Back in September 2017, placekicker Younghoe Koo was living one of the best times of his life. At 23 years old, he had graduated from Georgia Southern as a first-team all-conference kicker. This earned him a spot at the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent. But the happy picture soon turned into a nightmare.

The Chargers went 0-4. The South Korean-American made only three of his first six field goal attempts while missing a game-tying attempt against the Denver Broncos in the season opener and a game-winning attempt against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. A month into his first season as a pro, Koo found himself out of the Chargers as a free agent. Jump cut to 2020, and he stood in the Atlanta Falcons jersey as the top point scorer in the NFL and a Pro Bowler. While his hard work definitely paid off, there was one who stood through it all.

Koo has the strong backing of his partner, Ava Maurer. With that, he has continued to achieve success in the NFL. The kicker is making waves by having the 16 rank among all NFL kickers in the RotoBaller rankings for ongoing Week 2, season 2024. He is also fourth on the NFL’s all-time leaderboard in field goal percentage. Ava has witnessed this rise and Koo’s struggle and grit closely.

“If something’s not going as planned, if he gets cut, that only makes him work harder. So I knew that although [getting cut by the Chargers] was upsetting at that moment, it wouldn’t stop him,” she had said in 2020. Ava’s bond with Koo dates back to their school days when the two were in eighth grade.

The couple exchanged their vows back in 2023. However, Ava seemingly prefers to stay away from the limelight, as she keeps her social media account private. But, according to one of the Instagram posts shared by Koo on August 4 2019, it seems that the couple started dating back in 2019.

Koo shared the lovely picture, featuring himself with his then-girlfriend, Maurer. Through this post, he not only expressed his love for his partner but also demonstrated his exhilaration at having her in his life. His post caption reflected his sentiments well, as it read, “Best year to come..”. with red heart and blessed praying hands emojis in his post. Back in 2019, Ava and Younghoe were snapped together on the gameday.

An X post shared by Georgia Southern Football, read, .@YounghoeKoo in the house!! @AtlantaFalcons. Interestingly, Koo is the fourth player born in South Korea in NFL history. And Ava thinks that it has a lot to do with his success in the NFL.

“As you are coming from a different country and you’re learning, you do have to work a lot for yourself and you lean on yourself a lot more. That does correlate to the kicker mentality, because you’re not relying on anyone really but yourself to make that kick. You’re not throwing the ball and hoping someone catches it. It’s you. It’s just you,” Ava had said in 2020. Despite Ava’s strong backing, there has not been much public display of affection from their side, at least not on social media.

Koo’s Instagram handle does not have any snaps of their wedding. But, custom jewelry company Highland Diamond’s special congratulatory post gives a tad bit of insight into their union.

Younghoe & Ava’s Diamond-studded wedding celebration

Highland Diamond had shared glimpses of the NFL couple’s wedding. “Spring fairy tale weddings have begun, kicked off by newlyweds Mr. & Mrs. Koo!”, they mentioned in their IG post caption.

Along with sharing multiple adorable pictures of the couple, they expressed their gratefulness for providing jewelry to the NFL couple. “We had the honor of providing Younghoe & Ava with their jewelry from their proposal in February of last year in Jamaica through to their wedding this month in Los Cabos, Mexico,” they further added in their post caption.

Besides that, the Highland Diamond also showcased their deep regard for having the great opportunity to meet such couples who started a new chapter of their lives. “Every day at Highland Diamond it is such a gift to have the opportunity to meet amazing couples like the Koos, hear their stories, and share in their journeys to the destination of a life together,” they further mentioned in the IG post caption.

In addition to this, they also congratulated Younghoe and Ava on their wedding. “Congratulations to this Highland Diamond couple and may your life together be as beautiful as your wedding day,” they mentioned further in their caption. With Ava by his side, Koo is surely set to attain newer heights in his burgeoning NFL career.