Just so you know, one of the most talented basketball stars, Kyrie Irving, is not married but is engaged to the Instagram model Marlene Wilkerson. The couple got engaged in September 2019 after meeting in December of the previous year.
In June 2021, Irving and her beau welcomed their first child, a baby boy together.
Kyrie’s fiancé Marlene Golden Wilkerson is an American model and blogger from Compton, California, United States.
The couple seems to be head over heel with each other and often appear on one another’s social media handles.
They reportedly began seeing each other in 2018 and are still together, enjoying their life blissfully.
Well, not exactly.
Kyrie recently made headlines not because of his spectacular gameplay but because of his anti-Semitic content on social media.
Because of this, he was the subject of a backlash, and on November 3, 2022, his former team Brooklyn Nets, suspended him for at least five NBA games.
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Did you know in February 2017, Kyrie, in an interview for a podcast, stated that he believes that the Earth is flat?
Well, this article is more about his fiancé Marlene Golden Wilkerson, but we will try to cover Irving’s controversies at the end, so please read the whole thing.
Also, check out some of the facts about Wilkerson in the table below.
Quick Facts
Full Name | Marlene Wilkerson |
Nick Name | Golden |
Age Birthdate | August 18, 1993 |
Age | 29 Years Old |
Birthplace | Compton, California, United States |
Father’s Name | Not Known |
Mother’s Name | Alaine Lee Lugo |
Sibling | One Brother |
Nationality | American |
Marital Status | Engaged |
Fiancé | Kyrie Irving |
Fiancé’s profession | Professional Basketball Player |
Children | One Son (Name not revealed) |
Religion | Christianity |
Height | 5 Feet 7 Inches /1.73 m/173 cm |
Weight | 52 kg/114 lbs. |
Hair Color | Black |
Eye Color | Dark Brown |
Ethnicity | Mixed |
Tattoos | None |
Zodiac Sign | Leo |
Profession | YouTuber, Influencer, & Model |
School | San Jacinto High school |
University | California State University |
Salary | Not Known |
Net Worth | $500,000 |
Social Media | Instagram, YouTube |
Last Update | June 2023 |
Early Life & Education
Early Life
The basketball star Kyrie Irving’s fiancée Marlene Wilkerson was born on August 18, 1993, in Compton, California, United States.
Her mother, Alaine Lee Lugo, worked as a registered nurse, but not much is known about her father.
Well, it is known that he is of African American ancestry, though. So basically, she was raised by her single mother.
Mother Alaine has worked as an Administrator Director of Patient Care Services at Bethany HomeCare in Moreno Valley, California, since 1995.
Marlene grew up with her only sibling, a brother, but she has not revealed his identity on social media.
Education
Marlene Wilkerson attended San Jacinto High School in San Jacinto, California.
After graduation, she enrolled in California State University in Dominguez Hills in 2011. After four years, Wilkerson graduated with a degree in Marketing in 2015.
Age, Height, Weight & More
Born in 1993, Marlene Wilkerson is 29 years old as of 2023.
The super-hot social media influencer stands 1.73 meters tall and weighs around 114 lbs.
Even though she is a little shorter than the average American woman, Wilkerson looks cute when standing beside her fiancé Kyrie who is 1.88 meters tall.
Similarly, she looks dreamy with her black curly hair and beautiful dark brown eyes.
Career
Marlene began working as a marketing associate for Victoria’s Secret in November 2011. After working for three years, in 2014, she joined Hillstone Restaurant as a server.
A year later, the California native started to work at Crystal Clean LA. She served as a marketing intern in the company.
Finally, in June 2015, Marlene founded her brand, The Find Guru. She serves as the CEO of the brand to this day.
Besides running her own company, the 29 years old lifestyle guru, model, and blogger Marlene Wilkerson seeks to spread a clean, healthy, and natural lifestyle through her YouTube channel called The Find Guru.
She created the channel on September 6, 2015.
Marlene mostly creates content related to fashion, hair and makeup, and workout.
According to Socialblade, her channel has over 782k subscribers and 136 videos with over 51.75 million views as of this writing.
One video on her channel explains how she started her own business at the age of 20.
She reveals that she began her own clothing line after college graduation, using social media to market her products.
Aside from all these, Wilkerson is also striving to establish a career as an Instagram model.
Her Instagram handle has more than 421k followers.
Through the platform, she gives insight to her followers as to how she lives her life.
Be it fitness, motivation, or nutrition, her main aim is to propagate positivity and happiness among people.
