Who Is Eli Manning's Wife? All About Abby McGrew

Eli Manning and Abby McGrew have been married since 2008

Eli Manning and his wife, Abby McGrew, are college sweethearts who have made their love last.

The former New York Giants quarterback met McGrew in the spring of 2002, while they were both students at the University of Mississippi.

After dating throughout college, the couple married on April 19, 2008, in front of family and friends in Los Cabos, Mexico. Since then, Manning and McGrew have welcomed four children together.

The football star retired from the NFL in January 2020, after playing 16 seasons for the New York Giants. During his retirement press conference, Manning called his wife and kids his "rock" throughout his career.

"I don't think I need to make public comments for my family to know how I think about them, but Abby, and to Ava and Lucy and Caroline and Charlie, you are my rock," he said.

Here's everything you need to know about Eli Manning's wife, Abby McGrew.

She graduated from the University of Mississippi

McGrew graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2005 with a degree in family and consumer sciences. She and Manning are both proud Ole Miss alums and give back to the university often. In 2010, they announced a $1 million gift to Ole Miss Opportunity, a need-based scholarship program.

"Abby and I were drawn to this program of helping people who might not be able to attend college otherwise. To us, it was a way of truly helping a lot of people," Manning said in a statement at the time.

After college, McGrew worked in fashion design.

She married Manning in Mexico

After getting engaged in 2007, the couple got married at the One & Only Palmilla resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the following year.

McGrew's six bridesmaids wore champagne-colored gowns, while Manning's six groomsmen donned khaki suits. The ceremony was witnessed by 60 loved ones, including Manning's parents, Archie and Olivia, and his brothers, Cooper and Peyton.

She and Manning have four kids

The couple have four children together: daughters Ava Frances, Lucy Thomas and Caroline Olivia and son Charles "Charlie" Elisha. Manning often shares photos of his kids on Twitter (McGrew is not on social media), which show them spending time in the pool, out to eat and playing dress-up.

Since retiring from the NFL, Manning has cherished the extra time with his wife and kids.

"It's good that I get to be around more," he told PEOPLE in October 2023. "I found out that just getting some car time with my kids can be the best time to get that chat in with them, get to know what's going on in their day and at school. It's been a lot of fun for me."

She and Manning are passionate about pediatric healthcare

In 2009, ABC7NY reported that McGrew and Manning were planning to build the Eli and Abby Manning Birthing Center through a generous donation to St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, New York.

The couple also raised over $2.5 million to open the Eli Manning Children's Clinics at Children's of Mississippi in 2009. And in 2016, McGrew and Manning made a personal pledge of $1 million to the Children's of Mississippi $100 million capital campaign.

"Every mother wants her children to have what they need, and when they need medical care, they want that care to be compassionate and to be available nearby," McGrew said during an interview with the hospital. "This is why Children's of Mississippi means so much to our family."

She and Manning love dressing up for Halloween

McGrew loves to dress herself (and her kids) up for Halloween. On Oct. 30, 2021, Manning shared a 15-year-old throwback photo of the couple on Twitter dressed up like Nintendo characters Mario and Princess Peach with friends Tim and Elisabeth Hasselback. "15 years ago. Giants Halloween party. With Tim and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Tim is wearing a wig but the stache is all natural," the former quarterback captioned the picture.

He followed up a day later with another Twitter photo of himself (minus McGrew) wearing a Chucky mask and his four kids dressed in their Halloween costumes, which included a spooky cheerleader, a witch, Cruella de Vil and a dalmatian. Manning also shared his kids' costumes on Twitter in 2020.

She and Manning are dog lovers

In addition to their four kids, Mcgrew and Manning also have a family dog, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Chester. The NFL pro shared with PEOPLE in 2014 that both he and Mcgrew grew up with labradors and wanted their children to grow up around animals as well.

"He's sweet with our kids," Manning told PEOPLE of Chester. "It's fun seeing my oldest starting to interact and wanting to play fetch and them having their own special relationship."

She and Manning are still Giants fans

McGrew was one of Manning's biggest fans during his days with the New York Giants. However, the former quarterback superstitiously believed that he was "jinxed" when McGrew watched his games from a stadium suite, as his brother Cooper told The New York Post.

"Abby almost always sits in the stands, but I guess once or twice she was invited to sit in a suite and things didn't end well … In the spirit of superstition, Eli told her, 'I don't care if it's 4 degrees in Green Bay, you're sitting in the stands,' " Cooper said.

"She's buying into it," he said of McGrew, adding that she is "a great gal." He continued, "She understands it. Eli told her to get her thermals ready … Anything for a 'W.' "

Although Manning is now retired, he and his family still support his old team. In January 2021, Manning shared a sweet photo on Twitter of himself and all four of his kids dressed in Giants gear and sitting on the couch. "We are dressed and ready. Let's go Giants!" he wrote.

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