Katherine Webb was first thrust into the spotlight when her then-boyfriend was playing the biggest football game of his life, and A.J. McCarron’s now-wife is back in the spotlight again thanks to another huge football game.
Webb became known to America when McCarron led the Alabama Crimson Tide to the national championship game in 2013. She was featured prominently on camera and was a subject of much conversation (and admiration) from Brent Musberger, which actually went so far that ESPN responded to the commentary.
“We always try to capture interesting storylines and the relationship between an Auburn grad who is Miss Alabama and the current Alabama quarterback certainly met that test. However, we apologize that the commentary in this instance went too far and Brent understands that.”
Now, A.J. McCarron’s wife is back in the spotlight thanks to another huge football game. McCarron started Saturday’s NFL wild card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, filling in for the still-injured Andy Dalton. As fans got ready for the game, many turned their attention to McCarron’s wife as well, as Webb’s name was one of the top trending terms across social media and her pictures from the game were liked and shared thousands of times.
But unlike her first introduction to the national stage, when McCarron led Alabama to a title game win over Notre Dame, this one didn’t end so well. After McCarron brought the Bengals back from a 15-0 deficit to take a late lead, the team fell apart around him. First there was a fumble by running back Jeremy Hill that gave the Steelers the ball back with just over a minute remaining, and then two separate personal fouls with less than 20 seconds left that put the Steelers in easy field goal range.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? AJ McCarron finds A.J. Green for the go-ahead #Touchdown #PITvsCIN Bengals up 16-15, 1:50 4Q pic.twitter.com/L9EmMQkZ8f
— NFL (@NFL) January 10, 2016
After the game, many fans consoled A.J. McCarron’s wife on Instagram, leaving messages of support.
One wrote the following.
“… Every QB throws INT’s and has bad games. The winners are the ones who dig deep and fight back. That’s what AJ did. He had them in place to win the game but a fumble and selfish defense players cost them the game. Not AJ’s fault.”
Katherine Webb has gotten plenty of other attention in recent weeks. Back In October, she lashed out at NFL Gameday Live after a segment inadvertently showed some Bengals players naked in their locker room after a win over the Buffalo Bills.
How is this ok? What about female reporters required to get an interview? https://t.co/n3RSexRILR
— Katherine McCarron (@_KatherineWebb) October 19, 2015
She has gotten some bad attention, as well. When she posted a bikini picture last year, Webb received many degrading comments about her tiny frame.
Webb said she was shocked to see people say she was “anorexic, disgusting, you need to eat a hamburger, eat a donut, what happened, I’ve seen hotter, you look ugly … terrible comments.”
Webb later went on Instagram to answer the critics.
“To all of you who think I need to gain weight or eat more, I eat just fine. I am 5’11 so I have a lot more places to put my calories,” she wrote. “I am tall, I eat just fine and also suffer from thyroid problems so don’t make fun of me or my body when you probably have problems of your own. I rarely react to this kind of stuff, but this really bothers me.”
Even though the Cincinnati Bengals are headed home for a long winter after Saturday’s heartbreaking loss, A.J. McCarron and Katherine Webb still have a lot to look forward to this offseason. The model is several months pregnant, due with the couple’s first baby later in the spring.
[Image via Instagram /Katherine Webb]