The newly hired Stanford General Manager Andrew Luck and his wife, Nicole Pechanec, tied the knot in 2019. Only a year before it, they were about to part ways.
Luck shocked many in 2019 when he announced his retirement at 29.
He had been crowned NFL Combeack Player of the Year that very year for his spectacular 2018 season.
But Andrew realized he was more than just a QB. He was now a family man first.
Since retiring in 2019, Luck has become a father of two girls, a Stanford graduate student, and now the Stanford Cardinal’s General Manager.
The former NFL player isn’t the only one who has a strong connection with Stanford; Nicole is also a former student at California University.
At Stanford, Luck will manage the football and business aspects of the program.
He will oversee the coaching staff, player personnel staff, recruiting, roster management, and student-athlete experience.
The Stanford Cardinal are currently 2-6 in ACC, placed 16th among 17-team league.
Andrew Luck’s Wife, Nicole Pechanec, Is A Former Gymnast
Andrew Luck and his wife, Nicole Pechanec, met at Stanford, where the former pursued a degree in engineering and architectural design while competing in the Varsity Gymnastics team.
She was the gymnastics team’s captain and was named team MVP in her senior year in 2012.
Likewise, Nicole represented the Czech Republic internationally, taking part in three World Championships and inventing a skill on the uneven bars under her Czech surname, Pechancova.
Coming from a gymnastics family, Nicole had high expectations on her shoulders.
She moved from New Jersey to South Carolina for training and stayed with family and friends at Aiken Gymnastics.
When she turned 16, Nicole’s parents decided she would represent the Czech Republic.
Nicole packed her bags and left for Europe.
For three years, Nicole competed in the World Championships in Denmark in 2006, Germany in 2007, and the Netherlands in 2010.
She also competed in two European Championships- the Netherlands in 2007 and France in 2008.
However, in 2009, Nicole moved back to America and continued her career at Stanford.
In a 2009 interview, Nicole revealed why she chose Stanford as her next destination. The former athlete said:
Although I enjoyed competing internationally, I knew college was fast approaching, and my main priority was getting a good education. What made the decision for me was not only the excellent academics at Stanford, but also the amazing athletics.
Via Heavy
After graduating from Stanford in 2012, Pechanec became the T&T Program Coordinator for the USA Gymnastics team.
In 2014, Nicole joined NBC Sports and took up the role of Coordinating Producer/Field Producer.
She enrolled in the Indiana University-Kelley School of Business MBA program in 2015 and graduated in 2017.
During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Pechanec served as a statistician for Gymnastics for the NBC Sports Group.
Andrew And His Wife Nicole Almost Parted Ways In 2017
Andrew met the woman of his dreams, Nicole, at Stanford.
He got her number by pretending to have lost his cell phone and asking her to call it.
In several of his interviews, the former QB has acknowledged his wife’s support throughout his NFL career.
But there was also a time when Nicole had grown frustrated with Andrew as he made an emotional boundary between them.
Luck, who entered the NFL in 2012 with high expectations, was under too much pressure.
With high expectations to be one of the greatest QBs, Andrew isolated himself.
In an interview, Luck said quarterbacks aren’t allowed to worry about anything except the task at hand.
Soon, however, he started noticing that attitude had seeped into other areas of his life.
In 2016, the Colts made Andrew the highest-paid player in the league with a six-year $140 million contract.
But injuries had taken a toll on him. To combat his injuries, he and Nicole left for the Netherlands in 2017.
In an interview with ESPN, the couple revealed that during that phase, their relationship was on a rock.
Nicole was losing her patience and said Andrew would not communicate with her.
However, that trip to the Netherlands also became a healing place for Andrew and their relationship.
Nicole was prepared to leave him if nothing changed, and one night, Andrew broke down, cried, and cursed.
Soon, Luck started seeing a professional therapist, and to date, Andrew says those six weeks in the Netherlands were a life-transforming phase.
Andrew And Nicole Have Been Married For Five Years
Andrew and Nicole tied the knot in Prague, Czech Republic, in March 2019.
A few months after their wedding, Andrew dropped the bombshell news of his retirement from the NFL.
As the 2019 season neared, Luck was starting to feel the familiar pain return.
But this time around, Luck knew he had more responsibilities.
He had become a husband during the off-season and was about to become a father.
Andrew Luck and his girlfriend, Nicole Pechanec, to serve as co-hosts this year to the 500 Festival Snakepit Ball. pic.twitter.com/LU7eDVyNCZ
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) March 2, 2016
The couple welcomed their first daughter, Lucy Luck, on November 12, 2019.
Luck and Pechanec became parents again in 2023 as they welcomed their second daughter, Penelope.
Earlier this year, in an interview with The Athletic, Andrew said he was proud that both his daughters were born in Indianapolis.
Unlike many athletes, Luck has tried to keep his family out of the limelight, with his daughters being spotted only on a few occasions.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Nicole Pechanec’s mother, Yvette, was a former gymnast who later became her coach.
- Nicole has a sister, Monica Pechanec, a former pole vaulter at Brown University.
- Raised in New Jersey, Nicole’s parents hail from the Czech Republic.
