The Untold Truth Of Holly Sonders

In January 2019, Holly Sonders confirmed to her fans that she was dating Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury. "Couldn't be any prouder of this one," she wrote on Instagram in response to news of Kingsbury's Cardinals gig, adding two heart emojis. "Truly the best human being I know. Congratulations K. Let's. Go."

She followed it up on her now-private Twitter handle, writing, "The desert just got a whole lot hotter. Congratulations @KliffKingsbury, so proud of you." She continued, "He's the best. And we are a little past the crush part."

News that Sonders and Kingsbury were in a relationship came after a whirlwind couple of months for the football celeb. In November 2018, Texas Tech let Kliff Kingsbury go from his position as their head football coach, who'd maintained a 35-40 record over six seasons. However, early that December, he landed the coveted offensive coordinator position for the college football powerhouse USC Trojans, as reported by ESPN. But Kingsbury didn't stick with that gig for long, as, a little over a month later, he became the head coach of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. He landed himself a huge job and secured a new romance? Did Kingsbury find a genie's lamp sometime during the holiday season?

Holly Sonders was previously married to sports television and radio host Erik Kuselias, but the couple split sometime in 2016. Per Deadspin, the pair reportedly started an affair when they co-hosted "Morning Drive" while Kuselias was still married to his first wife.

Although Sonders didn't speak publicly about her decision to divorce Kuselias, her comments on Twitter led us to believe the reasons behind the dissolution of their marriage were less than ideal. In response to a fan who idolized Kuselias on one of her posts, Sonders curtly replied, "I filed for divorce over a year ago...we have not been together in a very long time. Thanks."

The reason for their split was unclear, but Deadline reported that, during Kuselias' time at ESPN, multiple sources labeled him "the biggest d*****bag in the place," and he reportedly cheated on his first wife with his colleague Stephania Bell. He was also allegedly drunk during a "Monday" Night Football party and told a female ESPN employee, "I would like to f**k you." Take from that what you will.

In January 2017, Golf.com mentioned Holly Sonders in its annual list of beauties in the sport."Introducing @Holly_Sonders, one of the Most Beautiful Women in Golf for 2017! #MBW2K17," the publication announced on Twitter. That year marked Holly Sonders' fourth consecutive appearance on the list. In response to the title, Sonders tweeted, "Thank you again for including me in this years edition! Humbled."

Back In 2015, the photo shoot for golf's Most Beautiful Women took place at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Sonders gave a shout out to the former POTUS in a tweet with a picture from the shoot. Ah, her and Trump's friendship makes sense now. They both like golf!

While being acknowledged for her looks is flattering, Sonders believes that she brings more to the table than a pretty face. Speaking at a past interview, Sonders, who was addressing the mixed reactions that followed her transition into using her image to make bank (details on this later), said, "It took about a year to get rid of those followers and get like new followers who embrace it and understand, you know, a woman can be smart, a woman can be beautiful simultaneously."

While still serving as a Fox Sports golf analyst, Holly Sonders landed a cameo on an episode of "New Girl," a comedy featuring actress Zooey Deschanel that aired on the Fox network in 2015. "Had so much fun filming on the set of @NewGirlonFox," Sonders tweeted in February 2015. The episode aired that April, right around Masters week, as Sonders later posted on social media. Fox Sports' official Twitter account joined in on the hype, as well, tweeting, "Don't miss our very own @holly_sonders on tonight's episode of @NewGirlonFOX at 9/8c!"

So, just what was Sonders' episode of "New Girl" about? Yep, you guessed it — golf! Well, kind of. The episode, called "Par 5," involved Deschanel's character, Jessica Day, participating in a charity golf tournament. Sonders played herself and reported on Day's abhorrent golfing skills (via Netflix). "I've never seen so many strokes taken on a single hole in all my life," she said. "This has got to be some kind of record."

Three years after Fox Sports dropped her as a golf analyst, the network removed Holly Sonders from its golf telecasts altogether. Golfweek first reported the news in October 2018, including a statement by the channel that read, "Holly is a valued member of the Fox Sports family, and we're thrilled to continue working with her."

