How Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns Found Love Through Grief

Jordyn Woods and Karl-Anthony Towns are social media’s hottest couple right now. Their stunning Malibu wedding on Aug. 15 had folks on the internet in awe of the simple yet gorgeous ceremony, which was filled with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Jaden Smith, Kylie Jenner, Gayle King, Michael B. Jordan, and more. However, while the ceremony was kept mostly private, Woods has given fans a glimpse into her love story with Towns, and we’re here to share the tear-jerking details.

Starting as Friends

If you’ve followed Towns and Woods’ love story, you know that the couple was friends for a long time before they eventually became lovers. But in a recent bridal hair and makeup trial video with Allure, Woods delved a little deeper into how they made that slow-burn transition and the heartbreaking reason their bond grew.

“We met through mutual friends in L.A., I want to say about eight and a half years ago, and we were really just friends; it was not anything deeper than just a good friendship,” she said. “And I just think over the years, our friendship kept growing stronger. And then when his mom got sick and passed away suddenly, with me having experienced what loss of a parent is like, it just… it just grew our bond a lot deeper. And now it’s been six years, and now we’re getting married.”

Related: Was Jordyn Woods’ Orange Bag the Key to the Knicks’ Championship Win?

Both Lost Their Parents at a Young Age

Karl-Anthony Towns lost his mom, Jacqueline Towns, in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19 after a month in a medically induced coma. In November of that same year, Towns uploaded a video to his YouTube channel detailing how 2020 had been the toughest year of his life and how he had to make the call to remove his mom from life support, according to ESPN.

“I gave her all the time, and I made the hardest decision you can make. I called my sister. I told her what the decision I made was,” he said. “You’ve got to live with that. I made that decision.”

Woods lost her father, John Woods, when she was 19 years old in January 2017, just two weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer. At the time, the model and entrepreneur posted a tribute on Instagram captioned, “Last night heaven got another angel. My Daddy. Just two short weeks ago, he was diagnosed with cancer, and by that time it was too late,” according to Glamour.

How Their Bond Deepened

Having both dealt with tremendous grief at such young ages, the couple found a deep support system in each other—something that allowed their bond to grow deeper.

“After his mom passed, I went to Minnesota, which is where he was playing at the time, and there was just one night—I shouldn’t say it,” Woods laughed. “When you cross that boundary with a friendship, it can really go any way, and I just never wanted to lose him as a friend; he’s such a pure and amazing person. But I also felt maybe this is what God is putting in front of me, and maybe we should explore that. I do think it was a higher power of both of our parents orchestrating things and putting us in each other’s lives.”

A Match Made in Heaven

If you weren’t already convinced that their parents were pulling strings from above to bring the two together, Woods shared even more details that make their love story sound truly divine.

“I got proposed to on Christmas Eve. He actually didn’t know that my parents also got engaged on Christmas Eve, so it was like a weird synchronicity with that moment,” she said. “It was perfect. It was so intimate.”

From Woods’ Instagram posts, it’s clear it was a gorgeous moment surrounded by close family and friends. The happy couple was glowing in their pictures as Woods showed off her dazzling engagement ring.

The NBA star put a lot of thought and intentionality into the ring design. He incorporated their birthstones—Woods’ sapphire and Towns’ orange garnet (coincidentally matching the colors of his team, the New York Knicks)—as well as the birthstones of both their parents into the band, symbolizing the two families joining together.

Could their union seem more divinely planned? We’re wishing the newlyweds nothing but the best!