Michael Strahan – a world-renowned footballer who has a successful career switch into a prominent TV personality is often surrounded by rumors and allegations.
Is Michael Strahan gay? Well, this rumor got a lot of attention as the allegations came from someone very close to Michael Strahan – his ex-wife! Though Strahan has readily denied this and has strongly stated his sexual orientation to be heterosexual, we thought of digging deep to find out if there is any truth underneath the famous rumor!
Michael Strahan – One of the Greatest Players
Michael Strahan is a household name when it comes to sports and TV journalism. He is globally recognized as a celebrated analyst of football. Strahan played for 15 years for the New York Giants.
After he retired from sports, he didn’t vanish into the infamous retirement plans but instead became a prominent household name by appearing as a journalist, staying in the limelight that he is used to for so long.
Michael Strahan’s career never took a nosedive, it was celebrated when he was in court playing football, and it is celebrated today when he is a TV star as a football analyst.
Let’s take a look at Michael Strahan’s career and life to know better before proceeding to claims made about his sexuality.
Michael Strahan Life
Michael Strahan’s full name is Michael Anthony Strahan and he was born on November 21st, 1971, in Houston, Texas to Gene Willie Strahan and Louise Strahan. He was affectionately referred to as Bob when he was young. He has five siblings and is the youngest among six kids.
Strahan graduated from Westbury High School and went for higher studies at the Texas Southern University. He started playing football in the senior year of his high school at Westbury. Playing just one season at the high school was enough for him to land a scholarship offer from Texas Southern University.
Strahan graduated from the university in 1993 and opted to play the National Football League professionally.
Michael Strahan Caree
Michael Strahan boasts an illustrious career. The time he got drafted into the NFL by the New York Giants in 1993, there has been no looking back, even though his first year was a miserable one, full of injuries causing him to miss crucial matches where he could show his full strength. He started to get recognized in 1997 when he started playing with his full might as a quarterback, he recorded 14 sacks in 1997, as it was called his breakout season.
Strahan was also voted to the Pro Bowl that year and was also named the “first-team all-pro” by the Associated Press. 1998 was another amazing year where he was again voted for a Pro-bowl and an all-pro team.
Michael Strahan played for the New York Giants for straight 15 years. Strahan was an asset for the New York Giants. They won their super bowl trophy while he collected lots of awards such as NFL Defensive Player of the year in 2001 and was also declared NFC Defensive Player of the year in 2001 and 2003.
Michael Strahan made history year after year in his prime time of career – 1997 to 2005. He was named as the best defensive end ever along with defending the run that made the fans, followers, and even the coaches, experts, and his peers as the “complete defensive end.”
Michael Strahan broke the record of Mark Gastineau from the New York Jets by setting us sacks in a season for 22.5.
The last year of Strahan with the New York Giants proved to be the one where he led the Giants towards their championship after a long drought since 1990.
Strahan retired from the NFL in 2008.
The fabulous football career of Michael Strahan came to an end with naming the pro bowl roster for a record seven times. In his career spanning about 15 years, he has four career inceptions, 854 career tackles, three career touchdowns, and 24 forced fumbles.
It was a proud moment for Strahan when he got inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame in the year 2014. He was also inducted into the black college football hall of fame in 2014. Another notable achievement of his career was that in the year 2021, New York Giants retired his number 92 officially.
Michael Strahan Career in Media
After retiring from the court, Michael Strahan announced that he will join Fox NFL Sunday as a football analyst along with Howie Long, Terry Bradshaw, and Jimmy Johnson.
Michael started jumping up in this new career as he made leaps after leaps in the world of football journalism. For Good Morning America Michael Strahan didn’t have to struggle to get featured at all. In 2016, ABC announced that Michael Strahan will be working full-time for Good morning America along with host Ripa.
Michael Strahan and his co-host Ripa won the daytime Emmy awards for the category “Outstanding talk show host” twice.
Michael Strahan Personal Life
Michael Strahan is the father of three daughters and a son. He has been married and engaged multiple times. He is known to be a woman-magnet and keeps on attracting many popular and unpopular names.
Strahan married Wanda Hutchins in 1992. She was the CEO and owner of Wanda home designs and was a specialist in designing home décor accessories and furniture.
They both had two children together – namely daughter Tanita Strahan and son Michael Anthony Strahan Jr.
The couple got divorced in 1996, after four years of marriage but they ended up on good terms and continue to co-parent their children.
Michael walked the aisle for a second time with Jean Muggli in 1999 but this marriage also did not last long and the couple filed for divorce on 20th July 2006.
They both have two daughters Sophia Strahan and Isabella Strahan together.
Jean Muggli reportedly walked away with a hefty $15 million as a settlement after divorce.
Michael Strahan – Is he gay?
This is the question that surfaced across the media when Jean Muggli accused Michael Strahan of having an extramarital affair with another man – namely Ian Smith who is a renowned TV doctor.
Ian Smith is a famous doctor on “celebrity fit club” and “the view”. He also writes in a men’s health magazine.
According to the details, Jean Muggli also stated that Michael Strahan moved into the one-bedroom apartment owned by Ian Smith. She stated, “and you can say an alternative lifestyle sprouted.”
Both Michael Strahan and Ian Smith profusely denied any sort of sexual relationship between them.
Ian Smith stated that he is a happily married man and an intimate relationship with Michael Strahan or any other man is not even a possibility.
Strahan has also profusely denied all the accusations charged by his ex-wife. When he appeared on Wendy Williams radio show he strongly denied all the rumors.
He recalled Jean as the bad period of his life, who also previously complained about physical abuse in their relationship. She also stated in the court that Strahan was sick and recorded his sister’s videos as well. None of it could be proved in the court, yet Jean walked away with a big divorce settlement and a monthly amount under the name of child expense.
Strahan was rumored to be dating Kayla Quick for a while.
Strahan is friends with Lance Bass who was one of the members of the popular boy band NSYNC and is openly gay. He also appeared in one of the episodes of the Simpsons in which he was showcased to be kissing another man which added to the rumors of him being gay gain momentum yet again.
Michael Strahan is currently dating Marianna Hewitt who is a lifestyle blogger and is also a popular social media personality.
“I think early on when you are reading all these things in the paper that are not true; I am not an adulterer, I am not gay. I mean, I did not beat anybody.”
Michael Strahan Net Worth
Michael Strahan’s net worth is more than $60 million. He made a fortune by playing in the NFL first and later with his flourishing TV career. According to the sources, it is estimated that Michael earns more than $17 million each year.
Final Verdict
Is Michael Strahan really gay? No matter how much we look at his career as a professional footballer and later as a famous television personality, we cannot deduce a person’s sexual orientation unless they officially come out or are witnessed to confirm suspicions. Strahan is a well-kept and well-known personality across America and has a huge fan following.
He has so far openly denied all kinds of rumors when it comes to the ‘Is Michael Strahan gay’ question. He dates women and has been married thrice in the past, to the opposite gender, as well as had engagements. There hardly presents a reason to hide it if he was, as equal marriage is something which is openly accepted and now being officially recognized on sports platforms and organizations as well.
