Jana Kramer Confirms She’s Dating Former Soccer Player Allan Russell: 5 Things to Know About Her Boyfriend

Introducing her man! After keeping their romance relatively low-key, Jana Kramer has revealed that she is dating former soccer player Allan Russell.

“Back where it all started… Also this is so us… trying to take a photo 😂,” the One Tree Hill alum, 39, captioned the pair’s Instagram debut on Saturday, January 28, tagging Russell’s account.

In the snap, Kramer laughed as she cuddled her 42-year-old beau on a brown leather couch. The former North Carolina FC athlete, for his part, was all smiles and wore a white turtleneck with a black coat. The “Story” songstress also wore a jacket, but in a camel color. While Kramer tagged her Instagram location in downtown Nashville, it is unclear when and where the photo was taken.

After the pair’s social media debut, Kramer’s celebrity friends flooded the comment section to toast the relationship milestone.

“There he is 😍😍,” Kelly Rizzo, who was married to Bob Saget before his January 2022 death, replied on Friday.

Kramer’s personal trainer, Erin Oprea, added: “Soooo happy for you.”

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The Soccer Mom Madam star announced earlier this month that she had a new boyfriend, revealing during her “Whine Down” podcast that he was a “sweetheart” who lives in England.

“I don’t know if this is my forever person. … But, like, I’m not going to push away love just because I’ve been hurt before. I’m going to embrace it,” Kramer — who shares daughter Jolie, 6, and son Jace, 4, with ex-husband Mike Caussin — said during the January 9 episode of her podcast, hinting that they met through an online dating app. “I’m going to have fun. And if it doesn’t work out, well, you know what, I’m gonna learn a lot of lessons. And I had a lot of fun along the way.”

She added at the time: “When I was on that app, I was like, ‘No, they live in a different country, no, no, no.’ And, you know, even with him, I said, ‘No … this is silly. I’m a mom with two kids and I live in Nashville, like, how would this even work?’ And something about him, you know, I was like, ‘OK, well, let me just see, what does the conversation hurt, right?’ This just feels different.”

Kramer — who was briefly linked to Jay Cutler and Ian Schinelli in 2022 following her divorce from Caussin, 35 — is remaining optimistic as she and Russell navigate long distances.

“I’m just enjoying where it’s at right now and I’m enjoying feeling this way,” she gushed during her podcast. “We’re trying not to go more than three weeks without seeing each other. … It just feels really nice, and I don’t want to put too much pressure on it and I just want to enjoy it.”

Scroll below to meet Kramer’s new man:

The former striker has become a soccer coach since retiring as a pro athlete. Per his Instagram bio, he is a specialist attacking coach for Norwich City FC. Russell also founded Superior Striker, an elite attacking training program for fellow soccer players.

The Roam Foods cofounder has played professional soccer for Hamilton Academical, St Mirren, Macclesfield Town, Mansfield Town and Partick Thistle across the U.K. He later joined the North Carolina FC and Los Angeles Blues in the U.S. Since becoming a set-piece coach, Russell even helped England’s team train for the 2018 World Cup. (England finished in fourth place at the time with France taking home the trophy.)

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Russell currently is based in England.

Kramer confirmed during a January 9 episode of her “Whine Down” podcast that she had a new man, who seemed “different” from her past romances. 

“Yes, it was a week later I flew out here [for this trip], but only because I can’t come back because, you know, weekends [with the kids] and, you know, there’s things that I couldn’t rearrange and right now with his job, he can’t come,” she said, revealing her December 2022 trip to England was actually a getaway to visit Russell. “So I’ll have to do more of the bulk of the flying for the next few months. But I’m excited about it. And you know, in three weeks, hopefully, I’ll be back. … I’m happy.”

Two days after the Steppin’ Into the Holidays actress shared a FaceTime screenshot with her man, using an emoji to cover his face, she revealed his identity on Instagram. “Back where it all started,” she captioned her snap, seemingly referring to one of the pair’s first dates.