. “We’ve only been married seven years,” she said. “We’re always like, it’s crazy how much we’ve changed and how much more joyful we even are. You think your wedding day is the happiest day of your life, but it’s really every day. Overall, it gets happier and better, which is hard to fathom when you haven’t stepped into it yet.”

Butker chimed in to say, “We don’t have a perfect marriage, obviously,” and Isabelle quickly agreed. “No, not trying to say that,” she added. “But we’ve worked hard to stick together.”