If you don’t know who Kealia Ohai is, you probably aren’t a soccer fan. While women’s soccer might not be the most prominent sport in America, it’s still a beloved pastime for many. The women who play the game are tough, strong, and they are skilled. She plays for the Houston Dash, and she’s also been chosen to represent the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team in the past. She’s good at what she does. She loves what she does, and she’s someone who has a rather large fan base. However, many don’t have much information about her that isn’t directly related to how well she plays the game. She’s good, but she’s a lot more than a soccer player who has a large fan base. Here’s how you can get to know her a bit more.
1. She’s Named After A Beach
Though she was not born and raised in Hawaii, her father is Hawaiian. We don’t know when or why he left the state, but he did. He married, he had a child, and he named her after a beach in his home state. The beach is Kealia Beach in Kauai, and it’s one of her father’s favorite places. Well, we might not be able to confirm that, but parents don’t typically name their kids after things, people, and places that they dislike, hate, or have a bad feeling about, do they?
2. She Was Born and Raised in Utah
Her dad might be Hawaiian, but she was born and raised in a slightly less temperate climate. Utah is certainly beautiful, and almost magical with it’s beautiful mountain ranges, lovely spring seasons, and it’s beautiful white Christmases, but it’s not Hawaii. It’s not warm that often, and it’s definitely not on the beach. However, she was born and raised in Draper.
3. She’s Blind in One Eye
She might not be entirely blind in one eye, but she is legally blind in her right eye. What this means is that her vision in that eye is so bad that she cannot see without wearing a contact lens or other corrective lens. It’s entirely too common for someone to have different vision in their eyes, and it’s something that happens to many. One eye might not be as bad as the other, but one being legally blind is an extreme case even for those who have terrible vision.
4. She’s Got A Talented Sister
Kealia is not an only child. She has a sister, Megan, who also plays soccer. Her sister was a youth national team member in her prime. She attended the University of Southern California where she played for the university’s team. She even played and helped her team win the NCAA championship back in the 2007 school year. She’s good, too, but she didn’t take her career as far as her sister did.
5. She’s Got a Famous Brother-in-Law
It seems that her sister is not only an athlete herself, but she is attracted to athletes, too. She’s married to former NFL star Brian Cushing. He played for the Houston Texans, where he is now the assistant strength and conditional coach. He and his wife both went to USC at the same time, which is where he met his wife. They were college sweethearts, and they have two little boys born in 2012 and 2014.
6. She’s Engaged
When Kealia Ohai was playing soccer, she was focused on her life and her sport alone, but she didn’t rule out the possibility of meeting a man and falling in love, and she did just that. She met Houston Texans’ football player JJ Watts, and she fell for him. It seems he fell pretty hard for her, too, because he asked her to marry him in May 2019. They’re currently in the middle of planning their wedding, but we don’t know when or where they will get married.
7. Her Husband-to-Be and Brother-in-Law Played Pro Football Together</h2
It’s a small world in their house. Both sisters played soccer, and both of the men in their lives played professional football for the same team for many years. They’re old friends, and their good friendship is what allowed Watts to meet Ohai and fall for her. They like to keep their relationship as private as possible, and they do keep to themselves more often than not. Both are professional athletes with demanding practice schedules, playing time, and more. They probably already struggle to spend time together as it is, and this is not one thing that they can change.
8. She Played for North Carolina
She did not follow her sister’s footsteps to California for college. Instead, she decided she would head to another great school, and she was a North Carolina Tar Heel. She played her entire career, and she was quite good at making friends and memories while she was there. They were the NCAA National Champions during her time on the team, which is pretty impressive considering her sister also took home the same championship at her own college when she was playing. Those are talented sisters.
9. She Is Really Good
Did we mention that she’s so good that the entire country thought she was the second best player in the national when it was time to pick the 2014 National Women’s Soccer League team? No, we didn’t? Well, she was. She was chosen as the second overall pick, and we can see why. She’s really good.
10. She Got Engaged in Mexico
For nearly three years, she and her fiancé kept their relationship very private. They didn’t speak much of it other than mentioning that they were very good friends. They both posted photos without one another on social media, but with small hints that they were definitely together — such as stockings with both of their initials on them at the holidays in his home. However, he decided to make it very public when he proposed and then posted all the photos of the moment he asked to his Instagram page. It’s sweet.
