The Cincinnati Bengals reporter, Elise Jesse, is charting unfamiliar territory that is nowhere close to a football field. The longtime sports journalist caught fans off guard with a major announcement on Thursday. Turns out, Jesse will compete in Season 5 of Gordon Ramsay’s Next Level Chef on FOX. With her TV appearance set to bring more popularity, many viewers are now curious about her personal life, especially the man by her side. 

Who is Elise Jesse’s husband, Michael Rehfeldt? 

Elise’s husband is Michael Rehfeldt, who has carved an impressive career in sports performance. A native of Blaine, he completed his bachelor’s in physical education from St. Cloud State University in 2005. He began his career working in the NFL but expanded his reach beyond football. Rehfeldt had dedicated almost two decades to working in strength and conditioning across football and basketball at multiple levels, per the Cincinnati Bearcats‘ official website. 

What are Michael Rehfeldt’s height and age?

As of December 2025, Michael Rehfeldt is likely 43 years old. The information provided by the University of Connecticut about its staff notes that Michael was 38 years old when he joined in July 2020. This places his birth year around 1981 or 1982. Meanwhile, there is no viable information in news reports or official biographies about his height at the time of writing. 

How did Elise Jesse and Michael Rehfeldt meet?

Elise and Michael Rehfeldt first met on January 8, 2014, according to her Instagram post. The Sports Illustrated reporter shared a carousel post on the Meta-owned application back in January 2024. The pictures showed moments in their relationship through the years. As for how they crossed each other’s paths, Elise’s caption gave it away. 

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“Pulling some pictures from the vault,” she wrote, adding a heart emoji. “On this day 10 years ago a guy named Mike Rehfeldt picked me up for a first date and we’ve been inseparable ever since.”

What does Michael Rehfeldt do for a living?

In May 2021, Michael started working at the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Athletics as the associate athletic director for sports performance. But his journey goes way back to 2006, when his first gig came from the NFL. After graduation, he joined the league, serving as a strength and conditioning assistant with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2006 to 2009. 

During his tenure, he also took on the role of director of athletic development at the S3 Athletic Development Center at Yates, Jacksonville. Rehfeldt later moved to the United Football League, joining the Sacramento Mountain Lions as their head strength and conditioning coach. He held that position for three years before grabbing a role at the University of Connecticut. 

Michael served as the director of men’s basketball sports performance from 2012 to 2020. The role established his career as he helped develop several former Bearcats. These include Sean Kilpatrick, Troy Caupain, Gary Clark, and Jacob Evans III, all of whom ended up playing professionally in the NBA. Alongside his college roles, Rehfeldt has also assisted the Cincinnati Bengals’ strength and conditioning program since August 2011.

Elise Jesse and Michael Rehfeldt’s children

Elise and Michael are parents of two kids, including a daughter and a son. In 2018, Cincinnati-based news station WLWT announced the birth of the couple’s daughter, Olivia Grace, via a Facebook post. Michael’s 2024 social media post confirmed his daughter was born on July 24, 2018. 

“Happy 6th lap OG!” the post’s caption reads. 

 Meanwhile, Elise welcomed her baby boy, named RJ, on October 17, 2021.

Michael Rehfeldt’s net worth in 2025 

At the time of writing, Michael Rehfeldt’s net worth in 2025 isn’t publicly available.

What is Michael Rehfeldt’s Instagram account?

Rehfeldt has an Instagram account with a following of 5,014. He is not very active on the site since most of his new posts date back to 2024. His feed gives his followers glimpses of both his personal and professional life. His profile includes family moments and clips or images of athletes from his training sessions.

Most recently, he posted for the first time this year on August 9. In what appeared to be a felicitation post, he’s wearing a graduation gown and cap. His caption suggested he likely received the honor for his contribution to the Cincinnati Bearcats football team. The picture also featured Elise and their children. 

“Today, I’m proud to say that I officially became a University of Cincinnati alumnus! Go Bearcats!” the caption reads. 

Additionally, his posts show how much Michael dotes on his wife and kids. As Elise Jesse gears up to explore the cooking scene, one thing remains constant: the steady support from the man standing just behind the scenes and rooting for her.