“Santa listened.” That was Flau’jae Johnson hard launching her boyfriend, a fellow LSU Tiger, Chris Hilton Jr. on Christmas 2024. They have left fans aww-ing in the 2 months that have followed since– valentine’s day celebrations, album release, or game-day hype, they’ve shared it all. But for all the gushing the initial announcement demanded and kick-started, there seems to be a silent irony the couple’s recently-admitted bet reveals!

It began with a photo shoot that wasn’t your average lineup. Flau’Jae Johnson and Hilton Jr. snapped LSU-themed and Christmas-themed pictures, and that’s when the friendly competition kicked off. Joking about it afterward on her podcast, Best of Both Worlds, she said, “Let’s talk about this photo shoot. The funniest thing about this photo shoot is that when we took it, we also did the Christmas pictures the same night. We’ve had these pictures for like three months, and we made a bet.”

The wager? Flau’Jae was sure the Christmas photos would go bigger than the standard ones. Hilton Jr. on the other hand, knew they would steal the show with their LSU-themed shots.

The first ones they shared in matching red PJ sets for Christmas, cozied-up in a holiday setting. That was their first post out together! The second set of shots made their way on Valentine’s Day. In a very contrasting output, the two adorned blank faces, LSU jerseys, and a black background. One of the photos, however, was also a reference to the 2000’s movie, Love and Basketball. Seems like it hit the mark.

When they finally shared the pictures, the LSU-themed ones netted nearly 500,000 likes while the Christmas pictures lagged behind with around 400,000. Handling the loss with aplomb, Flau’Jae laughed, “He was right!”

Their romance, which began at an NIL event, has clearly been marked by moments of fun and support. Since the LSU Tigress released her first R&B album on Feb 14th, Hilton has been an active part of the promotion, even appearing in a little music video for `Need You By My Side’. It was only right then that Johnson, now valued at $1.5 million with 2 million following on Instagram, give a shoutout to her beau.

Flau’Jae Johnson makes playful NIL plea for her boyfriend

And because Flau’Jae Johnson never backs down, she found yet another way to change the tides in Hilton Jr.’s favor.

In yet another tongue-in-cheek message to her followers, she asked for their help in promoting him in the NIL market. “Y’all, stop following my man! When I met him, he was at like 12,000 followers; now he has like 30,000,” she started. But it would soon turn into a request. “I’m just kidding! K, y’all get his followers up because, Lord, he doesn’t even know! Please follow him and turn his NIL up real quick before he goes dry so he can keep buying me Louis V bracelets.”

Hilton Jr.’s LSU career has been marred with injury– a fractured foot, two meniscus tears, a torn labrum in his shoulder and then, a stress fracture. But he a nice get last season with 243 receiving yards and three touchdowns on a solid 9-4 LSU team. He’s also already on the radar as a potential NFL prospect with a big senior season upcoming. He was also seen in practice recently that had Johnson keeping her fingers crossed. 

The wide receiver clearly has had an impact on Flau’jae and she isn’t shying away from expressing. “You’re my home, my heart, and my forever ❤️,” she wrote recently with an adorable compilation of their moments together to her new song OTW. The two are sure reimagining what it is to be young, successful athletes. Oh and, Johnson’s influence seems to be working. For Hilton Jr. has now gone up to 40,000 followers on Instagram!