Ryan Blaney and Gianna Tulio tied the knot last December and have already turned the page to a new chapter, with the couple now expecting a baby boy this coming December. While fans know the pair officially began dating in 2020, few are aware of how their love story first took root and blossomed into what it is today.
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According to People.com, Blaney and Tulio first crossed paths in 2018 at the Losers Bar inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Blaney was in town for a NASCAR race, and Gianna was there on a modeling assignment for Hooters.
The sparks didn’t fly instantly, and details about their initial exchange remained under wraps until Tulio recently shared the full story during her appearance on Haley Dillon’s Believe in the Good podcast.
“Ryan was there with a few of his friends… Ryan and I met kind of through the Hooters World. So it was actually Vegas. It was my first time ever being at a NASCAR race. I had no idea what NASCAR even was or any nothing about it. It was totally new to me. And we obviously sponsored Chase at the time. Chase was our driver.”
She continued, “So, we got to meet Chase all that and a few of the other girls met up with Chase and Ryan at this bar called The Losers at the MGM. And honestly, Ryan and I started off like really good friends… I was actually with someone else at the time. I was dating someone else… I got home.”
Tulio revealed that for the next year and a half, Blaney kept the door open, checking in monthly with casual invites, whether to grab a meal or attend a race in Miami. “I was just so focused on my career at the time, and I was younger, that I was like, ‘No thanks.’ I really didn’t look at him that way.”
Everything changed in 2019 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Blaney invited Tulio to his bus, where they ended up talking for hours. She drove home afterward, but the conversation had clearly struck a chord. When Blaney reached out again to ask her out, Tulio finally said yes. Both were in a better headspace, and the timing was right.
Still wary of the long-distance dynamic, Tulio voiced her concerns. Blaney responded by flying to Florida to spend a weekend with her, and from that point on, they never looked back.
By July 2021, the relationship had reached its first major milestone. Marking their one-year anniversary on Instagram, Tulio wrote, “A whole year of unconditional love, pure happiness, and new experiences/adventures for the both of us.”
And now the 2023 NASCAR Cup Champion is ready to begin his new journey of fatherhood with his wife.