All About Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving, originally Kyrie Andrew Irving, is a professional basketball player who currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association.
He was born in Melbourne, Australia, on March 23, 1993, to American expatriates Elizabeth Irving and Drederick Irving.
He grew up with his two siblings, Asia and London.
Growing up in West Orange, New Jersey, Kyrie played basketball at Montclair Kimberley Academy for his freshman and sophomore years.
After a sophomore year, he transferred to St. Patrick High School.
In 2010, Kyrie, as part of the United States national team, won gold at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.
He played colligate football for Duke Blue Devils at Duke University, for whom he committed on October 22, 2009, in a TV broadcast on ESPNU.
Irving performed xtremely well for the Devils, but in 2011 he announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft.
He was picked first overall by the Cavaliers in that year’s draft.
After seven seasons with the Cavs, Irving requested a trade, reportedly wanting to be more visible of his own team instead of staying in LeBron’s shadow.
On August 22, 2017, he was traded to the Boston Celtics.
Moreover, Irving signed with the Nets on July 7, 2019, and had been playing for the team until he requested his trade ahead of the NBA trade deadline on February 9, 2023.
He currently plays for the Dallas Mavericks. In fact, he led the team to victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on his debut game with his new teammates in front of a cheering Luka Doncic on the bench on February 8, 2023.
How It All Started?
Kyrie and Marlene reportedly began dating in 2018. Before that, Marlene was romantically involved with soccer player Layvin Kurzawa and basketball player Dexter Strickland.
Though their first encounter or date has not been revealed, they were first spotted in public in 2018 at Kyrie’s Invitational.
In 2019, the couple ignited engagement speculation when Marlene was seen wearing a huge diamond ring on her finger.
Marlene “Golden” and Kyrie were out in New York City when the paparazzi snapped a picture of the stone on her finger.
The news became the concern of all the mainstream media in the nation.
According to TMZ Sports, the paparazzi congratulated the pair on their engagement, which they did not refute.
However, Marlene stopped following Kyrie on Instagram a year after revealing the rock on her finger. Kyrie also stopped following her, but whatever there was, it was quickly resolved.
Kyrie uploaded a photo of each other in August 2021 with the caption,” KALM energy. KALM presence. KALM in Love. My Ankh.”
Kids
In 2020, his then-rumored lover Wilkerson fell pregnant with a baby boy.
Months later, her Instagram handle was filled with pregnancy photos that featured her and her significant other, Irving.
One of her posts was captioned: “14 months postpartum, and it’s my favorite journey yet. “A teacher, leader, explorer, observer, and protector. The most gentle father and best friend. We celebrate your presence and impact daily.”
And in June 2021, Wilkerson delivered their first child together.
This was Wilkerson’s first but Irving’s second child.
The seven-time NBA All-Star was in a relationship with former Miss Texas USA, Andrea Wilson, from 2013 through 2015 before Wilkerson.
The couple welcomed a daughter, Azurie Elizabeth Irving, in November 2015.
Kyrie Irving Controversy
Point Guard Kyrie Irving recently made headlines with his antiemetic statements on social media.
It all began in March 2021, when he made his first tweet espousing Black Hebrew Israelite doctrine.
On October 29, 2022, he tweeted that deeming him antisemitic was “not justified” and that he intended to “learn from all walks of life and religions”.
The following month his then-team Brooklyn Nets, suspended him for a minimum of five games without pay after he once again refused to apologize for publicizing a movie that embraces and disseminates anti-Semitism.
Net Worth
Even though the exact number of Marlene’s net worth is not available, it is estimated that Wilkerson is worth at least $200,000 as of 2023.
She runs her own business and is one of the well-known social media influencers, which is basically her bread and butter.
Since she has close to a million YouTube subscribers, she makes decent money from the platform, that’s for sure.
Similarly, sponsored posts on Instagram could be her other source of income. On average, she makes $1,000 per sponsored post from the platform.
Talking about her fiancé Kyrie has a net worth of $90 million as of 2023.
He basically earns from his NBA contracts and brand deals.
Unfortunately, he lost several of his high-profile sponsorships following his anti-Semitic statements.
However, he still earns a big buck from his NBA deals.
On July 6, 2019, Irving signed the largest contract of his career and one of the largest in the NBA, worth $136.5 million with the Brooklyn Nets.
This four-year contract came with a $34.12 million average annual salary and a $136,490,600 guaranteed.
Between 2017 and 2018, Irving earned $36 million from salary and endorsements.
Similarly, the following year, he earned $43 million and $40 million the next year.