"I'm incredibly proud to have been a part of Fox Sports' USGA coverage," Sonders said of the decision. "The entire golf team has become like family, and I learned a lot working alongside them. I look forward to continuing my relationship with Fox Sports as I transition into a studio role and am excited about the opportunities ahead of me."

In an interview with the publication the following March, Sonders claimed the golf coverage at Fox was nothing like they'd aspired to because they were unable to secure enough PGA Tour rights. As of 2019, Sonders was an occasional host on "Undisputed" and "The Herd." She's since traded the small screen for digital media, where she offers video interactions with fans and virtual fitness and golf lessons for a price range of $200 to $600.Sonders also capitalizes on her image to make paid public appearances.

From the time Holly Sonders found her rhythm as a young golfer, she played with boys since there weren't that many girls embracing the sport."I was on the boys' golf team and set a school record in middle school," Sonders told the "Playing a Round" podcast. Back then, she added, chick golf dresses, shorts, and t-shirts hadn't made it to the market,so she had to wear loose-fitting clothing. 

More fascinating than that is the fact that Sonders was an all-round athlete."I played boys' softball and baseball and everything was kinda all boys until high school," she continued. "I was an All-State basketball player. A lot of people don't know this. They just think, you know, golf was it."

Because she stood out in golf, Sonders could have easily built a career in the sport after her run at Michigan State University. The big question is, why didn't she? Per her conversation with the "Playing a Round" podcast, it came down to making a living. The chances of her being a starving athlete were high. "I would have lived out of my car and then broke in like three days if I had tried to go on the Futures Tour back then," she said.

In late 2019, Holly Sonders began dating Dave Oancea, popularly known as Vegas Dave. When TMZ Sports asked how they first crossed paths, Sonders said, "I don't even know the real story. Like I said, our first date was at a strip club in Vegas, and that was that."Hardly a week had gone by when the confessed power couple found the perfect wedding destination: Cabo San Lucas. The Mexican city also made for the perfect place to propose.

The pair seemed to be going steady in August 2020 when Dave posted a picture of themselves gambling on Instagram with the caption, "I pick the winners she counts the money. 5-0 on baseball whales today. Just raking in the cash." In September of the same year, Sonders confirmed that they were still dating but living in separate places, in response to a New York Post article that included a quote from Dave. Sadly, the pair ended up splitting for good.

In a later chat with the "Dropping Bombs" podcast, Dave attributed their breakup to his busy schedule. "I didn't want her no more," he said."I could never give her attention 'cause all I wanted to do is f***ing work."

In 2023, Holly Sonders launched Exposed Sportz, a league where women compete with a small twist—bare-breasted—as she explained in an interview with Golf Digest's "The Loop" podcast. "Who wouldn't wanna gamble on women's topless sports? I mean, I remember back during Covid when people were gambling on the weather," Sonders remarked."While some in the golf world have already let me know that they think it's crazy or it's a bad idea, or it's not gonna sell, you know, I can tell you after two days, it's doing all of that already."

Speaking to TMZ Sports about the venture, Sonders said it was made unique by the fact that it is led by her (a woman) and backed by a woman leader with a relevant portfolio of adult industry experience: "My lead creative is a female. And she's shot the covers for Playboy and worked for Vixen [Media Group] and knows what everybody is looking for."

So, what kind of sports is Sonders' league about? In a November 2023 Instagram trailer, six competitors in bikinis raced for the top spot on a slip-and-slide, and in another, they were playing cornhole. Exposed Sportz took things a notch higher with a two-person mud bath wrestling that made for catching entertainment.

When it comes to making a meal, Holly Sonders prefers to stay on the sidelines, as she disclosed in a YouTube chat with Golf.com. In the Q&A session, Sonders was asked what she's not good at, to which she replied, "Cooking. Oh good God. That's so bad." When the outlet gave her the choice between eating 20 hot chillis or getting in the kitchen to wine and dine her fans in a game of "Would You Rather," Sonders picked the second option, even though she made it clear that both alternatives were a disaster in the making. "I'll do best. I'm not any good at cooking but I'll do my best," she said.

What's her go-to meal? You may ask. Sonders told NBC Sports she loves having cupcakes. As for her favorite drink, Sonders is surprisingly a teetotaler. In an October 2020 Instagram post, she wrote in part, "I rarely drink. But when I do..."