As sports fans are well aware, World Series champ and Cy Young Award-winning Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander is headed to the Big Apple, where he'll pitch for the New York Mets after signing a two-year deal.
While the debate is on as to how the team will fare with JV no longer in the rotation, one common Houston chorus on social media (including our own Facebook page comments) is "Can Kate stay?" Indeed, superstar supermodel Kate Upton has captivated fans worldwide, influenced wardrobes across the state, and proven that she gives absolutely zero since she and her husband Verlander arrived.
With that in mind, we look back on some of our most-read Kate/JV headlines (in no particular order). Houston's elite sports, society, and fashion scenes will surely miss this mega-power couple — as will the legion of fans.
Verlander and Upton wed in Italy.
Justin Verlander/Twitter
Here's our top five:
Kate Upton shares details of fairytale Italian wedding to Justin Verlander
Call this one, "how it started." The power couple wed in a storybook, Italian setting in 2017 — just three days after the Astros World Series victory. Upton shared details about why the couple selected the Rosewood Castiglion Del Bosco resort as their venue, the pre-wedding "Uplander Olympics" (complete with custom Under Armour jerseys), and the inspiration for her Valentino dress.
Kate Upton and Justin Verlander announce the birth of their daughter
And this, to follow, would be dubbed, "how it's going." A year after they wed, Upton and Verlander announced the birth of their baby, Genevieve Upton Verlander, born on November 7. Verlander melted hearts with a touching fatherly message to his little girl: “Welcome to the world Genevieve Upton Verlander. You stole my ❤️ the first second I met you!!! 11.7.2018.”
Kate Upton reveals she almost missed her wedding during late-night TV appearance
Always one to steal a show, Upton appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2019, with a memorable ’80s-style aerobics dance challenge with Fallon — and a revelation that she almost missed her own wedding in Italy. The episode also featured Verlander working in a reference to Fallon’s 2005 baseball-themed romantic comedy, Fever Pitch, during a red carpet interview in which he’s asked the secret to netting a supermodel wife. “Man, there’s no secret,” Verlander tells the interviewer. Then, “I recently watched a movie, Fever Pitch. It still holds up.”
Kate Upton and Justin Verlander reveal their 5 favorite Houston haunts
Houstonians love a national shout-out, and Verlander and Upton shouted H-Town out in a big way in 2019 in the pages of the New York Times. Dishing on their five places to visit in the Bayou City, the couple spread the love for The Menil Collection, which Upton called "an awesome art collection," and Tiny Boxwoods. Oh, and Upton named the best burger she's ever had (read on).
Justin Verlander shouts out his favorite Houston burger on national TV
That leads us to the burger at the award-winning Nancy's Hustle, also Verlander's favorite. The ace name-dropped the restaurant and burger — a double patty cheeseburger with chopped onions, pickles, and aioli on a housemade brioche English muffin during an August 11 broadcast of the Astros game against the Texas Rangers. Now that's what they call scoreboard.
Honorable mention:
Kate Upton's hilarious 'salute' reminds fans why she and Justin Verlander are 100-percent ready for New York
As we bid farewell to the Houston megastars, we reminded fans of the time Upton was captured shooting her mouth off (and shooting the bird) to a smack-talking Philly fan — meaning she'll have no trouble handling fans in NYC.
