North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick hasn’t yet coached a game for the Tar Heels. But the hiring of a six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach has brought the football program more publicity than anyone could have anticipated.

Much of it focused not on Belichick or his vast remaking of the Tar Heels’ roster, but on the 73-year-old’s romantic and business relationship with Jordon Hudson, a 24-year-old entrepreneur, beauty pageant contestant, burgeoning real estate tycoon, public relations consultant and social media celebrity with more than 100,000 Instagram followers.

Just how much has the couple’s relationship entered the nation’s cultural zeitgeist? 

Saturday Night Live used it as a punchline during its cold open on May 3.

Here’s what we know about Hudson, her relationship with Belichick and its intersection with North Carolina football.

Cheerleading and family of fisherman

Hudson was born in 2001, graduated from high school in 2019 and attended Bridgewater State University from 2019 to 2022, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

In her Instagram profile, she calls herself an NCA Collegiate Champion.That’s the National Cheerleaders Association.The Bears are a cheerleading juggernaut, having won the All-Girl Advanced title in 2021 and 2022 and the Intermediate Small Coed championship in 2021, 2023 and 2024. 

Hudson has a bio page on the team’s cheerleading page, though her name is misspelled Jordan. It lists her hometown as Provincetown, Massachusetts.

On her Instagram profile, Hudson calls herself the daughter of a Maine fisherman. And her photos show an affinity for lobsters.

Days before the 2024 general election, Hudson posted a photo of a campaign sign that says “Fishermen’s Lives Matter” and wrote on Instagram about the importance of voting in state and local elections.

In the early 2000s, she wrote, ”a series of bills were passed by the Maine State Legislatures … that were detrimental to Maine’s entire fishing industry and wiped out many fishing communities; ultimately resulting in the closure of my family’s multi-generational fishing business.

“The bills were passed in the name of sustainability and environmental protection, but they did not account for both the natural environment and the human environment.”

Earlier this year, she posted a photo with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, thanking her for her “commitment to Maine’s fishing community.” Hudson wrote that the Trump Administration agreed to renegotiate Maine Sea Grant Funding, just weeks after the administration had cut federal funding for it.

Hudson will be competing for the Miss Maine USA title this week. She wrote that she’ll be representing her hometown of Hancock. Hudson posted a photo of herself in a Miss Hancock USA sash. The statewide event is May 10 and 11.

How they met

Hudson met Belichick on a flight to Palm Beach on Feb. 11, 2021, according to a Belichick statement and Instagram posts from Hudson. Belichick, who was still coaching the New England Patriots at the time, signed a copy of her book “Deductive Logic.”

It is not clear when they began dating, though Hudson indicated that it was at some point in 2022 in an Instagram story posted on New Year’s Eve, according to USA Today.

“Cheers!!! To our third midnights’ kiss,” she wrote. “Nothing changed for us in 2024 except for ‘public knowledge,’ yet somehow everything changed. Fourth calendar year. Going strong. I can’t wait to take punches for you in 2025.”

In January 2023, Hudson and Belichick were spotted together in New Orleans.

In September 2023, People reported that Belichick and his longtime girlfriend Linda Holliday had split after 16 years. Holliday was 60 at the time. People reported the couple has “been pretty separate for a while” and that the breakup was “not new.” TMZ later reported they broke up at some point in 2022.

In December 2023, Hudson purchased three multi-family homes in the Boston area worth $8 million. She is listed as the borrower on the mortgages for each, according to Realtor.com.

In March 2024, Daily Mail reported that Belichick was at a cheerleading competition in Maryland. Belichick was let go by the Patriots earlier in the year and had failed to get an NFL head-coaching job during the coaching cycle.

Jokes and going public

At The Roast of Tom Brady on May 7, 2024, former Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski hinted at Belichick’s relationship with a much younger woman.  “Coach, you used to talk about Foxborough High School when we sucked,” Gronk said. “But now I know why you were so obsessed with Foxborough High School: You were scouting your new girlfriend.”

A month later, TMZ broke news that Belichick and Hudson were dating. And that they’d been dating for a while. The outlet said she attended Brady’s Hall of Fame induction with Belichick, went with Belichick to Croatia and had “begun helping Belichick with his business endeavors.”

In September 2024, Hudson posted a photo of Belichick to her Instagram page for the first time. It was a picture of the pair petting goats at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. She tagged Belichick in the caption. Belichick’s father was a coach and scout at Navy for more than 30 years. He also coached at UNC.

In October 2024, Hudson posted a Halloween photo of Belichick dressed as a fisherman and herself as a mermaid in the water. “My biggest catch,” Belichick wrote on Instagram.

On Dec. 5, 2024, as Belichick had emerged as a candidate for the North Carolina job, the pair attended the American Museum of Natural History’s Museum Gala in New York.

Influence at UNC after Belichick hire

A week later, North Carolina hired Belichick to lead its football program. The hire made headlines across the sports world. Belichick secured a five-year, $50-million contract with the first three years guaranteed and additional resources for his staff and players. Hudson attended his introductory press conference, but declined interview requests after.

UNC officials said the hire was a bet on football, the most important revenue driver for college athletic departments. By betting big on Belichick, North Carolina hoped to elevate its football profile and generate more revenue through ticket sales, increased sponsorship and additional donations. The Tar Heels have sold out of their allotment of season tickets.

