Joe Burrow and Olivia Ponton may have skipped the red carpet but they still made Kentucky Derby weekend a date night to remember in Louisville last week.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback and the Sports Illustrated model have been linked since late 2024 and have been spotted together across the course of the NFL offseason.
The latest sighting comes at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby Eve party last Friday.
As per PEOPLE, while the pair managed to skip the red carpet, they arrived in a group that included Burrow’s parents, Jimmy and Robin.
The night included performances from artists including an *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys collaboration and Patti LaBelle and it sounds like the couple particularly enjoyed hearing LaBelle play.
The publication quoted a witness as saying they were ‘cozy as Patti LaBelle sang her classics like ‘Lady Marmalade’ and then were on their feet as Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, Howie Dorough and Luis Fonsi ripped through ‘Despacito,’ ‘I Want It That Way’ and ‘Bye Bye Bye.’’
Olivia Ponton at last weekend’s Kentucky Derby – where she was not seen publicly with him
But NFL quarterback Burrow was also in attendance and made it to the race withhis family
Burrow, 29, has made the most of the offseason after a frustrating campaign with his team
His relationship with Ponton was seemingly exposed during a break-in November before last
Burrow has kept some glamorous company this offseason. He was spotted next to Jessica Alba in a Las Vegas casino, briefly sparking questions over whether the Hollywood star had split with boyfriend Danny Ramirez.
Burrow was then seen leaving an Oscars party alongside influencer Alix Earle, who herself has had plenty of rumors about her love life with links to Tom Brady. Tate McRae, the Canadian pop star, was also with them.
But there have been plenty of long-running rumors linking Burrow, 29, to the 23-year-old Ponton, albeit in some unfortunate circumstances.
Ponton, who had modeled for Sports Illustrated in the past, was in Burrow’s Cincinnati home in December 2024 when it was broken into by thieves, leading to her calling police. Burrow was playing in Dallas at the time.
Until then, many assumed Burrow was still dating his childhood sweetheart Olivia Holzmacher.
‘I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share so that’s all I got to say about that,’ Burrow said in the aftermath of the break-in.
Burrow’s offseason antics this year had led many to speculate that he and Ponton are no longer an item. But they were spotted together in Los Angeles together in March and again at NFL player Joey Bosa’s wedding in April.
As for football, Burrow had a difficult 2025 campaign – the Bengals missed out on the postseason after turf toe saw Burrow spend almost three months on the sidelines.
The Bengals traded the 10th pick of the first round of the draft last month to the New York Giants as part of the deal to bring three-time Pro Bowl star Dexter Lawrence to the organization.
