- Dustin Johnson and his fiance Paulina Gretzky met through Gretzky’s parents in 2009.
- The golf star and the pop singer-turned-model didn’t go on their first date, however, until 2012.
- They’ve been together ever since, and now have two children.
Dustin Johnson wooed the entire Gretzky clan long before he took his future fiance Paulina Gretzky on their first date.
In 2009, the pro golfer met Paulina’s mother Janet – the wife of legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky – at the Hero World Challenge golf tournament. Afterwards, the Gretzkys had Johnson over for dinner.
GOLF reported that Johnson and Gretzky had “undeniable chemistry” from the get-go, but the timing was off. Both were already in relationships with other people.
“We became good friends,” Gretzky told GOLF. “Actually, my whole family became friends with Dustin – my brothers and parents saw him a lot more than I did.”
But the story didn't end there.
Here's a look inside the relationship between golf's reformed "bad boy" and the hockey heiress:
First, here's some background on the pair. Johnson is currently ranked number one in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Source: Official World Golf Ranking, CBS
He won the 2016 US Open and has won five World Golf Championships.
Source: Official World Golf Ranking, CBS
Forbes estimated that he had a net worth of $27.6 million in 2017. Currently, he is the frontrunner in the 2018 PGA Tournament.
Source: Official World Golf Ranking, CBS
Meanwhile, Paulina Gretzky — the Gretzky family's eldest child — pursued a multi-faceted career as a singer and model, over the years.
Source: The Sun
Three years after their first meeting, Johnson and Gretzky came face-to-face again at the World Challenge.
Source: GOLF
Gretzky told Golf Digest about meeting her future partner through her parents, adding that her mother talked her up upon meeting Johnson.
Source: Golf Digest
"I'm sure he was rolling his eyes, and so was I when my mom invited me over to meet this golfer she had just met," she said.
Source: Golf Digest
Gretzky claimed to have looked like a "ragamuffin" during their initial 2009 meeting, and added that Johnson was a "really cute guy" and an "endearing" "gentleman."
Source: Golf Digest
Her parents even tagged along on the couple's first date.
Source: GOLF
"That's how it goes in our family," Wayne Gretzky told GOLF. "Janet and I go out to eat, and we somehow always wind up with seven or eight people at the table. Everyone is invited."
Source: GOLF
According to GOLF, the couple has been together ever since.
Source: GOLF
Johnson may be one of the most successful professional golfers out there...
Source: Official World Golf Ranking
... but his fiance hasn't always loved the sport.
Source: Golf Digest
"I didn't appreciate golf as much when I was little, probably because my mom put us in tennis camps and golf camps," Gretzky told Golf Digest.
Source: Golf Digest
"My mom has a video of me when I was really young where I'm saying, 'Daddy, don't go play golf anymore,'" she added.
Source: Golf Digest
But Gretzky's parents love to golf, and she herself has become more enamored with the sport since she began dating Johnson.
Source: The New York Post, Golf Digest, Golf Digest
She even took to Instagram to showcase what Golf Digest called a "surprisingly powerful swing."
Source: The New York Post, Golf Digest, Golf Digest
Gretzky has become a fixture at Johnson's tournaments. She even caddied for the golfer at the 2016 Masters.
Source: Golf Digest, USA Today
Seven months after they began dating, Johnson popped the question in August of 2013.
Source: Golf Digest, People
But the couple has said they've held off on setting a date, due to their whirlwind schedules.
Source: New York Post, Golf Digest
"It'll be our special day, and we just want it to be right and to fit," Gretzky told Golf Digest.
Source: New York Post, Golf Digest
Johnson told the New York Post that the size of the wedding doesn't matter to him.
Source: New York Post, Golf Digest
"That bill is going to Wayne," Johnson joked.
Source: New York Post, Golf Digest
However, Johnson's personal life reportedly landed on the rough a few years ago, when he picked up the reputation of being the "bad boy" of the golfing world.
Source: GOLF
In 2014, GOLF reported that Johnson received a six-month PGA suspension after testing positive for cocaine.
Source: GOLF
Fox News reported that Wayne Gretzky has taken to mentoring Johnson — and allegedly warned him to clean up his act and stop partying.
Source: Fox News
Johnson indicated to Sports Illustrated in a 2015 interview that he has taken his potential future father-in-law's advice to heart by establishing a simpler, more family-oriented routine.
Source: Sports Illustrated
Johnson and Gretzky reportedly frequently ate breakfast and dinner with Gretzky's parents, who lived close by as of 2015.
Source: Sports Illustrated
And then, to wind down, Johnson and Gretzky would catch an episode or two of "Homeland," "Sons of Anarchy," or "State of Affairs."
Source: Sports Illustrated
Today, Johnson and Gretzky have two sons. They welcomed Tatum Johnson to the world on January 19, 2015, and River Jones Johnson on June 12, 2017.
Source: Golfer's Digest, The Big Lead, People
For their second child, the couple took to Instagram for the golf-themed gender reveal.
Source: Golfer's Digest, The Big Lead, People
In the post, Johnson hit a golf ball that exploded into a cloud of blue powder, signifying they were expecting another son.
Source: Golfer's Digest, The Big Lead, People
"Over these past four or five months I've really grown up," Johnson told Sports Illustrated in 2015. "I am starting to become the person I want my kids to look up to."
Source: Sports Illustrated
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