<p id=”par-1_62″>The Atlanta Falcons have dealt with a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/sports/”>quarterback</a> carousel for years, from Marcus Mariota to <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/quarterback-desmond-ridders-wife-claire-cornett.html/?swcfpc=1″>Desmond Ridder</a> to Taylor Heinicke. The team tried to gain stability at the position by signing veteran Kirk Cousins in 2024. But before his first season even concluded, Cousins was benched for rookie Michael Penix Jr., who the Falcons selected with the eighth pick in the draft. </p>
<p id=”par-2_60″>The following season, the team alternated between Penix and Cousins. In the offseason, the Falcons singed former <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/dolphins-quarterback-tua-tagovailoas-ethnicity.html/”>Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa</a>. But during a practice on Sept. 10, just days before the start of the 2026-27 <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/nfl/”>NFL</a> season began, the Falcons’ new signal-caller suffered an oblique injury. The starting job then went back to Penix while Tagovailoa recovered. </p>
<p id=”par-3_29″>Now, fans want to know more about Penix and his family. Here’s more on the athlete and his wife, Olivia Carter, plus the big news they shared recently. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-long-penix-and-carter-have-been-together”>How long Penix and Carter have been together</h2>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DWSXJWPDspc/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:658px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DWSXJWPDspc/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-4_42″>Penix started his college career playing for Indiana University. But after a few injury-filled seasons, he transferred to the University of Washington and led the team to an appearance in the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship game against the University of Michigan. </p>
<p id=”par-5_24″>Penix earned the prestigious Maxwell Award in 2023, which is the same year he began dating and appearing on social media with Carter. </p>
<p id=”par-6_78″>She gushed over her man on his birthday that May with a heartfelt post via <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6tXHMZLW43/g” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Instagram</a>, writing: “Celebrating you is easy and loving you is even easier. You are a beautiful human inside and out. You are one of a kind. Nobody is even close to how special you are. You are so consistent and intentional in everything you do. You never miss a beat and lead by example every single day. Thank you so much for being you.</p>
<p id=”par-7_44″>“Michael you are my best friend and the man I’ve always prayed for. I thank God he brought us together. The best chapter of my life started the day you walked into it and I am so blessed to have a boyfriend like you.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-carter-is-an-athlete-as-well”>Carter is an athlete as well</h2>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DD7-9diyaUP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DD7-9diyaUP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a><p style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center”><a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DD7-9diyaUP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>A post shared by Our Town Reno (@biggestlittlestreets)</a></p></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-8_8″>Like Penix, Carter is also an athlete. </p>
<p id=”par-9_17″>She was born in Washington to parents Christopher and Regina and has two siblings, Quincy and Theo.</p>
<p id=”par-10_51″>Growing up not far from Seattle, Carter attended Kent-Meridian High School, where she was a multi-sport athlete playing basketball, soccer, and track. After high school, she enrolled at the University of Nevada-Reno. According to her <a href=”https://nevadawolfpack.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/olivia-carter/7994″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Nevada Wolf Pack profile page</a>, she was on the women’s soccer team and studied biochemistry before graduating in 2022. </p>
<p id=”par-11_43″>Carter took to <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/o.carter/p/CdJkUASvhzs/?img_index=1″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Instagram</a> to share her proud moment, captioning photos of her in her soccer uniform and graduation dress: “Proud to announce I will be graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno with my Bachelor of Science in biology. God is good.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-when-carter-and-penix-got-married”>When Carter and Penix got married</h2>
<blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-permalink=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DYDqICeDkTv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” data-instgrm-version=”14″ style=”background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;margin: 1px;max-width:658px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:99.375%;width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px);width:calc(100% – 2px)”><div style=”padding:16px”> <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/DYDqICeDkTv/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading” style=”background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> <div style=”flex-direction: row;align-items: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 40px;margin-right: 14px;width: 40px”></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 100px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 60px”></div></div></div><div style=”padding: 19% 0″></div> <div style=”height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px”></div><div style=”padding-top: 8px”> <div style=”color:#3897f0;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:550;line-height:18px”>View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style=”padding: 12.5% 0″></div> <div style=”flex-direction: row;margin-bottom: 14px;align-items: center”><div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px;flex-grow: 0;margin-right: 14px;margin-left: 2px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;height: 12.5px;width: 12.5px”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: 8px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 50%;flex-grow: 0;height: 20px;width: 20px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 2px solid transparent;border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom: 2px solid transparent”></div></div><div style=”margin-left: auto”> <div style=”width: 0px;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right: 8px solid transparent”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;flex-grow: 0;height: 12px;width: 16px”></div> <div style=”width: 0;height: 0;border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left: 8px solid transparent”></div></div></div> <div style=”flex-direction: column;flex-grow: 1;justify-content: center;margin-bottom: 24px”> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;margin-bottom: 6px;width: 224px”></div> <div style=”background-color: #F4F4F4;border-radius: 4px;flex-grow: 0;height: 14px;width: 144px”></div></div></a></div></blockquote>
<p id=”par-12_23″>On May 2, 2026, Penix and Carter tied the knot at the Château Élan, a luxury resort and winery in Braselton, Georgia. </p>
<p id=”par-13_35″>Many of the quarterback’s Falcons teammates attended the wedding, including running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London, and tight end Kyle Pitts. The team’s former general manager Terry Fontenot was also in attendance. </p>
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<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-width=”550″ data-dnt=”true”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Congratulations to Michael Penix Jr. and his wife, Olivia, who are expecting their first child together <img src=”https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72×72/2764.png” alt=”❤” class=”wp-smiley” style=”height: 1em; max-height: 1em;” /><br><br>(via oliviapenix, themp9/IG) <a href=”https://t.co/efsUdaQNmd”>pic.twitter.com/efsUdaQNmd</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href=”https://x.com/NFL/status/2106498860986048689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 3, 2026</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.x.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
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<p id=”par-14_20″>On Oct. 3, 2026, the couple shared some very happy news that they are expecting their first child together. </p>
<p id=”par-15_17″>They made the announcement via a sweet <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/oliviapenix/reel/DeCvfy5Bkdo/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Instagram video</a>, which they captioned, “Upgraded to mom and dad.”</p>