In a shocking turn of events, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers recently cut wide receiver and kick returner Deven Thompkins. While his on-field struggles were emerging, it appears that the real story of his trouble lies beyond the football field for the player. Thompkins’ estranged wife, Maria Castilhos, has come forward with disturbing allegations of spousal abuse.

In a TikTok video, she bravely shared her painful experience, revealing injuries to her face and arm. The attention on the couple has drawn out curiosity on who Maria Catilhos is and how did she meet the NFL WR.

Who is Maria Castilhos- the mother of Deven Thompkins’ two children?

Maria Castilhos is a devout Christian who shares her beliefs through occasional TikTok videos. The details about her nativity and parents are not available as the wife of the former Bucs player is known to keep his personal life private. Castilhos met Thompkins in high school and they started dating during their time in Fort Myers, Florida.

At the young age of 17, the couple became engaged, and shortly before graduating, Castilhos gave birth to their first child, Nyomi, in July 2018. The family grew with the arrival of their second child, Messiah, in September 2019. Messiah’s diagnosis of Down syndrome was a challenge that Castilhos embraced, describing herself as a “Hero in their lives” in one of her TikTok videos.

However, this is not the only perspective of her life that the mother of two has shared with her followers. In another TikTok video, she shared her journey of quitting drinking and partying to live a more faithful life aligned with her religious beliefs. She also believes in traditional relationship values as per her TikTok.

Castilhos maintains a relatively low profile on social media platforms other than TikTok, leaving many details about her personal life unknown to the public. However, the information does surface that Castilhos and Thompkins got married at 19 and began their journey of balancing family life and Thompkins’ growing football career.

While Thompkins was at Utah State, Castilhos managed as a mother and reportedly studied medical science in California individually. The young couple made it work so that Nyomi stayed with Castilhos while Messiah lived with Deven. Even though he had football and a full-time class schedule, Thompkins took almost all of his classes online so he could stay at home to take care of Messiah.

Even though their relationship had been stormy of late, Castilhos and Thompkins were able to work things out and move to Florida. But their marital woes did not end there; their marriage ran aground once again when Thompkins filed for divorce on February 27 in Lee County.

Deven Thompkins faces brutal abuse charges

The TikTok video from Maria accused Thompkins of extreme domestic violence. She showed pictures of her face with a black eye and her arm with a bruise, writing on it that “He would have killed me.” Castilhos added some detail, saying that one time in 2023, near Fort Myers, while out with another couple for Valentine’s Day, Thompkins “beat me bad” while in the back seat of a car.

Thompkins has categorically denied the allegations brought up through his lawyer, Brett R. Gallaway, who said: “Unfortunately, Deven and Maria have been going through a contentious divorce proceeding and child custody battle, and it appears that she thought it would help her case to release these false and defamatory videos.”

The lawyer also alleged Castilhos was trying to “blackmail” Thompkins by demanding higher alimony payments among other things. “Clear and significant exculpatory evidence exists to show that Deven did not physically or in any other way abuse Maria,” said Gallaway.

The Buccaneers have not commented on the query; as they did sign former Seahawk Cody Thompson almost immediately after releasing Thompkins, the primary kick returner, on May 30.