How They Met: Countries couldn't keep Mayo's Aidan O'Shea and wife Kristin apart

They are one of GAA's most well-known couples, and life for Mayo's Aidan O'Shea and his wife Kristin McKenzie Vass just keeps on getting better.

Aidan and Kristin announced that they are expecting their first child in July and were flooded with messages from fans and followers on the news.

Just a few weeks shy of celebrating their first wedding anniversary, we take a look at how these two lovebirds got together.

First meeting:

Kristin is a graduate of UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School and is now a project manager as part of the healthcare team at Grant Thornton in Dublin, according to her LinkedIn.

Reflecting on the early days of their relationship in an interview with RSVP in 2021, Aidan said: 'We met in Dublin a couple of years ago and stayed in touch.

'She went to London to work as a nurse, there was a bit of back and forth, and then she came back to Dublin to go to college here, so we’ve been together for a couple of years now.'

The couple moved in together during COVID and has been together for over eight years.

Showing full support

Chatting to EVOKE at the 2024 GAA All-Stars, Kristin admitted that she is quite athletic, but had never played football. However, when it comes to supporting Aidan, come hail, rain, or shine, she is always there on the sidelines cheering him on.

Appearing on BBC's GAA Social podcast, the Mayo man spoke of how football has always been his number one priority and that his family has always had his back.

Striving to be the best, he said that criticism can often get very personal and that he worries about how his family will take it at times. 'I became quite isolated, I felt quite alone... I was probably more worried about family and making sure that they were all right,' he said.

He went on to say, 'When you are getting stuff in through your post-box at home, into your family home, that is just scandalous in my opinion... letters, handwritten letters, typed letters, personal stuff about you, what you should do. It's quite delicate stuff, but that stuff is very difficult.'

Aidan says his family does the best they can to keep his spirits high when negativity comes his way.

'It's very hard to trace this stuff, and that can be quite difficult. Who it is, nameless stuff, different names, same people... So now it got to the point where my mother would intercept it at home, and then when I moved into my house in town, my fiancée would intercept it. It hasn't happened in a while, you would know from the writing or there'd be a smart comment on the outside of the letter,' he told the presenters.

Proposal

Aidan popped the question during a stay at Ashford Castle in 2023, with both the sportsman and Kristin sharing snaps taken soon after the happy moment, showing them beaming smiles.

Shortly after they broke the news, Kristin showed off her sparkler, and no expense was spared.

Kristin's ring is a luxury jewellery designer Nigel O'Reilly, which has a beautiful pear-shaped diamond in a yellow gold band. The bespoke piece was created especially, and it's stunning in its simplicity.

Wedding

On August 9 2024, Kristin and Aidan said 'I do' surrounded by their friends and family, at Muckross Park Hotel in Kerry.

Judging from the proposal, Aidan doesn't do things by half, and the newlyweds opted for a different mode of transport from the Church to the reception... a helicopter! He simply said, 'beat the traffic'... Sure why not!

For the big day, Kristin wore a beautiful square-neckline bridal gown with an elegant bow detail at the back.

She pulled out all the stops for her wedding and changed into a second look towards the end of the evening- a halter neck silky number.

Heading off to Italy shortly after their big day, Aidan and Kristin told EVOKE that they had a big holiday planned for a few months down the line in Australia.

After ringing in the new year Down Under and hitting all the 'hot' spots in the country, it was off to the Maldives.

Big news

While having some fun in the sun in Crete, Aidan, who is already a dad to his daughter Caragh, and Kristin shared that they're expecting their first child together.

Kristin posted snaps of her growing bump at the beach, Kristin said: 'So excited to meet our Baba.'

Kristin and Aidan's friends and family were delighted to see their happy baby news, with many sending their congratulations in the comments.

While we don't know when baby O' Shea is due, we can't wait to see if it is a boy or girl- better get the mini Mayo jersey ready!