Lindsey VanDewenghe
Lindsey is a Colorado, USA native, who came into the limelight after her marriage to former professional American Football player Vincent Jackson. She’s quite secretive when it comes to her personal matters, thus her exact birthday hasn’t been revealed, but it’s known that she was born in 1989, which makes her aged 33 as of 2022.
There isn’t much known about her childhood, and also information about her parents and siblings hasn’t been disclosed – even her social media platforms are private, thus it’s hard to get to know her better.
She’s posted over 250 posts on her Instagram which has been followed by nearly 350 people, but only her profile photo is available to see. Judging by her photo, she has blonde hair and brown eyes, and in her bio, there is a heart emoji beside the name ‘mr.jantje’, which is also a private Instagram profile of a man named Vermeersch Jan; many people assume that this man could be her boyfriend.
Speaking of Lindsey’s educational background, she attended a local high school, however, information about her further education is unknown to the public.
Her occupation is also under a veil of mystery, since she’s only known as the wife of the late football player, Vincent Jackson, however, at the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at over $50 million, so when it comes to finances, she seemingly doesn’t have to worry.
Some reports say that Lindsey was involved in the charity organization founded by her husband – ‘Jackson in Action 83’ – that supports military families, focusing on the education and health of the children, and which Vincent founded because he knew what it’s like growing up in a military family, as his father served in the US Army for 21 years. Lindsay apparently took over his foundation after his death.
Marriage with Vincent Jackson
Lindsey and Vincent ever spoke about how and where they met, however, people assume that they were dating for a while, before he proposed to her in 2011.
It was that night when he was inducted into the University of Northern Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame – he stepped on stage and said to her: ‘I love you. I will always love you. I want to start a family with you. I want to spend the rest of my days with you. You are my soulmate. Will you marry me?’
Lindsey said ‘yes’, and the two exchanged their wedding vows on 16 July 2011, in a ceremony held in a secret location in the presence of only their closest family members and friends.
Soon after the wedding, Vincent and Lindsey bought a mansion for $3.5 million near the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club, in Tampa, Florida, where they resided and raised their children for the next ten years. They have three children together, namely Dominick, Carter and Amaya, however, their birthdates haven’t been revealed. Both Vincent and Lindsey kept their children’s lives away from the media’s attention, but he would occasionally post photos of them on Instagram, although their faces were hidden.
There is one photo posted on Vincent’s Instagram featuring him and one of his children holding his hand, with his caption quoting Barack Obama: ‘It’s courage to raise a child that makes a father – wishing happy Father’s Day to his father and all the great dads out there’.
The two were married until Vincent’s death separated them. Vincent, it seemed, was the National Football League (NFL) role model until he was found dead in a hotel room. After his death, in one of her rare interviews, Lindsey said: ‘He had done everything to set up a graceful retirement from football, adding, It’s not the ending he wanted.’
According to the Hillsborough County Florida Medical Examiner, the official cause of Vincent’s death was chronic alcohol use. However, Lindsey and the rest of the family believe that Vincent suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which was later confirmed after researchers had discovered Stage 2 CTE in his brain; Lindsey is now dedicated to helping the families of other players to spot and seek treatment for CTE’s effects.
‘I think the message is, if you played for a long time and you’re experiencing symptoms, it’s very likely that this is what it is,’ said Lindsey, adding, ‘I didn’t know that; Vincent didn’t know that. We thought it was just concussions, and we’d love for people to realize it’s more than that.’
Who was Vincent Jackson?
Vincent Terrell Jackson was born on 14 January 1983, in Colorado Springs, Colorado USA, where he was raised by his parents with structure and discipline thanks to his father, a US Army soldier, which according to Vincent helped him in his future life.
He attended Widefield High School in Colorado Springs, and besides being a straight-A student, he was a standout football and basketball player. However, upon matriculating in 2001, he enrolled at the University of Colorado, where he played college football for the Northern Colorado Bears team until 2004, when he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business.
In 2005, he was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, and then in March 2012, he signed a five-year, $55.55 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; on 7 September, Vincent was elected a team captain, and he played for the Buccaneers until 17 May 2018, when he announced his retirement.
Vincent Jackson’s death
Vincent’s family called the sheriff’s office on 10 February 2021 and reported him missing. A formal report was filed on 11 February, however, the following day, the Hillsborough County Sheriff located Vincent at a hotel and spoke with him; after ‘ assessing Jackson’s well-being, the missing person case was canceled’, said the sheriff.
On 15 February 2021, Vincent Jackson was found dead in a room by a housekeeper at Homewood Suites, near Brandon, Florida. According to the hotel’s staff, he checked into the hotel on 11 January, and although it hasn’t been revealed why he was staying in a hotel from that date, his wife Lindsey, said that he was suffering from memory loss and mood swings, thus many people assumed that he went to the hotel after a fight with his wife, which hasn’t been confirmed by her.
After the autopsy, Vincent’s brain was donated to Boston University CTE Center, and his body was cremated after his family members held a private funeral service.
