Brooklyn Adams Talks 10-Year Amon-Ra St. Brown Romance, ‘Lonely Lifestyle’ and How She “Really” Feels About WAG Title (Exclusive)

NEED TO KNOW

• Influencer Brooklyn Adams has been dating Detroit Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for almost 10 years

• The influencer, model and registered nurse shares a look at her lifestyle and relationship with the NFL star

• Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively, Adams opens up about the ways she and St. Brown support each other both on and off the field

The world got to know Brooklyn Adams in July 2024 in Netflix’s Receivers, which peeled back the curtain on the lives of some of the NFL’s best wide receivers, including her longtime boyfriend, Amon-Ra St. Brown.

When cameras were rolling, she was going through nursing school and in a long-distance relationship with the Detroit Lions star — but a lot has changed since then.

The influencer, 26, graduated from nursing school in August 2024, and soon after, the high school sweethearts bought a house in Michigan, ending the long-distance aspect of their relationship, Adams tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“We bought a house and were both ready to start our lives together. He was so focused on football. I was so focused on nursing school that we put so much on hold in our relationship, and finally wanted to do something together,” Adams says.

After taking a break from the textbooks, she took time to reflect on what she truly wanted to do. With the help of her partner of nearly 10 years, they created the St. Brown Foundation.

“I sat down with Amon-Ra and decided that we are in such an amazing space with so many opportunities, and we’re so grateful for the life that we have,” she explains. “For us, it was more about how we can give back. We’re a nonprofit that has started a foundation in education. That’s where my nursing goal and my nursing career have transitioned.”

“I knew I wanted to work in the hospital, but it led me down a different path,” she continues. “I couldn’t be any happier. We’re a nonprofit that’s focused on kids in education and giving them better opportunities and better education.”

Adams serves as the lead of the St. Brown Foundation, which focuses on youth literacy in Michigan.

“It’s a focus on literacy, to help get their literacy rates up, because literacy in the United States, but specifically in Michigan, is really low,” she explains. “We started this foundation with the mindset that Amon-Ra and I always had great opportunities in education. Our parents did an amazing job giving us those opportunities. Looking back at what we were given, we realized that few people have that. We wanted to give back and make sure that kids get that.”

Now settled in Michigan, Adams says working for the foundation has helped her “be involved in the community a lot more.”

“Now that we’re here and being involved, we love it out here. We love the people and the culture,” she says. “Honestly, out of all the places we could have ended up, I know we’re both happy to be in Michigan.”

Though most people view her as just a “WAG,” she tells PEOPLE that she “doesn’t like to be categorized as something” so one-dimensional.

“We’re more than wives and girlfriends of athletes,” she emphasizes. “I have a name, and if you got to know me, then you’d realize that I’m more than just a girlfriend.”

Adams recently did a campaign with Abercrombie to highlight what it looks like to be “In Her Own League,” where they re-categorized “WAGS” as “Woman Achieving Greatness and Success.”

“I love that they put a spin on that. I don’t like the WAG title,” she shares. “Nothing against anybody who likes it. It’s cute that girls put their own twist on it. But to be given that title, I’m not a fan.”

“There are so many girlfriends and wives who do so much. You have women who work full-time, and women who are moms,” she continues. “You have so many women that are doing so many things behind the scenes that they don’t get seen enough. To be put in this category is discrediting.”

She notes that dating a professional athlete is “not easy,” as you often end up in cities far from family and friends while your partner travels nearly every other week during the season.

“I try to explain that the players are gone all the time. Many people don’t understand that this can be a really lonely lifestyle,” she says. “We do so much and put up with a lot, and yes, we know what we signed up for. In no way am I complaining, but we do so much more than what we’re credited for.”

Crucial to the dynamic between her and St. Brown is that they are both “very supportive of each other.”

“We’re always in each other’s corner, always rooting each other on. We do little stuff that gives us a sense of normalcy and reminds us outside of football, it’s you and we’re one.”

St. Brown supports Adams through her career, and Adams does the same for him. Especially on game day, as she often helps him pick out his clothes and makes him a pre-game meal.

“Every home game I make, either depending on what time it is, breakfast, lunch or dinner,” she shares. “That’s my way of saying ‘I love you, good luck, go kill it.’ I make sure he has a good home-cooked meal.”

To prepare for game day, Adams says she doesn’t have any superstitions. She gets ready, helps send St. Brown off and then she heads to the stadium, often alongside other wives and girlfriends of players on the team.

“Eight out of 10 times, we’ll go pre-game at the bars downtown. We’ll arrive at the stadium about an hour and a half early, head to the field and I’ll see Amon-Ra again before the game,” she shares. “We’ll do a little good-luck kiss, take a few pictures and then game time starts.”

While the lead-up is fun, during the game, Adams says she is “stressed all the time.”

“I have so much confidence in our team. But I’m stressed all the time,” she tells PEOPLE. “I’m stressed out during the game. I’m always focused. I’m always paying attention. I rarely ever get up unless it’s for food.”

“I’m a stress eater. I’m constantly locked in during games. I’m always sick to my stomach,” she continues. “I’m always stressed. Game day stresses me out. I rarely eat before games and I can’t eat. When the game starts, then I’m munching away because I’m so stressed out.”

Despite the stress, Adams has found a core group of people within the organization she can rely on.

St. Brown has been with the Lions since he was drafted to the NFL in 2021. In the four years since, Adams says they’re both settled into the organization, crediting the kindness of the staff and fans.

“The organization as a whole is absolutely amazing,” she shares.

“Coaching, the staff, all of the coaches’ wives and the staff’s wives and the players’ wives and girlfriends and the community as a whole. We’re a tight-knit organization,” she says. “By year two or three, I felt settled. I know Amon-Ra would say the same.”

“We’re both so happy to be in such an amazing organization that truly cares for its players and their significant others. The fans are the greatest in the entire world.”

For Adams, balancing her career and supporting St. Brown’s career is “hard.” While she’s still “trying to figure it out,” she knows that their almost 10-year relationship is built on a solid foundation and that he “supports” her no matter where life takes them.

“He always pushes me. That was the mindset in which he was raised,” she says. “His parents always pushed him to be the greatest and never give up. That’s how Amon-Ra is. If I wanna do something, he will 100% back me on it. He never shuts down anything. We’re each other’s person. We support each other when it comes to everything.”

Read the original article on People