Karl-Anthony Towns says the pandemic brought him closer to Jordyn Woods, deepening a friendship that eventually became a marriage.
The New York Knicks center told PEOPLE that having COVID-19 “broke me down to the core,” while also helping shape the man he became.
He said Woods witnessed his illness firsthand and understands why he remains particularly protective of himself and his family when it comes to the virus.
The interview comes as Towns serves as a paid spokesperson for Sanofi in a campaign promoting NUVAXOVID, a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine. Sanofi announced the partnership on Oct. 2.
His Mother Died Before He Contracted COVID Himself
Towns’ mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died on April 13, 2020, at 58 after spending about a month hospitalized with COVID-19. His father, Karl Towns Sr., also contracted the virus and recovered. Other relatives died as the pandemic continued.
Towns tested positive in January 2021 and became ill enough to require hospitalization. When he returned to basketball the following month, he described nights when his vital signs were poor.
He told ESPN that thoughts of his mother, niece, nephew and other family members had helped him keep fighting through the illness.
In his new interview, Towns said he has asthma and chose NUVAXOVID after speaking with his doctor. The FDA currently approves the vaccine for adults 65 and older and people ages 12 through 64 with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.
A Game of Uno Started Their Friendship
Towns and Woods met in Los Angeles in 2017, where she grew up and he was spending his offseason. Woods told Vogue that they connected over Uno and shared a competitive streak, each determined to win.
They began dating in May 2020 after several years as friends. Woods had already experienced losing a parent: her father, John Woods, died of cancer when she was 19.
During a June 16 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, following the Knicks’ NBA championship win, Towns said Woods’ advice while Jacqueline was dying had been “right on the money every single time.” He linked that trust to his decision to propose: “That’s why I had to put a ring on it.”
Woods Gave Him a Portrait of His Mother
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As the first anniversary of Jacqueline’s death approached, Woods commissioned her brother, artist John Woods, to paint a portrait of her. On April 10, 2021, she shared a photograph of Towns holding the finished work.
Woods said they had chosen a photograph of Jacqueline when she was younger that they both loved. She trusted her brother to capture her likeness and wrote in the caption that the experience “never gets easier” and that “you just get stronger.”
Towns thanked Woods publicly and shared the back of the painting in a separate Instagram Story. According to TheGrio, her handwritten message read: “To my King who was raised by a Queen. I love you.”
Her Engagement Ring Honored Both of Their Late Parents
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Towns proposed on Christmas Eve 2025 at Overstory in New York City, his representative confirmed to ABC News. The couple announced their engagement the next day in a joint Instagram carousel captioned “Marry Christmas.”
He worked with jeweler Bernard James on an approximately 15-carat emerald-cut ring. James told Town & Country that Woods’ fondness for rose gold helped inspire the pink diamonds in the design.
The band includes the couple’s birthstones alongside those of their late parents, according to Vogue. Inside, an inscription in Towns’ handwriting reads “I love you, my heart” in Spanish. Jacqueline was Dominican.
Woods said Towns had chosen the proposal date without knowing that her father had also proposed to her mother on Christmas Eve.
A Courthouse Wedding Came Four Days Before Malibu
The couple legally married at the Santa Barbara courthouse on Aug. 11, 2026, before celebrating with family and friends at a private oceanfront estate in Malibu on Aug. 15.
Woods wore a custom Danielle Frankel gown, while Towns wore Ralph Lauren. Guests included Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet, Hailey and Justin Bieber, Michael B. Jordan, Gayle King, Jaden Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and several of Towns’ Knicks teammates.
Woods told Vogue that she wanted the celebration to feel authentic and that her strongest memory was the love she felt from the people in the room.
They exchanged matching Tiffany & Co. Sixteen Stone wedding bands during the ceremony, then took a private moment afterward to read the personal vows they had written for each other.