Puka Nacua and Hallie Aiono.Photo:Puka Nacua Instagram
Puka Nacua Instagram
Puka Nacuaquickly became a star in the 2023 NFL season — and his girlfriend, Hallie Aiono, has been rooting for him from the sidelines.
The Los Angeles Rams wide receiver has been dating his girlfriend since at least 2021 when he was a student at Brigham Young University. The pair have posted snaps of each other on their Instagrams, includingphotos of themattending a Los Angeles Lakers game together in January 2024.
So who is Puka Nacua’s girlfriend? Here’s everything to know about Hallie Aiono and her relationship with the NFL star.
Puka Nacua and Hallie Aiono.Puka Nacua Instagram
Aiono grew up in Arizona with three siblings. Her brother, Alex Aiono, opened up about their Polynesian background in an interview withHawaiimagazine in 2017, explaining that their mom is American while their dad is half Samoan and half Maori.
“That’s where the Polynesian roots are for my family,” he said of his dad. “Aiono is a Samoan last name. There’s a ton of Aionos in the Samoan culture. It’s like the last name Smith.”
Like Aiono, Nacua is also Polynesian, with his grandmother and mother immigrating from West Samoa, perThe Salt Lake Tribune.
Hallie Aiono, Taylor Aiono, Alex Aiono, and Sidney Aiono.Puka Nacua Instagram
Aiono’s brother, Alex, is a singer who gained fame from posting covers on his YouTube channel when he was a teenager. The family moved to Los Angeles from Arizona when he was 14 and his career took off since. He has collaborated with singers likeJohn Legendand ventured into acting, appearing inPretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
Aiono is close to Alex, often posting videos ofherself singing alongside himon her Instagram. The sibling pair even have matching tattoos of the letter A on their wrists.
“I’m so lucky to have you as my big brother and best friend. Always proud of you🤍,” Aiono wrote under aphoto of the two debuting their new ink on Instagram.
According to Aiono’sLinkedIn, she is based in L.A. and has held a number of positions since she was a teenager. Her first job was as a paraprofessional at Lauren’s Institute For Education where she worked in classrooms with children with special needs.
In 2019, she pivoted to working as a dental assistant and continued her career in the position for another four years until January 2023. During that time, she also started another gig as a content creator with a contract from NewNew in November 2022. As a creator for NewNew, Aiono wrote that she was able to travel to different states, making videos based on dares people gave her.
Aiono also regularly posts content on her own social media platforms, sharing videos and photos with her more than 100,000 followers onInstagramandTikTok.
Nacua and Aiono have kept the majority of their relationship offline, especially their early days, though Aiono has shared sneak peeks into their romance on social media.
One of the earliest TikTok videos that Nacua is featured in is from November 2021, where Aiono and one of her sisterstry to guess the names of NFL teams based on their logos. At points throughout the video, Aiono pans to Nacua, who laughs at how badly they are doing at identifying the teams.
“puka still loves me i think,” Aiono captioned the video.
Aiono is a mainstay in the stands while Nacua is on the field, often posting photos of herself at his games. Inone sweet videofrom January 2024, Nacua runs up to her on the sidelines to give her a quick kiss before heading back into the game.
Though her football knowledge may not have been the best in 2021, she has quickly caught up since Nacua joined the NFL, keeping track of his records. In January 2024, Aiono posted aTikTok of herself watching Nacua’s gameas he was set to beat the rookie record for receiving yards and receptions.
“Today is a very big day. Puka is gonna hit the rookie record for receiving yards and receptions,” Aiono said in the video. “He only needs four catches and 29 yards.”
The following day Aiono posted another video after Nacua successfully broke the record, sharing how she set up congratulatory decorations for him and cooked him a steak dinner as he flew home from his game against the San Francisco 49ers.
“So Puka did hit his record…like that is so insane, I never doubted him but like the more people are talking about it, I’m like ‘Yeah, that is crazy,’ ” she said in herTikTok. “But it’s like Puka, like yeah, he was meant to do this. Nothing surprising, but very, very exciting.”
In October 2023, Nacua scored his first touchdown in the NFL — making Aiono emotional. She posted a video of herself watching the special moment on TikTok and flipped the camera to herself when she started to slowly cry after realizing he’d done it.
She put her hands over her mouth in shock before wiping her tears away and saying, “Oh my god.”
The NFL reposted the sweet moment on theirInstagram, writing, “Puka Nacua’s girlfriend Hallie watching him score the game-winning touchdown will have you in your feels. 🥹.”
source: people.com