After signs of strain in the past, Jordon Hudson and Bill Belichick’s daughter-in-law, Jennifer Schmitt, appeared to keep their distance and avoid a tense encounter at the UNC game on Saturday night.
The 24-year-old Hudson was spotted on the sideline before the game against Stanford, where her 73-year-old boyfriend Belichick oversaw a crucial 20-15 win for his team.
Hudson headed up into the stands for the game itself but was in a different suite, away from Schmitt – a public critic of Hudson in the past.
Schmitt, who at 35 is 11 years older than Hudson, is married to Belichick’s son Stephen, who coaches at the University of North Carolina alongside his father as the defensive coordinator.
The exact status of Schmitt and Hudson’s relationship has never been made clear but Schmitt broke rank and criticized the former cheerleader amid the outrage over their excruciating CBS interview back in April. That day, Hudson sparked uproar by interrupting from off-camera to stop a visibly uncomfortable Belichick answering a question about how they met.
Amid the massively intense public backlash that followed, Belichick’s former New England Patriots players Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski questioned if Hudson was simply doing her job as Belichick’s de-facto publicist.
Things looked icy between Jordon Hudson and Jennifer Belichick at Saturday’s UNC game
Jennifer looked like she was having a great time as UNC recorded a vital victory
The 24-year-old Hudson, meanwhile, largely concentrated on the game away from Jennifer
Comedian Nikki Glaser stood up for Hudson, agreeing she was acting on behalf of Belichick. But spotting the clip and comment on Instagram, Schmitt wrote back: ‘Publicists act in a professional manner and don’t ‘storm’ off set delaying an interview.’
It was one of many critical comments that came off the back of that CBS interview – the broadcaster said that while they showed Hudson interfering once, she actually interrupted proceedings on several occasions. It led to one of Belichick’s ex-Patriots players, Ted Johnson, even going as far as to question if his old coach was ‘of sound mind’ to let Hudson have such an influence over his life.
Belichick, meanwhile, insisted Hudson did what she was supposed to do in a PR capacity and that he had only agreed to speak to CBS about a book he was promoting, not his personal life.
But the shot that would have hit closest to home definitely came from Schmitt. So with that in mind, it is perhaps no surprise that nearly seven months later, they are still keeping their distance.
But pictures show Schmitt having a great time cheering UNC on to victory as they beat another ACC rival on Saturday night in Stanford. After a disastrous start to the season, there are slow and steady signs of improvement for Belichick’s team.
When Hudson appeared on the sideline before the game, she seemingly had a message to send to her long list of critics.
She wore a necklace that read ‘Banned’, which has been interpreted as hitting back at reports UNC banned her from their facilities earlier this year. The college put out a statement denying those reports.
Jennifer married longtime partner Steve back in 2017, with the couple tying the knot at the Siasconset Union Chapel in Nantucket.
For the 73-year-old Belichick, his team is showing signs of improving after a bad start
Jennifer has been married to Belichick’s son Stephen for eight years and has four kids with him
Stephen worked on his dad’s coaching staff at the Patriots and followed him to North Carolina
She seemed to take a shot at Hudson after the notorious CBS interview back in April
They’re also parents to four children; daughter Blakely Rose, eight, son Hayes William, four, daughter Quincy Grace, three, and son Rocco Joseph, two.
Steve, 38, has followed his legendary father into coaching, spending 11 years as a member of his Patriots backroom staff before enjoying a brief stint as defensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies after his dad’s exit last year.
And when Belichick made a dramatic move into college football with North Carolina earlier this year, his oldest son followed him and took on the role of defensive coordinator with the Tar Heels.
UNC plays Wake Forest next Saturday afternoon.
