Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter capped off a stellar season by winning college football’s highest honor. But throughout the process, it seems like his fiancée has generated just as many headlines as he has.
Hunter spent most of the weekend in New York, where the Heisman Trophy ceremony is taking place, and brought along his fiancée Leanna Lenee.
But Lenee attracted negative attention all weekend, including at the awards ceremony, which featured Colorado head coach Deion Sanders patted her on the back, trying to get her up once Hunter won the trophy.
More video from throughout the weekend has surfaced, showing Hunter taking photos with fans at a planned event.
Lenee was seen sitting just a few feet away from Hunter as he took photos with a female fan. He looked angry before asking, “What do you want me to do… Then I’ll just sit here.”
Hunter then appears to suggest that she could leave if she felt like it, with the video catching him saying, “You could go to the hotel, you could walk around…”
Colorado’s Travis Hunter was in New York this week where he accepted the Heisman Trophy
But Hunter’s fiancée (L) seemed upset when Hunter took photos with his female fans
The two were also seen having a tense discussion later in the video, but what they said could not be heard over the music playing in the background.
Social media users were outraged by that interaction, with many advising Hunter — who was expected to go early in the NFL draft — to dump Lenee.
“You need to leave that girl quickly if she’s bored on the most important day of his life,” wrote one commenter on the video on X, formerly Twitter.
“Why didn’t Deion sit this guy down and explain to him what’s really going on,” read another.
Another user said: ‘I usually stand aside to leave them alone, we don’t really know anything about their relationship behind the scenes. But this is getting out of hand, lol, free him.”
It’s not the first time Lenee has appeared to be upset with Hunter this season — it’s expected to be his last at the University of Colorado.
Earlier this year, after a 52-0 blowout over Oklahoma State, Lenee and Hunter seemed to be arguing about something. When Hunter tried to kiss her on the cheek, she turned her head away.
That incident attracted widespread attention and prompted Hunter to explain what may have led to the tense altercation.
Hunter and Lenee before the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York Saturday night
Earlier this season, Lenee and Hunter appeared to have an argument after a game
Hunter and Lenee are getting married next year and have been dating for a while
“A lot of things can happen in the stands and people don’t understand that,” Hunter continued ‘The Pivot Podcast’.
“She might look annoyed at me, but at the same time there are a lot of things she has to deal with during the game. There are a lot of things people don’t see through the camera.’
“I just let people talk,” Hunter continued. “Me, I’m a big troller, so I just troll the internet. I really don’t care what they think or what they say about us so I’m just going to go ahead and troll. They talk about her, I post her to make them even angrier than they already are, so they try to find something to hate, try to find something to break our relationship, but there’s nothing, there’s nothing you can do it because I love my wife.’
‘She is the closest to everything, she helped me with everything. It’s hard sometimes, but she’s always there.’
Hunter and Lenee have been together for several years and their wedding is planned for next year.
Hunter won the Heisman Trophy by the narrowest margin since 2009, narrowly beating Boise State with Ashton Jeanty for the honor. He became the second Colorado player to take home the award, joining the late Rashaan Salaam, who won the award in 1994.
He is also the first Heisman winner to play some defense to take home the award since Hall of Famer Charles Woodson in 1997. Woodson was a safety at Michigan who also returned punts and played wide receiver.
No purely defensive player has ever won the award. The closest defensive player has ever come to winning the Heisman was Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o in 2012, who finished second to Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manzeil.