Before Olivia Ponton, there was Olivia Holzmacher in Joe Burrow life (Getty Images)
Joe Burrow ‘s love life has become a regular topic since reports linked him to model Olivia Ponton in December 2024. Before that, though, the Bengals quarterback spent about seven years with Olivia Holzmacher, a relationship that started at Ohio State in 2017. They stayed together through his move to LSU, a Heisman Trophy and an NFL career, then split quietly in 2024.
Neither has said much at all, which is part of how this story took off. Neither has explained why. Fans filled the silence themselves. Here’s what is actually on the record.
Burrow enrolled at Ohio State in 2015 and did not join the football team until 2016. Holzmacher came into the picture in August 2017, right in the middle of that wait. Sports Illustrated noted that fans began wondering after the two had not been seen together in public since January 2024. On Monday, December 9, 2024, Burrow’s home was broken into while he was in Dallas for a game. A police report said Ponton arrived at the house, found a broken window and a ransacked bedroom, and called 911.
A source told People the two had been hooking up since the fall and were keeping it casual. Even then he spent two years as a backup. The relationship was already running before anyone outside Columbus cared much about him. The split was just as quiet. It is still unclear exactly when it happened, and neither side has addressed it. The silence did the rest. The Ponton story started with a break-in. The same report listed her as Burrow’s employee. That wording raised eyebrows, though it proved nothing about what they were to each other. That is about as close as the public has gotten to an explanation, and it came from an unnamed person, not from Burrow or Ponton. The public record is lopsided. One side is seven years of football seasons, road trips and suite seats. The other is a police report, a source’s comment and a few paparazzi clips, and no word from Burrow or Ponton.