Mindy Armstead Reveals What It’s Really Like Coping with a Super Bowl Loss as Wife to NFL Star Arik Armstead (Exclusive)
Mindy Armstead Reveals What It’s Really Like Coping with a Super Bowl Loss as Wife to NFL Star Arik Armstead (Exclusive)
Skyler CarusoSat, June 27, 2026 at 1:15 PM UTC
0
Arik Armstead and wife Mindy Armstead with their two daughters Amiri and Ayla in February 2024.Credit: Mindy Armstead/ Instagram -
Mindy Armstead shares on WAG World how she supported husband Arik Armstead after tough Super Bowl losses with the San Francisco 49ers
The couple, married since 2020, has three children and is expecting their fourth baby in November
Mindy, a psychiatrist, uses her expertise to promote mental health awareness and help Arik balance football and family life
Mindy Armstead, the wife of NFL star Arik Armstead, is opening up about the rollercoaster of emotions that come with a Super Bowl berth.
The highest of highs and the lowest of lows could be felt at the end of the game that's arguably considered the NFL mountaintop for any football player, and no one knows that better than the person who is married to one.
Mindy, 37, wed Armstead, 32, in 2020, five years after he was selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. During his run with the club, he made Super Bowl appearances in 2020 and 2024, both losses to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Arik Armstead and his wife Mindy at the 2026 NFL Honors.Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty
In the latest episode of PEOPLE's WAG World series, Mindy — who is expecting her fourth child with the current Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end — gave an intimate look at what it's really like to be on the losing end of a Super Bowl and how the couple coped.
"The lows are not winning. I think that's easy," Mindy admitted to host Skyler Caruso on the Thursday, June 25 installment of WAG World. "I'm in grief. I'm in deep grief, for a while I'm in grief... but knowing that these guys did their best, it's enough for me and hopefully enough for them."
Mindy, a dual-boarded psychiatrist, uses her platform as someone who's uniquely suited to spread awareness on topics that are difficult to talk about, in an attempt to decrease stigma surrounding mental health, especially in athletes.
She taps into her knowledge in the space when it comes to coping with a major loss — but at the same time, she understands that loving and supporting her NFL husband outside of the game is what's most important.
"I just try to remind him, 'Football is what you do, it's not who you are. You have so many layers outside of football,' with what he does with our non-profit [the Armstead Academic Project], the community, our kids, friends, his family and my family," Mindy said.
"And so it's really what I try to preach to everyone that plays a sport is like, 'You are so much more than sport. It's something that you do, but at the end of the day, you aren't a win or a loss. You've done everything you can do so be proud of that and try to move on,'" she added.
Dr. Mindy Armstead joins host Skyler Caruso on set of PEOPLE's "WAG World" series.Credit: Alex Huang
"I try to remind him of that, really be supportive and name it," she said. "'Yeah, this sucks. I know this doesn't feel good. Is there anything you need? How's your body feeling? Do you want me to take the kids to bed?' Or whatever it might be to try to cover for him so he can get that rest."
Advertisement
Mindy believes that fatherhood has helped remove the pain. She and Armstead shares daughters Ayla, 3, and Amiri, 5, and 15-month-old son Audemar Kristian. Mindy also revealed on WAG World that they are expecting their fourth baby together in November.
"I think for him it was harder, interestingly enough, when he didn't have kids. He would be a bit of a curmudgeon," she quipped. "The first Super Bowl they [the 49ers] lost [a 31-20 defeat to the Chiefs in February 2020], just watching film for days. I was like, 'Okay, we've got to turn the iPad in.... 24 more hours and we're not watching this game again, right?'"
"But with kids, their needs don't stop. So yeah, he played in the Super Bowl, but then he has to be a dad," Mindy said. "They need dinner, they need to be put down. We're back home, they've got to go to school, or camp, or we're going on vacation... whatever it is."
Mindy Armstead and Arik Armstead.Credit: Arik Armstead Instagram
Follow your favorite athletes on and off the field with PEOPLE's free sports newsletter — sign up now!
"So I think he's able to jump out of it a little bit sooner because there's more perspective, like, 'My family needs me now. I've got to step into this other role'," she shared. "So there's this grief aspect, but he can recognize how blessed he is in other areas. So I think it makes it easier."
Mindy then made it clear, "I don't want to speak for him because he did not tell me this, but this is what I think."
On the flip side, the mom of three sees the positives in the successful road that Armstead helped pave to get his team to the Super Bowl — not once, but twice! The latter, however, was extra special for the family because he had his daughters there to experience the major milestone with him.
"The high and probably one of my best NFL memories is 2023 when we won the NFC Championship with the Niners because the girls were there. They got to rush the field and all that confetti," she recalled, smiling at the thought.
"They got to really see where Dad goes, what he's doing, why he's away from them and really cheer him on, be there," she continued. "They understood the win, got to go into the locker room... it was just really fun to see."
"I think those are some of the highs and honestly I love those games. It's a different energy from the team, from the fans, as a former athlete, even just seeing the energy from Arik and the preparation and the determination," she said. "It's really exciting."
Armstead spent nine seasons with the 49ers before joining the Jaguars in March 2024.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
