AEW World Champion has shared the origin story of his relationship with his now-wife, Alicia Atout, during a new interview with Chris Van Vliet. In this, he mentioned how they first met during a wrestling interview in Toronto, and that, while they stayed in touch over the years, the timing never aligned. However, when both were single, he slid into her DM, suggesting they meet up the next time she was in New York, although she initially ignored him, and later, hilariously, told him she thought he was “just being a creep.“
“We always stayed in touch. I always thought she was cool, but I never went there … I DM’d her, and I remember saying, ‘Hey, if you’re ever in New York, let me know.’ I didn’t get a response, so now I’m like, ‘Does she think I’m just trying to smash?’ Which is a fair assumption because I’m me. So I did what you’re not supposed to do—I double messaged. I doubled down and wrote, ‘Hey, I’m not just trying to sleep with you. I genuinely would like to take you on a date.’ Then she responded right away and said, ‘Oh okay, I thought you were just being a creep. Yeah, that works.’ And that’s when we had our first date.” – MJF
MJF was in a long-term relationship with artist Naomi Rosenblum, which began in 2020 and culminated in an engagement in September 2022. Yet the engagement ended abruptly in early 2023. Still, this opened the door for him to connect with Alicia Atout, whom he’d known on a platonic level for years. Subsequently, they started dating in 2023, and after rumors of them being spotted together, they finally went public in November 2023, got engaged that same month, and married in September 2025.
