Peyton Manning has three rings to his name: the Super Bowl Championship ring he got with the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, the championship ring he got with the Denver Broncos from Super Bowl 50 in 2015, and the wedding ring he got when he said “I do” to Ashley Manning (née Thompson) in 2001. Funny enough, Peyton wouldn’t have two of those rings if he never met Ashley.
Ashley will undoubtedly be cheering him on in a new way as he hosts the 2024 Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday, November 20. The former NFL player returns for another year of co-hosting, this time alongside Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson. It’ll definitely be a night of country music to remember. Find out more about Ashley and her marriage to Peyton here!
She and Peyton Started Dating in College
Ashley grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, according to Heavy.com. She was introduced to Peyton by her parents’ next-door neighbor during the summer before Peyton’s freshman year in college. The unnamed neighbor had played football at the University of Texas and hosted Peyton on a recruiting trip. This mysterious matchmaker thought that Peyton and Ashley would be the perfect fit — and they were right.
Ashley and Peyton Have Twins Together
The couple was married on March 17, 2001 — aka, St. Patrick’s Day. March is quite the lucky month for Peyton and Ashley because, on March 31, 2011, Ashley gave birth to twins — son Marshall Williams and daughter Mosley Thompson.
Ashley Talked Him Out of Retiring in 2011
Peyton won his first Super Bowl ring in 2006 while playing for the Indianapolis Colts. He stayed with the team for five more years until a series of neck surgeries forced him to miss the 2011 season. After his time with the Colts, a then-37-year-old Peyton considered hanging up his helmet. “Ashley was the one that was saying, ‘Peyton, you’ve got to try. You’ve got to try.’” Peyton told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King. “Once I did it, I was going at it, and then I started seeing a little bit of light there. So, yeah, she was the one who kind of pushed me through it.”
“And really, I had a peace about it. I had a peace. Because, I had this unbelievable string of health for 20 years—since I was 15 years old as a sophomore in high school,” added Manning. “So who was I to complain now that I’m injured? I’ve given it as good a run as I can give it. I’ve got kids now. I had a peace about it. So I didn’t feel like I had to play to get another win or a touchdown. But she’s like, ‘You’ve got to try.’ So I was glad that she pushed me to do it. Once I did it, I was going at it, and then I started seeing a little bit of light there. So, yeah, she was the one who kind of pushed me through it.”
Peyton eventually retired after securing his second NFL championship with the Colts, capping an extraordinary career on the gridiron.
Ashley Is an NBA Team Owner
Ashley’s interests in sports aren’t limited to just football. In 2012, she joined a group that included Justin Timberlake, Penny Hardaway, and former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. to become a minority owner of her hometown’s basketball team, the Memphis Grizzlies, according to the Denver Post.
She’s Active in Charity Work
In addition to her work as co-owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, Ashley is busy in the philanthropy world. She is the co-founder of the PeyBeck Foundation along with her husband, per Sportskeeda. PeyBeck “helps underprivileged and at-risk youth in Louisiana and Indiana in the state of Tennessee.” She also participates in charity events to raise money for breast cancer since her mother battled the disease. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashley worked with Peyton to serve over 600 meals to frontline healthcare workers at a hospital in Heritage, Tennessee.