Seau Ever After

It is happening on June 12th, 2021, Heather’s changing her last name and Kale’a could not be more excited, they will match. She has had a lot of practice in a lot of weddings the past 9 years to prepare her for her biggest performance yet, standing with her parents as they make it official. Tyler and Heather are tying the knot and as much as everyone says “finally” it is more like the “timing couldn’t be more perfect.” Sometimes we must wait and be patient to allow God to make a way for all things. A little walk through the last 14 years is a must so rewind to the beginning.

Tyler was 17yrs old and Heather was 16yrs old when they met at Mission Hills High School at the beginning of the school year in 2006. Tyler was the new guy on campus making friends and fitting in. He was a football player. Heather the soccer player. Both as student athletes their paths were sure to cross on campus. Then they did in the student training room of all places. Tyler would be in there getting treatment for his torn PCL. Heather would be in there hiding out from her 6th period PE class playing “trainer.” We all know Heather is beautiful, so it is no surprise that Tyler noticed her right away. After persistently talking to her and asking her to get together on the weekend Heather could no longer ignore that smile (ok let us be real it was the dimples) and that Seau charm. It was a first date at the bowling alley. We are not sure who won but with these competitors we can imagine it was a lot of laughs and maybe even some hidden animosity if her score ever passed his. Then on December 15th, 2006 he asked the first of important questions…will you be my girlfriend? Since that time, they have continuously been in each other’s lives and part of each other’s family.

After high school they did the long-distance relationship while Heather played soccer at Lyon College in Arkansas and Tyler played football at Palomar College before receiving a scholarship to play football at Delta State in Mississippi. Long distance was not ideal for two people that were used to being together and wanted to be in each other’s lives, so Tyler used his persuasion with his football coach to have the Delta soccer coach look at Heather. They were more than thrilled to offer Heather a scholarship to Delta State and soon she made the move from Arkansas to Mississippi. Life was changing again. The South had heat and humidity these California natives were not use to. If you know Tyler, he hates to be hot. The small-town life with fried foods and dry Sundays sure was different but memories were made, and experiences had, and the story continues.

In 2011 they became pregnant with their beautiful daughter. It may have come sooner than planned and maybe even a little scary. We can imagine it started something like the song by Kenny Chesney “There Goes My Life” with lyrics that say, “I’m just a kid myself how am I gonna raise one?” Then the two of them decided California is home and that is where they wanted to raise their daughter together. Kale’a was born October 26th, 2011. Two quickly became three and life looked a whole lot different. And the lyrics continued from that Kenny Chesney song “a couple years of up all night and few thousand diapers later”…”she smiles back at him draggin' that teddy bear"…”There goes my life, there goes my future, my everything." Kale’a has been their everything and the center of their family from day one.

In 2012 Tyler lost his dad and life threw even bigger obstacles at them. Nonetheless love found a way. They have been on many adventures, from the competitive chess games, to surviving the cold of the Boston snow, zip lined into the Cenotes in Cancun, bought a home in 2017, even lived through a renovation (not everyone can say that), family trip to the Hall of Fame and to Kauai, and surfed the lakes in Alabama and many other moments and memories along the way. Then nearly one year ago on Christmas 2019 together with Kale’a, in the presence of her parents and his Tyler proposed marriage on one knee while Heather replied, “I thought you were never going to ask.” That was a YES! Together they have grown up, grown together and love each other more today than yesterday and therefore now could not be the more perfect time for “Seau Ever After.”