Who Is Jake Browning's Girlfriend, Stephanie Niles?
Much akin to Taylor Swift, there's another WAG — a moniker for the wives and girlfriends of football players — that's getting media attention for her attendance at an NFL game. On January 7, 2024, the Cincinnati Bengals were matched up against the Cleveland Browns. More exciting than the Battle of Ohio – which the Bengals triumphed over – was the attention-grabbing WAG on the block, Stephanie Niles. The girlfriend of Bengals quarterback Jake Browning wowed the audience in an all-white bodysuit featuring Browning's number and a red bucket cap as she was captured celebrating a touchdown by her star beau. Niles shared clips from the day on her Instagram with the caption, "what a ride!! how INSANE is this life!!!"
Following the viral moment on television, Niles's numbers on social media shot up. She drew comparisons to pop mega-star Swift, who has been an NFL craze for her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. On the flip side, the bodysuit's creator, Taylor Damron, who revealed that the outfit attracted a large number of customers in a conversation with TMZ, has set her sights on dressing Swift in the future. "I would faint making one of Taylor," Damron told the outlet. "Maybe I'll slide in her DMs."
Since Niles swiftly made her grand entry into the football spotlight, it's the perfect time to unpack who she is. From her upbringing to her entrepreneurship, there's much to learn about the Bengals WAG.
She was partly raised in Asia
While Stephanie Niles has become well-known for her connection to football — a quintessentially American sport — she was actually brought up overseas. "I was born in Hong Kong SAR at Matilda Hospital, the only medically sufficient hospital within a 10-hour flight radius," Niles recounted in a January 2021 interview with Authority Magazine. "When I was 3, my family moved to Shanghai, China where I attended various local and American schools until we moved to the States in 2005," she continued.
Growing up in the East Asian country, she said, exposed her to a completely different lifestyle than the one she and her family led in the United States afterward. For instance, Niles divulged that she had never seen a hot dog until she was in her early teens. The revelation often came as a shocker to her friends who had spent most of their childhoods in the United States. Being raised in a foreign country, Niles is multilingual; She speaks English, basic Mandarin, and French.
She attended the University of Washington
When Stephanie Niles and her family moved to the United States, they decided to settle in Seattle, Washington. According to her LinkedIn profile, Niles earned two Bachelor's degrees in accounting and information systems during her time at the University of Washington from 2014 to 2018. During her studies, she also appeared on the Dean's List.
Soon after her graduation, she moved to New York City, where she interned at PwC and went on to be promoted to risk assurance associate. Per her chat with Authority Magazine, Niles wasn't content with her job. "I would sit at my desk thinking about all the other things that I could do that would make a bigger impact on the world until one day I just got up, went to my manager, and quit," she disclosed. Niles began working as an information systems project manager at DECKED in November 2021, where she previously held a job in the company's finance department.
She co-owns a swimwear line
In February 2020, Stephanie Niles launched 7th Street Swim, a sustainably sourced swimwear line. Speaking to Authority Magazine, she recounted birthing the idea. "I started thinking about the times that I felt really happy," she said. "Quickly, a pattern emerged. Me, in a bikini, at a beach with my friends, running around and feeling so awesome and relaxed." True to her word, Niles has shared many pictures of her vacationing in a two-piece swimsuit on Instagram in the past. One such snap featuring an orange and white patterned number from September 2021 is captioned, "summers over when I say it's over!!! (jk please stick around summer I love u)."
Niles's winning idea for her swimwear brand didn't take off from the ground as soon as she had it. She needed a partner, and when a friend named Emma Moran was let go from her job, the perfect opportunity presented itself. With the help of a style expert, the duo got into business.
Still, Niles wasn't entirely motivated when she began the project at a time when most of the world was on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was in California with Jake Browning at his family friend's place, and it took the effort of their host, a maternal figure, to get things done. "Every day she would ask me 'So what have you done today? What's the update on the swimsuits? Have you called so-and-so?'" Niles recalled. "That accountability was exactly what I needed."
