Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and former Milledgeville-area ladies’ man Ben Roethlisberger is revealing details of his engagement to Ashley Harlan. The couple is set to marry in July–a week before the Steelers open camp–amid heightened scrutiny from the media. I wonder why anyone in Pittsburgh would care about their quarterback’s engagement plans.
Among the highlights of Roethlisberger’s chat with Ed Bouchette: Ben is asking for donations to his foundation in lieu of wedding gifts, and that he and Harlan had dated “kind of on and off for five years.”
Ms. Harlan, a physician’s assistant who turns 27 in July, lives at home with her parents. Mr. Roethlisberger cited the couple’s religious faith and beliefs as the reasons for not living together until marriage. He also hopes she can continue to live her life out of the spotlight.
“I try to protect her as much as I can. People have gone to her parents’ house and have been doing some things,” Mr. Roethlisberger said of the media. “That bothers me a little bit because it’s what I do for a living, I have to deal with it, but her parents and her, that’s not what they have to do.”
I wonder if he’ll have private security outside of his honeymoon suite to keep all of her friends at bay. I’m still amazed at how a guy like Ben can put on a new public facade and everyone beams, “Oh look how he’s changed.” Maybe he has, but this wasn’t personal growth achieved through striving for self-improvement. He got caught fooling around in a bar stall and it threatened his livelihood.
But yeah, religious beliefs now. Let’s see how that works out.
