Who Is Denny Hamlin’s Fiancé, Jordan Fish?
The NASCAR speedster and his former cheerleader’s rollercoaster of a relationship is one for the ages.
Since his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2006, the same season in which he was crowned the Rookie of the Year in racing’s top flight, Denny Hamlin has kept his foot on the gas, amassing 56 wins in 694 races over the course of his 21-year career. To top it off, in 2023, his skills behind the wheel powered the league’s evolving “villain” to be named to the elite list of the 75 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR.
While that’s an impressive accolade for any driver, it also levels up to his Achilles Heel, because he holds the unceremonious title of the most winningest Cup Series driver without a championship victory. Last year, the three-time Daytona 500 winner showed moments where it seemed like it was going to be his time to finally get the 800-pound gorilla off his back, but his three wins and 2329 overall points were only enough to land Joe Gibbs Racing’s Toyota wheelman in eighth place – a respectable finish but not what a veteran of his caliber wants nor deserves.
Still, through the highs and lows of more than two decades battling on the track, both as a driver and now a co-owner of 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan, while it hasn’t always been a smooth road, his paramour and now fiancé Jordan Fish has been by his side since nearly the time he took to the track. As Dick Dastardly narrowly missed hitting a history-making trifecta of consecutive wins at Bristol while also surpassing his 400th career start – the third longest active streak behind only Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski – here’s a look at the soon-to-be Mrs. Hamlin.
Where is Denny Hamlin's fiancé Jordan Fish from?
Born October 27, 1987, Jordan Fish hails from Fort Mill, South Carolina. She has a younger sister, Linsey, as well as a half-brother and a half-sister from when her parents remarried.
As a youngster, Jordan fell in love with dance and pursued a myriad of disciplines, including tap, ballet and jazz. Following her passion eventually led her to an opportunity of a lifetime – dancing for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats (now renamed the Hornets).
“The best thing about it was I got to do what I love to do... dance and perform,” recalled Fish. “I absolutely loved everybody at the Bobcats. They’re like my second family.”
How did Denny Hamlin and Jordan Fish meet?
Thanks to her pursuit of dance, Fish and Hamlin originally met during a Charlotte Bobcats game where she was performing. Hamlin’s two friends nudged her to talk to the then rookie driver sitting across the court but, though she smiled at him throughout her sideline routine, she and Hamlin never spoke – they only made eye contact. The following day, as Fish stated to Skirts and Cuffs, her friend on the dance team called to tell her that Hamlin was interested in dating her, but when Fish reached out to Hamlin, she said he “just didn’t seem interested,” and she didn’t “click” with him.
Thank goodness Ms. Fish believes in second chances.
“[Later on,] I was doing the Miss South Carolina USA pageant, [and] I had to get sponsorship,” opined Fish. “I didn’t have any money, was a broke college kid. My friend was like, ‘Why don’t you get that NASCAR driver who likes you to sponsor you in the pageant.’ I said, ‘That’s a great idea!’”
“So I called him and said, ‘Would you want to sponsor me?’ And he’s like, ‘Sure!’ I said, ‘How about I’ll take you to dinner as a thank you?”
“So that’s what we did, we went to dinner,” she continued. “I had such a good time with him that I didn’t even care if I got the sponsorship money at that point. When we hugged, I had butterflies in my stomach. It was the first time we hugged. And so then he runs in the house and gets me a check for my sponsorship – it was so sweet.”
Where did Jordan Fish go to college?
As she and Hamlin found their footing as a couple, Jordan Fish attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.
While attending ECU, Fish earned her major in communications and a minor in public relations. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2011 before diving into a job as an archivist in the NASCAR Media Group.
When did Denny Hamlin and Jordan Fish start dating?
As Fish explains, this second time back around with the fiery Florida man in 2007 proved to be the pivotal moment for the now happy couple to ratchet up their courtship into full-fledged dating.
“We were inseparable for about two weeks straight before I went to school,” noted Fish. “…I remember him asking me to be his girlfriend the day before I left for college. It was hard our first six months or so. I was driving back and forth every weekend, a three-to-four hour drive each time.”
The distance and constant driving was a thorn in the couple’s side that nearly derailed them from their happy future together.
“The only time I could see him was on the weekend, and that’s when he was working,” she added. “We broke up a couple times because it was way too hard.”
In 2021, Hamlin and Fish hit another rough couple of bumps in the road. The New York Post reported that Fish posted multiple messages on then Twitter, seemingly alerting the public that their relationship was over.
When did Denny Hamlin and Jordan Fish get engaged?
Despite some early hiccups in their relationship and the tumultuous nature of the social media posts in 2021, Fish and Hamlin reconciled shortly after that disruption and have been happily together ever since. During a family trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, they announced their engagement on January 1, 2024 via a series of photos on Instagram.
In a clever callback to that one stat No. 11 is itching to leave in the dust, Jordan’s cheeky caption of “Rings: DH 0, Jordan 1” is the perfect burn for the guy who can roast anyone at a moment’s notice.
Do Denny Hamlin and Jordan Fish have kids?
Denny Hamlin and Jordan Fish currently have two kids. Their first daughter, Taylor James Hamlin, was born in 2013. Four years later, the couple celebrated the birth of their second daughter, Molly Gold Hamlin. Jordan and Denny are expecting a third child due in June.
In addition to their children, the engaged duo also has a pair of loveable fur babies – a pit bull mix named Andy and a Jack Russell terrier named Missy. The Hamlin family currently lives in Huntersville, North Carolina.
What does Jordan Fish do for a career?
After a brief stint as an archivist in the NASCAR Media Group, Fish has worked as a model and actress while also being active in the influencer sphere with fashion, beauty, and lifestyle curation. That work ignited her entrepreneurial spirit, and according to LinkedIn, she launched an e-commerce clothing lined in 2014, geared to babies, called Bambinos. She’s also the CEO of Kustom Klutch. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, the small business designs and makes each individual piece by hand, ensuring both quality and craftsmanship.
And when she’s not planning her wedding, preparing for a third child, wrangling her pets, launching a new business or any number of a zillion things the busy multi-hyphenate is doing, she’s sharpening her skills on the pickle ball court. While she’s probably not adding a professional athlete moniker to her resume anytime soon, her betrothed has said that the couple enjoys the sport so much they converted their indoor basketball court to being pickle ball-compatible.
“She’s the one that got me into it,” revealed the Cup Series racer. “It certainly has taken on this household by storm over the last year and half or so.”
And as to whether or not they make a mean team on those Charlotte pickle ball courts, Hamlin joked that only one thing stood in their way.
“We do pair up often, but I don’t know if she really likes me as a partner because I’m so competitive, and so I think we’re better off when we play on different teams.”