She has dated Jake Browning since college
In May 2023, Jake Browning celebrated the five-year anniversary mark with Stephanie Niles in a heartfelt Instagram post. "5 years, 4 different time zones and 14 different moves later here we are," the quarterback partly wrote. Browning let it be known that the two of them had once made a pact to never be an item. Of course, the agreement didn't hold since they got romantically linked anyway during their time at the University of Washington, where they both graduated from. Additionally, Browning wrote that the duo was seemingly headed for a split when Niles left Seattle for New York City after graduation, but that, too, never happened.
"Whether it's a fancy dinner party or a dive bar in Folsom, you move through life with a contagious energy and I can't imagine [where] I'd be without my mob wife. Love you pimp," Browning concluded. On her part, Niles draws inspiration for a loving, long-term relationship from her parents, whom she posted on Instagram in 2020 had been hitched for over 25 years.
Niles loves supporting her quarterback boyfriend
Stephanie Niles may have gone viral for rejoicing when quarterback Jake Browning scored a touchdown, but make no mistake, it wasn't a one-time affair. All along, Niles has been showing her support for Browning by attending and watching his matchups. In a January 2022 post on Instagram, Niles was seen screaming her heart out when the Cincinnati Bengals secured their place in the Super Bowl with a win against the Kansas City Chiefs. In a follow-up post before the Bengals versus Los Angeles Rams game, Niles was still hyping up the team. "I'll have the calamari & a bengals win thanks," she captioned a photo of her and Browning at a restaurant.
On the Bengals' big day, Niles posed in a body-hugging white combo and wrote, "omw to witness the bengals win the super bowl." Sadly, the Bengals lost to the two-time winning Rams. With the same spirit, Niles was wearing a No. 6 Browning jersey in a January 2023 post. Even her head-turning viral bodysuit from 2024 bore the initials "JB" in addition to having the No. 6 in bold print.
Nature is her second home
When she isn't cheering on her football player boyfriend or flawlessly posing by the beach, Stephanie Niles is likely to be at scenic places surrounded by nature. In July 2015, she shared a picture of herself visiting the Grand Canyon on Instagram. In a different shot dated September 2018, Niles was having a Central Park picnic with a friend on a sunny day. She posted a video of herself and Jake Browning swimming and splashing in a body of water in July 2021, and earlier that year was all smiles on a cable ride that overlooked a chain of snowy hills.
Niles and her family went on their first camping trip in July 2023 that was also documented on Instagram. In September 2023, Niles went on another trip with her family to Africa, one whose pictures she posted with the caption, "what a world!! the trip of a lifetime!!"
She started routine exercises during the pandemic
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Stephanie Niles wasn't so invested in having an active lifestyle and had a lot of start-stops when it came to exercise, as she revealed to Authority Magazine. "I'm really an all-or-nothing personality type and because of this I would workout really aggressively for three days then not work out for months," the social media sensation explained.
As was common at the time, the pandemic came with a lot of strain on her mental wellness, which made her adjust to 30-minute exercises every day as a way of coping. The routine eventually stuck, and picking up the habit not only improved her overall body function but also set the pace for productivity on days when her spirit was dull. "When I feel deep in a rut, I remind myself I have months of consistent workouts completed and I feel a sense of achievement that can help me focus on the positive habits I have built during this time," Niles shared.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
Negin Mirsalehi is her idol
When Stephanie Niles was asked who she would like to share a meal with during her conversation with Authority Magazine, she mentioned Gisou founder, Negin Mirsalehi. "Right now, I'm obsessed with Negin Mirsalehi," Niles told the outlet. "She has built an entire haircare brand off her family's beekeeping business. Aside from having the best smelling hair products EVER, their content is so creative and their branding is so consistent."
Niles furthered that she would love to consult with the Dutch-Iranian YouTuber on concept creation and the process behind her selection of employees. She admitted that building 7th Street Swim had not exactly been a walk in the park; For example, registering the business in Delaware turned out to be a tax nightmare since she was required to part with more money than she had anticipated.
Business aside, in case you're wondering who else would be at Niles's lunch table, she divulged more in the interview. It turns out that she has lots of love for the "Pink Venom" hit-makers, BLACKPINK. "If I could have lunch with BlackPink I would die, but that's just because I'm an uber fan," she said of the South Korean girl group.