Have you ever had a Valentine? “Not yet. Maybe this year.”
What has been the best Valentine’s Day gift that you have ever received or given? “Probably when I was in middle school. It was just, like, a card from my mum. Something like that, nothing specific.”
What would be your ideal gift to receive for Valentine’s Day? “Probably something more along the lines of an experience. A date rather than an object. That would be
pretty nice.”
Describe your perfect Valentine’s Day date. “As far as dates go, I’m more of a kind-of-nice-dinner-and-go-watch-the-sunset-type of guy. That’s my kind of thing.”
Who should pay for everything on a Valentine’s Day date? “Probably the person who asked you, but I mean, equal pay and stuff nowadays is all good. So if you want to split the bill, go for it.”
At what age did you have your first crush? “Probably when I started watching Disney Channel. Seeing some teenage girls when you’re 10 or 11 is an eye-opener.”
Who was your first professional athlete crush? “I’ve always found Serena Williams really attractive. I don’t know why. I like strong women. I think that’s what it is.”
What is most important to you when looking for a significant other? “Just somebody that can have a laugh and reciprocate love
and affection.”
What do you consider a deal breaker? “I don’t know. Body odor probably would be the pretty bad part.”
Have you ever had a Valentine? “I did. I had a couple in elementary school, in high school and they all bought me a whole bunch of things. And I just got them, like, you know, some chocolates. I got this [guy] some cologne one time but nothing
too special.”
What has been the best Valentine’s Day gift that you have ever received or given? “I don’t think I’ve had the best, yet. Honestly, I just got a big ol’ bear one year, and I really wanted it, so I guess that was the best.”
What would be your ideal gift to receive for Valentine’s Day? “OK, so, a bouquet of roses. A whole bunch of chocolates. But, the roses have to have some money wrapped around. Or a nice bracelet would be nice. You know, a date to the movies and out to eat. That’d be pretty ideal.”
Describe your perfect Valentine’s Day date. “I get all cute and stuff. He picks me up. He has flowers for me ready to go. He doesn’t tell me where we’re going to go eat at ’cause it’s a surprise. When we get there, it’s, like, a dinner for two and we have, like, a lookout over the city. Beautiful music playing. That’d be pretty good.”
Who should pay for everything on a Valentine’s Day date? “Well, let’s see here, it depends. Usually, I would say him, you know, but I’m not the one who wouldn’t want to pay ’cause I’ll pay my way. You know, I’m independent. But if we do something after, say for instance, he can pay for the dinner and I’ll pay for the movies or whatever we do after.”
At what age did you have your first crush? “First crush. Dang, let me see. Let me think back. It had to have been elementary. Age, I would say 12.”
Who was your first professional athlete crush? “Professional athlete? Can it be, like, a celebrity? ’Cause Chris Brown, he had my heart.”
What is most important to you when looking for a significant other? “He has to respect me. Know my value. Treat me like he would treat his mother. No less. And, really, just hold me, like, on a high pedestal.”
What do you consider a deal breaker? “Well, he has to be funny, charming, respectable, nice, have a nice smile, smell good. So, if you’ve got all that, then you can deal break that.”
Have you ever had a Valentine? “I have had a Valentine in the past. It was all right. It was OK.”
What has been the best Valentine’s Day gift that you have ever received or given? “The best Valentine’s gift that I’ve ever received is probably 60 chocolates from my mother and the best Valentine’s gift that I’ve ever given was a big Costco bear to my mother. So, basically, my mother has been my Valentine for a while.”
What would be your ideal gift to receive for Valentine’s Day? “I’d say 65 chocolates and a nice little dinner. I’d like that.”
Describe your perfect Valentine’s Day date. “Get dressed up, nice cologne, nice haircut. She’s gotta look nice as well and then we ride out in a nice Lamborghini and we go to Saltgrass, order whatever we want on the menu.”
Who should pay for everything on a Valentine’s Day date? “Definitely, the female. Us college students are broke.”
At what age did you have your first crush? “When did the first Transformers come out? Megan Fox. What year was that? I’d say about 10 years old.”
Who was your first professional athlete crush? “Probably, Hope Solo from the [USA] women’s soccer team.”
What is most important to you when looking for a significant other? “Well, first, she’s gotta have a pretty face. I have a foot fetish. That might be a little weird, but she’s gotta have pretty toes. And, then, humorous. I like a female who’s humorous.”
What do you consider a deal breaker? “If they don’t laugh at my jokes, then that’s a problem.”
Have you ever had a Valentine? “Yes, I did! I remember my first Valentine in eighth grade. My mom didn’t know about it. And he came down the hallway and he had me a bear, a little necklace from Walmart and some, like, chocolates. I was so shocked because I didn’t even know the boy. That was the day he was, like, ‘Oh, yeah, well, you want to be my girlfriend?’ and me being the smart, educated eighth-grader that I was, I said yes. I’ll never forget that!”
What has been the best Valentine’s Day gift that you have ever received or given? “The best Valentine’s gift I’ve ever received would be a bouquet of flowers from my mom. I remember I was in fourth grade and she brought it to class. Everybody had their little gifts. To me, when you give somebody flowers, it’s like a big adult thing. … I’ll never forget it and it was one of my favorite Valentine’s ever.”
What would be your ideal gift to receive for Valentine’s Day? “OK, that’s the question! I just like effort or just a written-out letter of all, you know, the things I’ve done to make you happy in your life. Something like that or just a surprise. Oh! No! This is what I’d [like]. If somebody had a surprise, you know, those puppet suits. The big, old mascots, and they come and they’re like ‘Happy Valentine’s Day, I love you!’ and they do the little dance and jig. Ohhhh, that would just make my entire life if I had that happen. Definitely, a dancing mascot gram, that would be great!”
Describe your perfect Valentine’s Day date. “My ideal Valentine’s Day gift would be a simple dinner. It could just be a picnic, you know, at a park or just a McDonald’s trip and then we go and just watch the stars at night. Or, I’m low maintenance but high maintenance.”
Who should pay for everything on a Valentine’s Day date? “OK, listen here. I’m not one to be sexist, so I believe that if there is a person who’s financially secure, that obviously should be the person to handle most of the event planning. If it’s dinner, if it’s movies, etc. But, if that person handles that, then the other person should handle the tip, always. So, it doesn’t matter if it’s the boy or the girl, whoever is financially secure at the time.”
At what age did you have your first crush? “Don’t tell my mom. No, my very first crush was Chris Brown. That was when I was, I’d say probably 9 or 10. I would watch all of his videos … in my grandma’s room. But then, my second love of my life, real, real serious crush, ’cause I believed in my mind that we had the lifelong type of relationship with kids and everything, Justin Bieber. That’s my boo. Now, look, modern-day Justin Bieber, yeah, he’d probably have to wait in line for some people, but back in the day, me and J.B. were
the perfect duo.”
Who was your first professional athlete crush? “You know what’s funny? I’m sorry to say, although I am an athlete, I’m more of an actress and I’ve never been really attracted to athletic physiques.”
What do you consider a deal breaker? “A deal breaker, for me, is lack of ambition. If you’re not gonna try in life, then I don’t want to live life with you.”
–Compiled by Sports Editor Juanita Maldonado and photos by Laia Vite and Mariana Gomez
