JJ and Kealia Watt Share Their Funny First Date Story: ‘She Did Not Want to Go’ (Exclusive)

The former Arizona Cardinals defensive end and Chicago Red Stars player first met in Houston and tied the knot in 2020

Before JJ and Kealia Watt fell in love, the couple shared a hilarious first date in Houston.

Kealia, 31, tells PEOPLE, "We haven't talked about this in so long. We met in Houston and our first date was at Yard House."

JJ, 34, says, "It was a very stereotypical first date: dinner and Topgolf."

There was just one problem, according to the couple. "I did not want to go to Topgolf because I'm so bad at golfing. At the time, I was even worse," Kealia reveals.

The former soccer player tells PEOPLE, "I was begging him! I was like, 'Please, no, I don't want to go,' but he was like 'We're going, it's going to be fun.' "

What Kealia didn't know was that her now-husband had coordinated a special evening at the swanky golfing venue. "It was in Houston at a peak time, so I had rented a special spot and everything, so I was like, 'Well, we have to go. They know we're coming and it's all set up,' " says JJ.

Related: J.J. and Kealia Watt Expect to 'Be Coaching in Some Capacity' as Son Koa Starts Sports (Exclusive)

Kealia recalls her now-husband being right about the outing. "It was really fun, but I was nervous." JJ adds, "She was definitely nervous about the golf. She did not want to go. But it all worked out all right."

Despite the fun first date, JJ admits, "we haven't been back to Topgolf."

JJ and Kealia tied the knot at The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, in the Bahamas on Feb. 15, 2020.

Nowadays, the couple enjoys time at home with their son, Koa, who turns one year old on Oct. 23. "Our schedule has been a little wild lately, even though we're both retired now, but the best moments are when we're just hanging out with Koa," JJ says.

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The retired athletes also like to wind down with friends and family when they've got some downtime. "We always want to be around friends," says JJ, a Wisconsin native.

The former Arizona Cardinal shares a hometown with Miller Lite, which made it a no-brainer for him to team up with the beer brand for a new campaign to bring people together.

"It's a perfect connection," JJ says of the partnership. "It's about watching a game, it's hanging out, it's playing some cards or something. It's just all about the camaraderie. It's all about the people. It's all about telling stories and making memories or reliving old memories. I think that's some of our best moments are when we're just hanging out, having a couple of beers, telling stories."

Related: J.J. Watt Announces He's Joining CBS Sports as an NFL Analyst: 'Let's Have Some Fun'

JJ and Kealia both appear in Miller Lite's new ad, poking fun at the age-old "99 Bottles of Beer" tune with a few edits to the original lyrics.

Filming the spot was "a good time," says JJ. "It was so natural and it's a lot of fun working together."

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