Peyton Manning is everywhere these days, even after winning two Super Bowls and five MVPs in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos. The Pro Football Hall of Fame member has his own Monday Night Football broadcast on ESPN2 with his brother, Eli Manning, and is in commercials left and right.
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Of course, he comes from the National Football League's First Family. Olivia and Archie Manning — who quarterbacked for the New Orleans Saints — produced quite the trio of football talent in Peyton, longtime New York Giants' QB Eli Manning and Cooper Manning, whose son Arch Manning is now at Texas.
How about Peyton Manning's wife, though? Peyton and Ashley Manning have two children together, but how did they meet, what does she do and just exactly who is she?
Peyton Manning's Wife Ashley Manning Prefers Privacy
AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari
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Peyton Manning's wife, Ashley Thompson Manning, was born to parents Marsha Thompson and Bill Thompson, who was a commercial real estate developer in Memphis, Tenn. She actually first met her future husband in Tennessee.
According to Bleacher Report, the two met when her next-door neighbor introduced them the summer before he enrolled at the University of Tennessee in 1994. Ashley headed east to attend the University of Virginia, but the pair stayed together and got married in 2001.
"It was in August, at one of the few fraternity parties I went to," he wrote in his book, "Manning, A Father His Sons, And A Football Legacy."
"It was in August, at one of the few fraternity parties I went to. We were introduced and only talked a little while. I didn't make a big first impression (she said later my pastel shirt was a turnoff) but I was certainly impressed. With all her qualities, I think what pleased me most about Ashley, though, was that she liked me for who I was, not what I was."
Despite receiving a ring from the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Ashley has kept a relatively low profile and stayed out of the spotlight unlike the wives of other great quarterbacks. She doesn't hold a candle to headline-makers like Drew Brees' wife, Brittany, or Tom Brady's ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen.
She has, however, made exceptions. In 2007, she and her husband attended a dinner at the White House that honored Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. When Peyton hosted the 2017 ESPYs, she accompanied him on the red carpet. She also was wrapped up in headlines in 2015 when she reportedly had HGH shipped to her.
Ashley also has three siblings: Allison, Will and Leigh.
How Many Children Do They Have?
Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post
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Peyton and Ashley Manning have two children together and live in Denver. She gave birth to twins, son Marshall Williams Manning and daughter Mosley Thompson Manning, in March 2011.
The twins apparently take up a great deal of the couple's time. Peyton reportedly had an offer to come out of retirement and play for the Miami Dolphins in 2017 but didn't take it because he would miss his carpool duties.
He also transitioned into his role as an NFL broadcaster while still maintaining his role as a father. In 2018, he and his son were spotted at a Denver Nuggets basketball game. Now, Peyton has said he's traded in his helmet for a life on the sidelines as his kids' flag football coach.
When Peyton was inducted into the Broncos Ring of Honor in 2021, Marshall handed his dad the orange jacket. Mosley was also in attendance.
Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
Marshall also has an arm like his dad, as evidenced by this throw to Justin Jefferson before February's Pro Bowl.
Marshall Manning, Peyton’s 11-year-old son, dropping dots to Justin Jefferson 🎯pic.twitter.com/9giO9wj7vR
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) February 5, 2023
Ashley Talked Peyton Out of Retiring Early
Photo by Bill Frakes /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Peyton thought he had little left in the tank after a neck injury and surgery sidelined him for the entire 2011 season. When he considered retiring after just 13 seasons with the Colts, Ashley talked him out of it. The Denver Broncos signed him in 2012.
"Yeah, Ashley and I actually had those conversations," Peyton told Sports Illustrated's Peter King, via Bleacher Report. "More than one. Because, you know, you don't want to embarrass yourself. Because, they're signing you and people are thinking they're getting the player they had always seen before. And so, Ashley was the one that was saying, 'Peyton, you've got to try. You've got to try.'"
He tried all right.
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Peyton won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year that season in Colorado and was second in MVP voting. Three years later, he finished his career on the highest of notes. The Broncos defeated the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game and the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. The Broncos quarterback then held a retirement press conference that his family joined him at, wrapping a stellar college football and professional football career.
Peyton sort of joined a broadcast booth with ESPN, as he and Eli Manning host their own broadcast on Monday Night Football while interviewing famous celebrities and athletes.
She's a Businesswoman and Minority NBA Owner
Ashley Manning: Peyton Manning’s Wife Actually Talked Him Out Of Retirement Four Years Ago https://t.co/r8RC3XPIHv pic.twitter.com/pWmLNOngnL
— The Inquisitr (@theinquisitr) March 7, 2016
Back in 2010, Bleacher Report reported Ashley Thompson Manning was a successful real estate developer and owned her own company. Though it's unknown if she still operates her real estate development company, she has spent numerous hours doing charity work.
Ashley and Peyton established the PeyBack Foundation, which she spends much of her time making successful. The foundation's goal is to help disadvantaged and at-risk youth in Tennessee, Louisiana and Indiana. The St. Vincent Hospital in 2007 renamed its children's hospital to honor Peyton.
Following the death of Demaryius Thomas in 2022, Ashley and Peyton joined the PeyBack Foundation with Georgia Tech to establish the Demaryius A. Thomas Scholarship Endowment at Georgia Tech to honor Peyton's former Broncos teammate and help youth from Thomas' hometown in Georgia.
Peyton Manning and his wife, Ashley, have announced the Demaryius A. Thomas Scholarship Endowment at Georgia Tech.
Thomas tragically passed in December.
The fund will aid incoming freshmen from Laurens County, Georgia — his home county. pic.twitter.com/bF89FV8jMY
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 27, 2022
Ashley has also done charity work and raised money for breast cancer. Per the Indy Star, her mother had breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy.
During the thick of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, she and Peyton provided 600 meals to frontline and healthcare workers fighting COVID-19 at a hospital in Hermitage, Tenn.
"As healthcare workers on the front lines, you are all demonstrating great courage and commitment and making great personal sacrifices to care for the sick during this national crisis," she told Knox News.
In 2012, Ashley even joined a group to become a minority owner of the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.
"I am very excited to make the commitment to join the potential new ownership group of the Memphis Grizzlies," she told the Denver Post. "As a native of Memphis, it was important to me that the Grizzlies remain in Tennessee and continue to have a positive impact on the community."
Ashley Manning is not only a businesswoman but a busy mom. You won't find her on Instagram or social media, but that's probably how she wants it.
