While Marcus Freeman is leading Notre Dame football to victory, he considers his wife, Joanna Freeman, the MVP behind the scenes.

The head coach, who guided the Fighting Irish to their 2025 Orange Bowl win, met Joanna during his days as a linebacker at Ohio State University before the pair married in February 2010.

The couple later welcomed six children, prompting Marcus to juggle his demanding work on the field with his responsibilities at home. Rather than keeping his personal and professional lives separate, though, Marcus strives to "blend" his real-life family with his football one.

During a December 2024 appearance on Outta Pocket with RGIII, Marcus explained that there isn't "a balance between being head coach and being husband and father."

Instead, he enjoys the intersection of the roles, specifically when his family attends practices and his kids interact with the players.

"I try to blend it as much as I can to see my family, but also, I want our players to see me as a father and husband," Marcus said. "I think some of the greatest lessons I learned in college were seeing my coaches just interact with their families."

So who is Marcus Freeman's wife? Here's everything to know about Joanna Freeman and her relationship with the Notre Dame football head coach.

She is from Ohio

Joanna was raised in a close-knit Italian family in Massillon, Ohio, where Sundays were often reserved for watching the Cleveland Browns, per Yahoo! Sports.

According to the outlet, her connection with Marcus was rooted in their shared backgrounds: They were both public school kids from Ohio who grew up with strong family ties.

She worked as a news reporter

Joanna formerly worked as a television reporter for WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, specializing in news and traffic, per her bio on X.

However, shortly after they married and welcomed their first child, Marcus was offered a job at Kent State University.

They considered the idea of Joanna staying put to continue excelling at her job, but she wanted to keep their family together and decided to relocate with him.

Marcus told Yahoo! Sports that he recalled Joanna saying, "If you're going to do this, we're going to do this together."

They met during college

According to Joanna, she and Marcus "don't have a super romantic love story," but it's a lasting one.

She recounted to Yahoo! Sports that they met during college when he was a linebacker at Ohio State University, and she was a student at nearby Otterbein University.

The pair lived in the same Columbus housing complex and were later introduced by a mutual friend.

"We had a lot of breakups and make-ups," she said. "We fell hard. We fell fast. We were really young when we met, and a lot of ways, we really grew and matured into adults together.”

They married in February 2010

Marcus and Joanna tied the knot on Feb. 20, 2010, according to his Instagram.

In honor of a decade as husband and wife, Marcus posted a heartfelt Instagram tribute, writing, "Celebrating 10 years of being married to the love of my life and the glue to the Freeman family. Happy anniversary Jo!"

Although "it hasn't always been easy," Marcus told Yahoo! Sports that he is grateful to have her by his side. "There’s no one else I’d rather do life with than her," he told the outlet.

Marcus also shared some of his favorite qualities about his wife, saying, “She has the most pure heart."

"She’s loyal to her family and people that she loves," he added. "She’s an Italian pistol. If I’m a jerk, she’s going to be ready to fire back. But she’s so loyal."

They share six children

Marcus and Joanna have six children: Vinny, Siena, Gino, Nico, Capri and Rocco.

In May 2021, Marcus voiced his deep appreciation for Joanna’s dedication to their family on Instagram.

"I don’t know how you do it, but somehow you make raising six kids on your own look effortless," he captioned a family photo.

Most recently, Joanna and the children joined Marcus on the field after Notre Dame's Sugar Bowl win in January 2025.

He has described her as the “rock” of the family

Marcus often shares how much Joanna means to him, especially when it comes to managing their family while he’s away coaching.

In August 2020, he celebrated her birthday with a meaningful Instagram post, calling her the "Freeman rock."

While speaking on the Outta Pocket with RGIII podcast in December 2024, Marcus reflected on the challenges of balancing his responsibilities as a husband, father and coach and Joanna's vital role in their partnership.

"To do what I do, you have to have the most unselfish wife in the world," he said.

Despite sometimes being on her own, Joanna remains supportive and understanding of Marcus’s career.

“If I thought as his wife, his heart wasn’t in the right place, it’d be hard for me to deal with the absence of him,” she told Yahoo! Sports. “But I know he’s making a positive impact, he wants to make people better and truly wants best for the people around him.”

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