If there was an Olympic medal for the most supportive spouse, Caeleb Dressel‘s wife would most certainly take home the gold. The 24-year-old Olympic swimmer’s partner has been by his side—both virtually and beyond—throughout his journey at the Tokyo Olympics. But many fans are just finding out about her for the first time after watching her cheer him on from the sidelines.
Caeleb’s wife, Meghan Haila, watched on from home in Florida while her husband competed in six different events at the Tokyo Summer Games. But it was her reaction to one event in particular that captured the hearts of audiences around the world. On July 27, Caeleb set a new Olympic record after winning a gold medal in the men’s 100-meter freestyle race. As he neared the end of the race, Meghan was seen screaming and shouting at a watch party with friends and family, eventually bursting into tears and collapsing into the arms of Caeleb’s family members after the swimmer hit the wall with a time of 47.02 seconds.
When Caeleb stepped out of the pool, he also couldn’t hold back his tears. “We love you so much. We’re so proud of you,” Meghan told him as he stepped up to speak with reporters. Caeleb, for his part, grew visibly emotional as he listened to his wife. “It means a lot,” he told reporters after his race. “I knew that weight was on my shoulders. I’d won relay medals but never individual, so it was really special.”
Clearly, Caeleb’s bond with Meghan is quite special too. Here’s everything to know about Caeleb Dressel’s wife—a.k.a. his biggest fan at the Olympics, or otherwise!
Caeleb & Meghan have known each other since high school
It doesn’t get cuter than this—Caeleb and his wife Meghan are high school sweethearts! While Caeleb attended Clay High School in Green Cove Springs, Florida, the record-holding champ trained with the Bolles School Sharks in Jacksonville, which is where he met Meghan.
The pair were both in the same swim club and went on to swim together at the collegiate level. Meghan, for her part, swam with Caeleb’s older sister Kaitlyn for one season at Florida State in 2015, according to Swimming World Magazine, whereas Caeleb went on to compete while attending the University of Florida.
Caeleb married Meghan on Valentine’s Day
Caeleb proposed to Meghan in November 2019, and at the time, Caeleb’s big sister Kaitlyn called it her “FAVORITE surprise proposal TO DATE” on Instagram. “My little brother & one of my best friends get to spend the rest of their lives together,” she wrote, sharing a series of photos from the proposal at the time.
A year after their engagement, Meghan noted that it was the “easiest yes” of her life. The pair finally went on to tie the knot on Valentine’s Day weekend in 2021, surrounded by friends and family in Florida.
Meghan is a marriage and family counselor
Following her season of collegiate swimming, Meghan stopped competing to focus on her goal of becoming a licensed family therapist. “Meghan and I swam at Bolles together, in the late-night group because we didn’t go to school there,” Caeleb previously revealed. “She mainly did breaststroke but she stopped competing her sophomore year [at Florida State University in Tallahassee], to pursue her dream of becoming a child-family counselor.”
Caeleb’s wife went on to earn three degrees in total, including a Bachelor of Science in Family and Child Sciences and Psychology, and Masters degrees in Education, Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling.
