Christian McCaffrey may be a part of the San Francisco 49ers today, but his story started in those high school fields in Colorado. He attended Valor, a private school in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, just south of Denver, and anyone who knew him before he broke out as an NFL star would describe him as a humble, polite, and classy kid, but when he played, his football flair shone the brightest. Take Valor’s administrator Jim Kirchner, for instance. In 2024, while recalling the running back’s display of talent, he shared how he witnessed the entire crowd completely silent, watching every move McCaffrey made.

“It was a play where he was running up the middle, and in a very small space he did a 360-kinda turn and took off and scored a touchdown and the crowd had a delayed response to that. It was the funniest thing,” Kirchner reminisced. In his time with the Valor Christian Eagles, the player won consecutive Gatorade Player of the Year titles and also broke multiple state records. His high school career saw him score 848 career points, 141 career touchdowns, and 8,845 career all-purpose yards. But no, things don’t stop here.

In 2013, Valor played their state championship game against Fairview High School. The Eagles went on to win their fifth consecutive title; McCaffrey recorded 221 total yards and four touchdowns and was named the MVP. That was also his last high school game… But his achievements have now pushed his school to make a major decision. They retired his jersey! In a sweet post made by his wife, Olivia Culpo, the couple was seen at Valor, standing right next to the #5 jersey, which was being retired. She posted several pictures from the event, but what caught everyone’s attention was her lovely caption. She wrote: “Yesterday was emotional in the best way. Watching Christian’s high school jersey get retired was a powerful, full-circle moment — one that reminded me of all the grit, sacrifice, and discipline he’s poured into this game from the very beginning. I’ve seen you give every morsel of yourself to your craft — not for accolades, but because excellence matters to you. 

“You’re the hardest worker I know, not just because of what you do on the field, but because of who you are: a selfless teammate and a relentless pursuer of growth. I love you so much and I I couldn’t be prouder of you, and I’m so thankful to see you honored in a way that reflects every bit of heart and integrity you carry. Here’s to honoring the past and to everything still ahead!!” What was McCaffrey’s reaction? Just three words. “I Love You❤️,” posted on his Instagram story.

But, one moment, McCaffrey was standing in front of your high school jersey, getting retired like an all-American legend, and the next, his wife was bawling in the crowd, blaming it on hormones. What was that all about?

Christian McCaffrey’s big moment had Olivia Culpo bawling!

It turns out that Olivia Culpo was experiencing her own emotional Super Bowl—in the form of pregnancy hormones and public tears—during the whole time Christian was being immortalised on a wall. She reposted on her story, adding a classic, brutally honest line: “If you were there and saw me bawling the whole time it was just hormones 😂”

Hormones. Because it’s not just a retired jersey that the Culpo-McCaffrey power couple is celebrating. They’re getting ready for something much more significant: Parenthood. Yes—baby McCaffrey is on the way.

Even though she is the epitome of poise and elegance, Olivia has endured a lot of emotional hardship. In a candid TikTok “time capsule,” she disclosed a battle that went unnoticed behind the scenes. She experienced severe bleeding and weeks of bed rest due to a subchorionic haematoma that occurred during her first trimester. “I was so exhausted… and then all of a sudden, just like purging. It was a heavy [bleeding]. So at this point, I was on bed rest since week two,” she said. She couldn’t workout in the first four months of her pregnancy.

It is the couple’s first baby, and they announced it on March 10. Culpo had written on Instagram, “Next chapter, motherhood.” They had tied the knot on June 29, 2024, in a Rhode Island wedding ceremony.