Tim Tebow, a one-time American football player, turned sports analyst got married to Demi Leigh Nel-Peters, a former Miss Universe, in 2020, after dating briefly. According to the athlete, he found her to be his perfect fit after searching for a while.
Demi is a South African model who achieved so much in 2017 beginning with bagging a degree and then winning 2 beauty pageants. A year later, she found love in Tim and that began the journey of their love story.
Leigh Nel-Peters is quite involved in several personal ventures like a jewelry line and is also part of her husband’s charity foundation and events.
Here’s All We Know About Demi Leigh Tebow Nee Nel-Peters
Demi Leigh Nel-Peters has 4 Parents
Demi Leigh Nel-Peters was born on June 28, 1995, in Sedgefield, Western Cape to Anne-Marie Steenkamp (mother) and Bennie Peters (Father). However, while she was still young, her parents separated and went on to marry other people.
Anne-Marie, an interior designer, and landscaper remarried Johan Steenkamp who works in Sedgefield Building Industry. The 29-year-old grew up knowing him as her father, together with her biological father.
Bennie Peters used to work in the corporate field and also run the Sunset Manor Guest House in Potchefstroom. He got married to Elzabe Peters, a clinical psychologist. Elzabe also cared for Demi when she was but a baby and she was so fond of her.
All of her parents were instrumental in her growth and she was very close to them. Growing up in 2 different homes wasn’t so difficult as all her parents loved and supported her.
From her parent’s other marriage, Demi had a half-sister named Franje who was born with a medical condition known as cerebellar agenesis. Franje was Tim’s wife’s motivation for a lot of things but she, unfortunately, passed away in May 2019 at the age of 13.
She Won Miss S.A and Miss Universe the Same Year She Graduated from University
Demi Nel-Peters attended North-West University and graduated with a degree in Business Management in March 2017. A few days after her graduation from the university, she competed in a beauty pageant competition which earned her the crown of Miss South Africa 2017.
After her coronation and the new title, the model was torn between going for the Miss World and Miss Universe competition which was scheduled to hold at about the same period. She was however sent to participate in the latter which was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and won the title of Miss Universe in the same 2017.
Throughout her reign, Demi visited quite a good number of countries and also clamored for women’s rights. She campaigned for women to be paid the same as men in their various places of work.
With her win in the Miss Universe competition, Demi Leigh Nel-Peters was the second woman from South Africa to achieve such a feat. The first woman was Margaret Gardiner who won the title in 1978, almost 4 decades prior.
Leigh Launched a Self-Defense Campaign
Demi launched the ‘Unbreakable’ campaign which prompted her to host workshops on self-defense for women.
The inspiration for this came after she was car-jacked a month after winning the Miss South Africa title. The incident happened at Hyde Park and even after handing over the keys to her car, she was still forced to get into the car by the jackers.
The only way this beauty queen was able to escape was through her self-defense tactic. She revealed that she punched one of the carjackers in the throat and was able to flee to safety and got help.
As a result of that experience, Tim’s wife believes it is necessary for every woman to be able to defend herself in times like such.
Asides from launching this campaign, the one-time Miss South Africa also works as an Influencer and ambassador to different brands. One such brand is price.com. Additionally, she owns a jewelry line known as 153 jewelry.
Leigh Nel-Peters Met her Husband, Tim Tebow at His Charity Event in South Africa
After winning the title in Las Vegas, she met with her now-husband at the charity event he hosts annually. It was at Night to Shine hosted by the Tim Tebow Foundation that the couple met for the first time.
The event took place in South Africa and was inspired by Tim’s need to help people with special needs. The beauty queen got involved in the event because of her half-sister Franje who also had special needs due to a medical condition.
As soon as they met and conversed, they instantly felt a connection that kept them talking longer and more often. The ‘cherry on top’ was their shared religious beliefs which kept them moving strongly through their dating period and even marriage.
By July (15) 2018, the NFL American football player, announced the relationship with Demi. A month later, they went Instagram official when the beauty queen posted a heartfelt message for her then-boyfriend on his birthday.
By September 11, 2018, the couple met each other’s families with Leigh introducing her 4 parents to Tim Tebow and his parents. Just like Leigh, Tim is also a ‘family-oriented’ guy and shared a really close connection with his father.
Now, Leigh is very involved in Tim’s charity foundation and has done a lot of charity work with him.
Tim Tebow Proposed to Leigh after Few Months of Dating
After meeting both families in September, things began to tilt towards a wedding and Tim Tebow began to plan an engagement. He secretly bought an engagement ring in December and planned out an entire surprise engagement.
On January 10, 2019, the former New York Jets player proposed to his girlfriend, Leigh. He convinced her to attend a family function at his parent’s farm home in Florida and he also flew in Demi’s family to celebrate the proposal.
The proposal happened while the couple took a walk, and stopped by a lake that had a custom arch engraved with their first meet date. They spoke about their relationship so far and Tim knelt down on a knee and asked Demi to marry him.
The former Miss Universe accepted the proposal and was serenaded by her favorite South African artiste, Matthew Mole. Afterward, everyone celebrated over dinner at a club in Jacksonville.
The couple then went on to celebrate the engagement again, the next day at Disney World.
Demi Nel-Peters and Tim Tebow Got Married 5 years ago in 30 Minutes
The concluding months of 2019 were all about the couple getting ready for their big day. They began to practice the cha-cha dance in September in view of their wedding day.
On January 20, 2020, Demi Leigh Nel-Peters and Tim Tebow got married at the La Paris Estate located in Cape Town, South Africa. The event only lasted 30 minutes and had a little over 200 people in attendance.
Tim Tebow and his wife had a fusion of traditions – South African and American, for their wedding as they wanted to enjoy every bit of the day and have no regrets.
After the half-hour ceremony, Demi and her husband went honeymooning in Soneva Jani resorts, Maldives. Their honeymoon ended up being a prolonged one because of the Covid-19 shutdowns and restrictions.
They have since celebrated 3 years of marriage and are said to be living happily in their $1.4m Jacksonville mansion located in Glen Kernan Golf and Country Club.
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Brief Insight into Demi Leigh Tebow’s Husband’s Career
Tim Tebow was a quarter-back and point guard for several American football teams including the Jaguars and New York Jets. However, he hasn’t played any games since 2015 because she was dropped for his weird style of play. Despite being a free agent since then, he tried making a comeback into the sport in 2021.
At the age of 7, the quarterback, Tim, was diagnosed with Dyslexia and although this did not really affect his play, he still had it difficult adopting a new style of play to fit new times and games.
His style of play is commendable and very useful but most teams he played with wanted an evolution from him and as it wasn’t forthcoming, he was dropped.
After his American football career, Leigh’s delved into baseball in 2016. After playing for about 5 years, he announced his retirement while with the New York Mets.
Tim Tebow worked as a TV analyst and has starred on ESPN’s First Take. Years back, he worked as a college football analyst for ESPN, and since then has been linked to the organization in one way or another.
Tim has also tried out a career in filmmaking as he was part of the 2019 movie Run the Race as an executive producer. He is also an entrepreneur who launched his Kindli app in 2020. He is said to be worth about $5 million.
Tim Tebow and his Wife are Yet to be Parents
The couple who has been married for a couple of years now, are yet to be parents. Tim stated that they have spoken about having kids and are excited, looking forward to when they would start having children but are yet to figure out the right time. For now, they are dog parents to Paris, Kobe, and Chunk.
Demi Leigh and her husband adopted three dogs who now serve as their babies. They share pictures of the dogs on their social media and are happy to have them in their lives.
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