Just days after Belichick was hired, on Dec. 16, he sent an email to Robbi Pickeral Evans, UNC’s senior associate athletic director, asking her: “Can you include [Jordon] on anything you send to me?”

In a Dec. 22 email, obtained by WRAL, Hudson outlined a strategy for rolling out the hire of Belichick’s son, Steve, as defensive coordinator, highlighting his own accomplishments. She was worried that the hire might be seen as “nepotism.” UNC had not announced Steve Belichick’s hire at that point.

In a Feb. 13 email, obtained by WRAL, Hudson wrote to Evans asking if there was “anyone monitoring the UNC Football page for slanderous commentary and subsequently deleting it/blocking users that are harassing BB in the comments?” A day later, Belichick himself wrote an email about the comments on social media: “I cannot believe that UNC would support my being called a ‘predator.’”

Evans wrote that UNC hid a comment about Belichick’s personal life and would continue to monitor.

On Valentine’s Day, Hudson posted a photo with Belichick on Instagram. She is wearing one of his Super Bowl rings. In the caption, Hudson writes about love. Among her notes: “Love is not as deep as one’s pockets” and “Love is not to be judged.”

In late February, Hudson would reportedly play a role in ending discussions about UNC being on NFL Films “Hard Knocks,” which had been reported as a done deal days earlier. UNC and HBO had prepared a press release and graphics to announce it was doing the show. The Athletic reported Hudson was at the center of the deal falling apart. The New York Post reported that Hudson demanded to be an executive producer, leading NFL Films to walk away.

NFL FIlms was set to film between March 1 and April 21 and again from August 1 to September 1, according to emails obtained by WRAL.

After days of back-and-forth nailing down the final details and with the announcement set, there was a Feb. 28 email saying that “BB has not given approval.”

On March 3, it was called off. 

“Unfortunately, the conversation took a turn that we were not comfortable with,” Jess Boddy, the head of business affairs at NFL Films wrote to UNC officials.

Super Bowl commercials and trademarks

Belichick and Hudson attended the NFL Honors event on Feb. 6, 2025, and the jokes continued. Snoop Dogg, in his opening monologue said: “I mean, I remember back when the Cowboys was good, and I remember back when the Chiefs was bad. And I remember … Bill Belichick’s girlfriend wasn’t even born yet.” 

During the Super Bowl, Hudson and Belichick appeared in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial alongside Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck. The New York Post reported in May that Hudson “forced her way in.”

“Bill saw it as a way for her to get paid,” a source told the paper. “People said they’ve never seen anything like it.”

Just weeks later, a Hudson Instagram post grabbed attention for showing Belichick in an unfamiliar situation — exercising on a beach by holding Hudson up with his legs. “Billates,” Hudson captioned the short video.

In the weeks that followed, Hudson posted photos of a UNC basketball jersey “Jordon 24” on which followers posted “Happy Birthday” messages, a photo of her and Belicick with rapper Lil Wayne at UNC’s practice facility and herself watching practice wearing a Ram-adorned denim jacket.

On April 3, Hudson – who has established more than a dozen corporations in Massachusetts, including several with Belichick-related names — began filing a series of Belichick-related trademarks, including Chapel Bill and Chapel Bill (Bill’s Version) under her TCE Rights Management company. TCE stands for Trouble Cub Enterprises. In her Instagram profile, Hudson calls herself “Trouble Cub by Profession.”

Hudson was on the sidelines during UNC’s “Practice Like a Pro” event on April 15. She went on the field at one point to apparently mic up Belichick. Hudson was an attraction on the sidelines with other attendees coming up to talk and take pictures and selfies.

The next day she posted a photo with Belichick on Instagram “wishing the happiest of birthdays to my twin flame.”

CBS interview and aftermath

On April 27, 2025, CBS Sunday Morning aired an interview with Belichick to promote his new book “The Art of Winning.”. The segment showed Hudson interrupting a question about how the couple met. In the book, Belichick wrote that Hudson was his “idea mill” and “creative muse.” In the CBS piece, Hudson was described as a constant presence during the interview. TMZ reported that she stormed off the set at one point and delayed the interview for 30 minutes. Belichick and Hudson wore Navy sweatshirts in the interview, which made passing reference to UNC.

The video became a national headline. Two days later, Hudson posted an email purportedly written by Belichick outlining how he wanted to promote the book and promising a full statement.

On Aug. 30, 2025, the university – not the athletic department – released a lengthy statement by Belichick responding to the CBS interview. In it, Belichick defends Hudson and says the pair have “both a personal and professional relationship.”

“She was not deflecting any specific question or topic but simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track,” he said in the statement.

Belichick said the interview was supposed to “focus solely on the contents of the book.” CBS, in a statement of its own, said “there were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation.”

On May 3, 2025, Belichick found himself as the punchline on Saturday Night Live. In a skit about executive orders signed by President Trump, Trump signs an executive order that “will make it socially acceptable for a man in his 70s to date a 24-year-old.”

“That’s right,” says the Trump character. “We’re calling it the Belichick law. We’re gonna make girlfriends young again, okay? Old men can now date far younger women. We like that. It’s hot. But in reverse, it’s quite disgusting, right? Very ‘Dateline,’ you know? Did you see Belichick’s girlfriend? She’s pretty hot, right?”

UNC and Belichick begin the 2025 season on Sept. 1 against TCU. The game, in Chapel Hill, was moved to Labor Day night where it will be broadcast in primetime on ESPN.

Source: wral.com