For a reporter of Amanda Balionis’ caliber, she has been quite adept at keeping her personal life away from the cameras. However, she had been dropping hints. But on holidays, she dropped one photo that cemented her relationship status.

“To another year of looking at each other like this 😍🥹,” Balionis wrote on her Instagram story, as the image showed her wrapped in an embrace with her new beau Peter Engen, a Nantucket-based luxury real estate agent and former professional skier.

Making the setting more romantic and holiday-themed were the wine bottles and soft glow from the fairy lights over a candle-light dinner. Engen posted his own story earlier, though, writing, “This past year brought the best surprise yet, @balionis.”

While the timeline of the two meeting isn’t out yet, this wouldn’t be Engen first presence in Balionis’ social accounts. One of the firsts for the two were going on a Jeep Wrangler ride back in August that the CBS Sports’ reporter called her high school dream and Engen as the man making those dreams come true. Since then, the businessman had been in her posts here and there.

The two have been spending time together amid Balionis’ busy NFL and golf reporting life. Back in September the two made a trip to California and Nashville. Then in November, she posted another bunch of photos, indirectly calling Engen an ‘essential’ in her caption, taken from a book she was reading. Moreover, Engen was in Balionis’ early Christmas plans as well.

In a post from Decembe 23, Balionis posed sitting next to Engen beside a decorated Christmas tree. The caption? “Holiday Spirit Level:Advanced.”

Balionis has weathered one of the most turbulent stretches in her personal life in the past few years. So, the timing of this confirmation carries significance.

She married to former college and NFL quarterback Bryn Renner in 2022. However, by February 2024, fans spotted her without her wedding ring. By March, she had quietly removed all references to her marriage from her social media accounts. The silence invited speculation about her separation. The speculation invited chaos, and then came the haywire with Rory McIlroy rumors.

When McIlroy filed for divorce from Erica Stoll on May 13, 2024, stating that their marriage was “irretrievably broken,” the golf world turned its attention to Balionis. The reasons were plenty. A post-round interview at the Wells Fargo Championship, where fans noted a strong, flirtatious dynamic between the two. A warm embrace at the Canadian Open that went viral. Soon, whispers became headlines. US Weekly eventually reported the two shared “just a professional relationship.”

McIlroy reconciled with his wife, Stoll, by late June, stating that staying together is the best thing for them to move forward as a family. However, it had impacted Balionis’ career. Her interviews with McIlroy got unnecessary attention. For instance, fans called their interaction awkward after the Irish golfer won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year, and their interaction during the 2025 Masters also turned heads.

However, neither Rory McIlroy nor Amanda Balionis ever addressed these rumors, not even once. Instead, they poured themselves into work, with the golfer having a historic season and Amanda doing what she does best.

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Amanda Balionis channeled turbulence into purpose

The 39-year-old logged 104,119 miles in 2025 alone—219 hours in the air, 42 cities across seven countries. She spent 19 consecutive weeks on the road covering the PGA Tour before pivoting to NFL sideline duties in the fall. Even at the 2025 Ryder Cup, where fans weaponized her name in mocking chants directed at McIlroy, she kept her composure.

Balionis also leaned into her nonprofit, Puppies & Golf. The organization she found in 2020 crossed $600,000 in total donations by late 2025. A January fundraiser in San Diego raised $119,293—$30,917 of which went directly to shelters impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. She launched the charity’s first-ever summer camp in July, partnering with First Tee–Greater Charlotte to introduce young girls to the game.

Entering the new year and a reporting offseason, Balionis is now focused on her new beau, her off-camera duties, and most importantly, herself.