North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick, 74, and Jordon Hudson, 25, reportedly ended their romance in late 2025, despite continuing to appear together at football games and public events.
TMZ broke the news October 30, citing sources close to Hudson with direct knowledge of the relationship. PEOPLE subsequently said it had confirmed the split.
Neither had personally addressed the reports, and TMZ said its requests for comment had gone unanswered. The reason for the breakup was not disclosed. A separate source told the outlet that Hudson had started seeing other people, without establishing her current relationship status.
The two met on a flight in February 2021, when Hudson was a student at Bridgewater State University. TMZ dates the start of their romance to 2022, although the relationship did not become widely known until June 2024.
Hudson Continued Appearing at UNC Games and the Kentucky Derby
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Hudson was on the sidelines at North Carolina’s October 24 home game against Syracuse, less than a week before the breakup reports. She had also attended other games this season, including the October 3 matchup against Notre Dame.
The pair attended the Kentucky Derby on May 2, where they were photographed holding hands. Hudson shared pictures from Churchill Downs on Instagram, writing, “Not the first time we’ve trudged through the mud together.”
Two people working in UNC’s football office told USA TODAY Sports that they hadn’t known about the reported separation. One was a high-ranking staff member; both spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the situation. The outlet also reported that Hudson accompanied him to a high school game in late September.
Their Business Partnership Reportedly Continues
The sources who spoke about the breakup said Belichick and Hudson remained close friends and intended to continue their business partnerships. Their professional work has included efforts to trademark phrases associated with his coaching career.
Hudson’s companies include Trouble Cub Enterprises and TCE Rights Management. The latter applied for trademarks including “Chapel Bill,” “Chapel Bill (Bill’s Version),” “The Belestrator” and “The Belichick Way,” according to business records reviewed by The Athletic.
The filings included a document Belichick signed on April 3, 2025, consenting to the applications. Massachusetts records identified Hudson as the manager of the company seeking the trademarks, alongside other entities involved in media production and merchandising.
Their Relationship Drew Scrutiny After a CBS Interview
During a CBS Sunday Morning interview that aired April 27, 2025, Tony Dokoupil asked Belichick how he and Hudson had met. Sitting nearby, she interjected, “We’re not talking about this.” Dokoupil asked whether that meant no, and she confirmed it.
Belichick later defended her intervention. In an April 30 statement, he said he had told his publisher’s publicist that promotional interviews should focus on his book, The Art of Winning. He argued that the edited segment falsely portrayed Hudson as trying to control the conversation when she was attempting to keep it on topic.
CBS News disputed any agreement to restrict the discussion, saying it had arranged a wide-ranging interview without preconditions or limitations.
UNC Previously Clarified Hudson’s Work for Belichick
In May 2025, the university said Hudson was not an employee of UNC or Carolina Athletics. Its statement to Us Weekly also rejected a report that she had been banned from football facilities and described her work as managing Belichick’s personal brand outside his university responsibilities.
Belichick addressed the issue again in a September 2026 interview with The Wall Street Journal. He rejected claims that Hudson was copied on every email or involved in everything he did at UNC.
He said he had asked staff to forward requests for his personal appearances to Hudson so those commitments could be coordinated outside university work. When he accepted the coaching job, he explained, he was juggling five television shows, a radio show and a forthcoming book.