Nelly Korda’s Whirlwind Romance: From NHL Heartbreak to Engagement Bliss with Mystery Man Casey Gunderson

Nelly Korda, the 27-year-old World No. 2 golfer and 2024 LPGA Player of the Year, has long kept her love life under wraps amid her dominance on the course—winning seven tournaments and two majors in a record-breaking 2024 season. But 2025 brought a dramatic pivot: after quietly parting ways with her longtime boyfriend, NHL center Andreas Athanasiou (with whom she’d been linked since 2019, sharing low-key moments like celebrating her 2021 Meijer LPGA Classic victory), Korda found a new spark in Casey Gunderson, a low-profile businessman in engineering. The couple’s seaside proposal over Thanksgiving weekend culminated in a stunning Instagram reveal on November 28, 2025, featuring romantic beachside shots and the caption “In this life… & the next.” Celebrities like LeBron James, Caitlin Clark, and her sister Jessica (who quipped, “Sorry boys, she’s off the market”) flooded the comments with congrats, turning the post into a viral sensation.

This engagement caps a personally triumphant yet professionally challenging year for Korda, who went winless in 2025 despite nine top-10 finishes and no missed cuts—her consistency a silver lining after dethroning as World No. 1 by Atthaya Thitikul. Gunderson, unlike Athanasiou’s high-profile athlete life, stays fiercely private—no social media presence, minimal public sightings—mirroring Korda’s own guarded approach to romance. Their connection reportedly deepened through shared pro-am events and mutual friends in the sports world, evolving from friendship to forever in under a year.