Joe Burrow is well aware of how the internet perceives him, and he doesn’t mind.
In a conversation with PEOPLE, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback spoke about how he’s viewed differently in the media than before.
“It’s been interesting to see how the perception of me has changed over the years,” Burrow tells PEOPLE. “I never really felt that way about myself, and I wouldn’t say when I was younger, other people felt that way about me either.”
The NFL star humbly reacted to how the fans look at him now and truly how it makes him feel.
“I just find it interesting how the change has happened over the last couple years. It makes you feel good,” says Burrow. “It definitely doesn’t make me feel bad. So I don’t pay attention too much to it, but sometimes it’s nice.”
Right now, Burrow is seemingly in a causal relationship with Olivia Ponton. They have been romantically linked since last fall but have not confirmed a relationship. However, when Ponton alerted authorities that Burrow’s home was broken into in December, it seemingly confirmed that the two at least are still romantically involved.
Burrow broke his silence on the incident in a press conference shortly after.
“So obviously everybody has heard what has happened,” Burrow said in a few days after the incident was reported. “I feel like my privacy has been violated in more ways than one.”
He admitted, “way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share, so that’s all I got to say about that.”
“We live a public life and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy,” he continued. “That has been difficult for me to deal with my entire career. Still learning. But I understand it’s the life that we choose. Doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”
Before the alleged romance with Ponton, he was in a longterm relationship with Olivia Holzmacher. Burrow’s ex came back to social media after a hiatus following their breakup. It’s unclear exactly when they split but once relationship rumors began to buzz with Ponton, they noticed Holzmacher decided to ditch social media all together.
“Be intentional , do the hard $hit , && show, don’t tell. I found my deeper well,” Holzmacher captioned a carousel of crafts, skyline views, books, nature and more.
Burrow and Holzmacher began dating when they attended Ohio University together in 2017. A fan reacted to Holzmacher’s post with some positivity to other women who might be going through the same situation.
“Queens, take notes! She disappeared for a year and two days—no posts, no noise, just healing. She read. She created. She played with Legos and grew plants. She rode horses. She moved to a city that nurtured her growth. She read a lot of great books,” the fan wrote on the Instagram post. “THIS is how you step away, master the lesson, and come back ready for the next chapter. Elevated. Evolved. Unstoppable. #Growth #Healing #NextChapter.”
