Bo Jackson is the only pro athlete in history to be named an All-Star in two major North American sports. When everyone liked him, there was one person who was not his fan initially. It is none other than his wife, Linda Garrett. Being in the medical field, she was searching for an intellectual partner, but instead, an athlete won her heart.
While it has been decades since they tied the knot, not many know the inside details about their love life. Keep scrolling to find out.
Bo Jackson Got Married To Linda Garrett The Same Year He Started Playing Professionally
The former athlete’s professional career started skyrocketing in 1987 when he played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals and in the NFL for the Los Angeles Raiders. Among all these, he found time to marry the love of his life in the same year. Bo tied the knot with his then-girlfriend, Linda, on September 5, 1987.
They got married in Kansas City after Jackson had made the big leagues with the Royals. When they were taking their vows, the bride promised herself that they would always be together through thick and thin. After several decades of being married, the couple is still going strong.
Bo Jackson Met His Wife, Linda Garrett, At College
Bo was a junior at Auburn University when he came across a graduate student, Linda. She returned to Auburn to work on her doctorate in 1984 when she met Jackson in the student lounge. She didn’t want to date him at first.
The lovebirds started as friends for a couple of months, but soon, their friendship turned into something more. They would have lunch together, and Bo would tell her about his other dates. That’s when things started feeling different for them.
After dating for a few years, he asked her to marry him in the winter of 1986. She then moved in with him in the summer of 1987.
Their Relationship Had A Hiccup When Linda Got Pregnant Before Marriage
The couple always talked about getting married once the player settled in his career. However, Linda became pregnant in her last year at Auburn. At that time, Jackson had a lot going on. When he left for Memphis, she was already seven months pregnant.
Bo didn’t have trouble facing her pregnancy; instead, he was happy. It was Linda who kept thinking,
What if he feels he’s obligated to me? He doesn’t really want me, he’s thinking he should do this.
Even when he proposed to her, she was reluctant as she didn’t want him to marry her because she was pregnant. However, Jackson convinced her that he loved her, and soon after, their baby was born, and they became a family of three.
The Life Partners Have Three Children
As stated earlier, Linda was pregnant before their marriage. Hence, they gave birth to their eldest, Garrett Jackson, on July 13, 1986, a year before they tied the knot. Interestingly enough, Jackson hit his first pro home run on the same day.
Their eldest is in the PR and Marketing field in Chicago.
The pair then became parents to another son, Nicholas Jackson, in November 1988. Their secondborn is an engineer in Alabama. The then-athlete once shared how he didn’t want his sons to play football.
The youngest in the family is their daughter, Morgan Jackson. Like her parents, she also graduated from Auburn with a degree in English/ Professional and Public Writing and a Minor in Communications. She works at Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports Complex.
Bo Jackson’s Wife, Is In The Medical Field
Linda did her bachelor’s in biology and health science from Tuskegee University. She was also a doctoral student in counseling psychology at Auburn University, where she earned her master’s degree in psychology.
Mrs. Jackson used to be the supervisor of the residential children’s program at the Mobile County Community Mental Health Center in Alabama. She has also worked at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago as a rehabilitation counselor. Besides, she is the vice president of Bo Jackson Enterprises Inc.
The Former Player Once Bought A Pistol For His Spouse, Linda Garrett
Being a popular person, Jackson has people always following him around. Not only that, his partner was also a constant target of unwanted attention. The duo experienced racial problems in Kansas City when the player started getting called racial names.
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Likewise, some people would drive up to their houses and watch them with cameras. When things started getting out of hand, he purchased a pistol for Linda. She would keep the gun in her car as she also had people following and approaching her.
