“It’s been a struggling few years,” said a happy Jason Day after his 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson win. The golfer was recounting the past five years that went by without even a single win. Unfortunate? Yes. But even so, anyone who knows what he has been through would find his determination nothing short of remarkable. And he was able to do so with the help of a very special person in his life, his wife, Ellie Harvey.

The golfer’s wife has helped him rake in as many as 13 wins on the PGA Tour, all through her immeasurable support on and off the greens. Well, who among them would have thought that they would end up together sharing a happy home back in 2005, the year they met each other?

How did Jason Day meet Ellie Harvey?

The two met each other when the golfer was just 17 years old. But they only hit it off (read: started dating) two years down the lane. Day had, back in 2005, gone to eat at an Irish Pub in Ohio alongside his golf coach and caddy Colin Swatton. Little did he know that it was the place where the then-19-year-old Ellie Harvey was waitressing. That was when his future partner caught his eye for the first time. Suffice it to say, he was smitten!

“I was too shy to talk to her, but I thought she was gorgeous,” recalled the athlete. “I found out that Colin had her number, and I texted her: ‘This is Jason Day from Australia. Do you remember me?’ She said yes, and we started talking.”

Fast forward to 2007, and the golfer took her out for a date at Applebee’s in Columbus, Ohio, followed by a horror movie. Recounting the days after that, Day admitted in an interview in 2016, “Afterwards, all I wanted to do was play golf and see Ellie. I knew I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life.” 

That realization finally made its way to a barn in Bellville, Ohio, two years later. Yes, the two lovebirds married each other and exchanged their vows in October 2009. Since then, the golfer and his wife have been living a happy life with just each other. That is until 2012, when the family of two increased its count to three.

Day and wife welcome their first kid

It was the month of July, three years after they got married to each other, the two soulmates welcomed their first child, a baby boy whom they named Dash. And now, the boy has grown up to be “too smart and funny and insanely confident,” as per Day’s wife, who said the same in an Instagram post in 2020.

Since then, the golfer and his wife have expanded their family four more times. They now are the proud parents of five kids, including sons Dash, Arrow & Oz, alongside two daughters, Lucy and Winnie, the last of whom celebrated her first birthday on September 8, 2024. Unfortunately, Ellie Harvey suffered a miscarriage back in 2017, something which has only made her stronger over the years.

Quite a heartwarming story that the two have shared until now. But mind you, for Ellie Harvey’s identity does not just consist of just being a golfer’s wife. Although she has been there throughout his career to support him, the pro’s wife also boasts a philanthropic side to her.

Jason Day’s wife and the Brighter Days Foundation

Ellie Harvey had graduated from beauty school, following which she started working at a restaurant and salon. That was when Day’s first text came, after which they began talking regularly. Come 2024, she is the president of the Brighter Days Foundation, a charity that the husband and wife co-founded back in 2011.

What does the foundation do? Good question. Well, the charity partners with and provides help to the local nonprofit organizations in Central Ohio. By doing so, they help in providing and meeting basic needs, including food, education, and shelter for the underprivileged in Central Ohio.

“I just wanted to do something. I wanted to see the change actually happening,” confessed the golfer’s wife in a video on the foundation’s website. “You have to start somewhere and I think the best place you can start is at home. People want to be involved. They want to be a part of something. They actually can see what they’re giving to and how it matters.”

The small-town girl from Ohio has managed to help her husband claim many wins in her life and has stood by him as he went through the many ups and downs in life. Quite a heartwarming story that the two share with each other!