Vea and Potoa'e, UW and NFL Teammates, Marry Within Hours
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea on Tuesday married his longtime girlfriend Alexus Atchley — like him, an accomplished former University of Washington athlete — with his NFL team sending out congratulations to the couple via a late-afternoon tweet that included a photo.
It was a busy day for Huskies turned Bucs and their nuptials.
Two hours earlier, the NFL team did the same for another former UW defensive tackle and current Tampa Bay player, Benning Potoa'e, who married his fiance Victoria.
No, it didn't appear to be a wedding doubleheader with tweeted photos of each offering different backdrops. Details, such as ceremony location, were not provided.
A next obvious question would be this: fellow ex-Husky and Bucs outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, any marital plans?
Vea and Atchley met at the UW, with him part of the Huskies' College Football Playoff team in 2016 and she a starter months earlier for the UW women's basketball Final Four team. He's spent the past four seasons with the Bucs.
They became engaged in late 2020 while Vea was recovering from an injury before he recovered in time to play in Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs and share in the Bucs' 31-9 victory and earn a ring, according to news accounts.
The 5-foot-9 Atchley, a California native similar to Vea, originally was a walk-on basketball player at Colorado before coming to the UW without a scholarship and earning one.
This past October, Atchley and her father Mitch were in Tampa Bay to participate in the Treasure Chest 5K and Fun Run, honoring her mother Stacy Marie, who died of breast cancer in June 2020 after an 18-month battle.
Not much is known about the Potoa'e union. He hails from Dupont, Washington, and played for the Huskies from 2016 to 2019, spending two seasons at the UW with Vea. He was inactive for Super Bowl LV, but he received a ring nonetheless.
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