The questions surrounding Bill Belichick’s relationship with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson aren’t an issue for the eight-time Super Bowl champion coach, a source tells PEOPLE.
Belichick, 73, has “never been happier,” more than three years into their relationship, the insider says.
“Bill doesn’t care about all the talk surrounding his and Jordon’s relationship,” the source tells PEOPLE. “He’s never been happier than he is with Jordon. She brings a positive energy, and people haven’t seen him this relaxed and laidback in a while.”
Belichick is in the midst of several new beginnings, between life with Hudson, his new job as head coach of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s football team and the upcoming release of his new memoir, The Art of Winning: Lessons from a Life in Football. The longtime Patriots coach was promoting the new book on Sunday, April 27 when uproar kicked up about his relationship with Hudson.
Related: Bill Belichick Breaks Silence on Controversial CBS Interview — and Defends Girlfriend Jordon Hudson
Appearing on CBS Sunday Morning, Belichick — clad in a ripped-up Navy sweatshirt that matched Hudson’s — talked about his football career and his memoir with correspondent Tony Dokoupil. Partway through the segment, Dokoupil turned his focus to Hudson, and asked Belichick about how the two of them met, which she quickly shut down.
“We’re not talking about this,” she said, as Dokoupil turned to her and asked, “No?” Hudson repeats a “No” back, and in a voiceover Dokoupil added, “It’s a topic neither one of them is comfortable commenting on.”
jordon_isabella/Instagram
Bill Belichick and Girlfriend Jordon Hudson
Once the interview aired, an uproar followed the next several days. On Wednesday, April 30, Belichick broke his silence in a statement in which he claimed CBS had agreed to keep the focus on his book during the interview, and defended Hudson.
“I agreed to speak with CBS Sunday Morning to promote my new book, The Art of Winning — Lessons from My Life in Football. Prior to this interview, I clearly communicated with my publicist at Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews I participated in would agree to focus solely on the contents of the book,” Belichick began the statement, sent via email from his employer, the University of North Carolina.
Related: Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman Defend Jordon Hudson and Former Coach Bill Belichick Against Interview Uproar
“Unfortunately, that expectation was not honored during the interview. I was surprised when unrelated topics were introduced, and I repeatedly expressed to the reporter, Tony Dokoupil, and the producers that I preferred to keep the conversation centered on the book,” he continued. “After this occurred several times, Jordon, with whom I share both a personal and professional relationship, stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion.”
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Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson attend the 14th Annual NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre on February 06, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Belichick added that Hudson was “simply doing her job to ensure the interview stayed on track” by interrupting the questions about their relationship and how they met.
Hudson had shared her first thoughts since the interview on Tuesday, April 29, by posting two screenshots — one of an email between Belichick and what appeared to be his book publishers at Simon & Schuster about how he wants to promote the memoir, and another of a grassy frame of an iPhone video, in which she tagged CBS Sunday Morning and Dokoupil.
Hudson has previously shared on social media that she and Belichick met in February 2021, while on a flight to Palm Beach. They made their first public appearance as a couple in December 2024, at a gala at the National Museum of Natural History in New York City.
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