Vea and Potoa’e, UW and NFL teammates, wed in hours
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea married his longtime girlfriend Alexus Atchley — like him, an accomplished former University of Washington athlete — on Tuesday with his NFL team congratulating the couple via a tweet in the late afternoon which included a photo.
It was a busy day for the Huskies turned Bucs and noces.
Two hours earlier, the NFL team did the same for another former UW defensive tackle and current Tampa Bay player, Benning Potoa’e, who married his fiancée Victoria.
No, it didn’t appear to be a wedding double header with tweeted photos of each offering different backdrops. Details, such as the location of the ceremony, were not provided.
An obvious next question would be: Fellow ex-Husky and Bucs aside from linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, marital plans?
Vea and Atchley met at UW, with him making the Huskies’ College Football Playoff team in 2016 and her a starter a few months earlier for the UW Final Four women’s basketball team. He has spent the last four seasons with the Bucs.
They got engaged in late 2020 as Vea recovered from an injury before recovering in time to play Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs and split the Bucs’ 31-9 win and earn a ring, according to accounts. press reports.
The 5-foot-9 Atchley, a California native similar to Vea, was originally a basketball player in Colorado before coming to UW without a scholarship and winning one.
Last October, Atchley and her father Mitch were in Tampa Bay to participate in the Treasure Chest 5K and Fun Run, in honor of her mother Stacy Marie, who died of breast cancer in June 2020 after an 18-month battle.
Not much is known about the Potoa’e union. He is a native of Dupont, Washington, and played for the Huskies from 2016 to 2019, spending two seasons at UW with Vea. He was inactive for Super Bowl LV, but he still received a ring.
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