Robert Kraft and Dr. Dana Blumberg got married in a surprise ceremony in October 2022
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NEED TO KNOW
- Robert Kraft was first linked to Dana Blumberg in 2017
- After getting engaged in March 2022, the couple got married in a surprise ceremony months later
- The New England Patriots owner and the ophthalmologist have kept their relationship private
Robert Kraft and Dana Blumberg have been going strong for nearly a decade.
The New England Patriots owner and billionaire was first linked to Blumberg in 2017, though they haven't shared details of how or when they met. Five years later, designer Tommy Hilfiger shared their engagement news to the crowd at the inaugural amfAR Gala Palm Beach.
On Oct. 14, 2022, the couple got married during a surprise wedding ceremony at the Hall des Lumières in New York City. Kraft and Blumberg tied the knot in front of over 200 guests — most of whom "didn't know it was a wedding celebration," a source told PEOPLE.
According to Page Six, Kraft invited a star-studded guest list to attend a "Kickoff and a Touchdown" party, though he did not reveal that he and Blumberg would get married during the event.
So, who is Robert Kraft's wife? From her background as an ophthalmologist to her relationship with the NFL team owner, here's everything to know about Dana Blumberg.
Blumberg is an ophthalmologist
In 2000, Blumberg received her medical degree from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She's since worked as a board-certified ophthalmologist, specializing in eye and vision care and glaucoma.
The doctor has also worked as an associate professor of ophthalmology at Columbia University in New York City and was affiliated with the New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
She was first linked to Kraft in 2017
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While Blumberg and Kraft didn't make their public debut as a couple until 2019, they reportedly first connected in 2017. Former Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin and his girlfriend Camille Fishel gave fans a peek at Blumberg and Kraft's first date while celebrating the newlyweds in October 2022.
As a wedding gift, Rubin temporarily turned the Olde Heritage Tavern in Lenox, Mass., into "Blumberg's."
"This is the bar they had their first date, so had it renamed "BLUMBERG'S," Rubin wrote on Instagram alongside a series of photos of the rebranded bar, which received a new logo and decor featuring Blumberg and Kraft's faces for the occasion.
Fishel also shared side-by-side photos of the couple on her Instagram Stories. In one snap, Blumberg and Kraft can be seen holding up shots alongside friends on their "first date" in August 2017; in the other, the newlyweds smile with the same group the day after their wedding.
It is unknown how or when the couple first met, but they were first publicly seen together in 2017 at an Elton John AIDS Foundation event where Blumberg posed with one of Kraft's Super Bowl rings. They were then spotted together at the French Open in 2019 and later appeared at several other events over the summer.
Kraft proposed to Blumberg in 2022
On March 5, 2022, at the inaugural amfAR Gala event in Palm Beach, Fla., Hilfiger revealed onstage that Kraft and Blumberg had recently gotten engaged. A representative for Kraft declined PEOPLE's request for further comment.
She's 33 years younger than Kraft
While Blumberg was born in 1974, Kraft was born in 1941, making him 33 years her senior.
Previously, the Kraft Group CEO was married to his college sweetheart Myra Hiatt Kraft for nearly 50 years before her death from ovarian cancer in July 2011 at age 68. Together, the couple shared four sons during their decades-long marriage. Throughout the following football season, the Patriots wore Myra's initials "MHK" on their uniforms.
She and Kraft got married during a surprise ceremony
On Oct. 14, 2022, Blumberg and Kraft wed in a surprise ceremony attended by a slew of A-list guests, including Tom Brady, Jon Bon Jovi, Kenny Chesney, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, among others.
One guest told PEOPLE that most attendees were completely taken by surprise. "Most of the people didn't know it was a wedding celebration. We thought it was a party and then when we went upstairs — and [a] screen opened and Robert and Dana came out. She was in a wedding dress, and Elton John announced them as 'husband and wife.' Then Meek Mill wrote a song for them — which he sang with Ed Sheeran as backup," the source shared.
According to the source, Kraft and John arranged the singer's appearance a few weeks prior, while backstage at one of his concerts. "They are very good friends," the source said of the Patriots owner and John.
Mill shared a photo from the celebration on Instagram, posing beside John and Sheeran. "Sounds forever 💎💎💎 @teddysphotos @eltonjohn ☝🏾," he captioned his post. Mill and Kraft have been close for years, and the rapper even teamed up with Rubin and Jay-Z to gift Kraft a Bentley for his 80th birthday in 2021.
In March 2023, Kraft told PEOPLE that he "never believed" he'd get married again after the death of his first wife.
"I was really messed up when my first wife died — for over a year," he said, adding that he thinks it was "God's hand at work" that led him to Blumberg.
The Patriots owner went on to call the board-certified ophthalmologist an "off the charts" partner who makes him "very happy."
Kraft threw her a surprise 50th birthday party
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The Patriots owner threw Blumberg a surprise 50th birthday at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem, N.Y. According to Page Six, more than 200 guests were in attendance and the evening featured a performance by Dave Matthews.
“I always loved this theater. When I was an undergrad at Columbia, I used to come here for amateur night, and it was always such a great place with a great heritage," Kraft told the crowd. "So we were really happy we could pick a venue which would not make [Dana] suspicious … because she is very smart.”
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