Jeff Rohrer and Josh Ross should exist in different universes.

Jeff is a former hard-hitting linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, and Josh is a celebrity aesthetician with a client list that includes Lisa Rinna and other members of Bravo’s iconic Real Housewives franchise.

But the two men were destined to meet… at an Italian restaurant in West Hollywood. At least, that’s how Josh explains it. As a fun-loving 30-something in WeHo, he felt like he was “post-closet.” He had no time for discreet men with loaded backstories.

Then he met Jeff.

Under normal circumstances, there would’ve been tons of red flags: ex-wife, two kids, not fully out. But Josh felt there was a bond linking them together. As a native Texan, he understood the power of America’s Team.

“I was never a football fan, of course, but living in Texas, the Dallas Cowboys, that’s America’s Team. There was something about that,” he said. “The coincidence for him to have played football in my home state, it just felt like there was something kinetic and magic about that.”

Josh’s intuition turned out to be correct. The couple married in 2018, which made national news. By wedding Josh, Jeff became the first, and remains the only, NFL player to be part of a same-sex marriage.

He also became the first NFL player to raise his kids with his husband and ex-wife… all under the same roof. PEOPLE and NFL Films highlighted Jeff and Josh’s “Modern American Family.”

“I realized I had a responsibility,” Jeff said. “For me, it became an opportunity to not put myself in a silo of being gay, or not put myself in a silo of ‘he’s an NFL macho guy.’ Nothing to support anybody, but just try to spread a message of love and understanding.”

Now empty-nesters, Jeff and Josh are in a new era of their marriage. Josh tends to his cosmetic career, while Jeff works in Hollywood and involves himself in advocacy programs such as Pride 365.

They seem to be enjoying their solo era. The proof is in the laughs!

With NFL season kicking off this week, Queerty caught up with Jeff and Josh to talk about gridiron glory, dating in WeHo and starring in a real-life sitcom. Here’s what they had to say…

QUEERTY: “Jeff Rohrer’s Modern Family.” It sounds like a sitcom! Were there any moments that would’ve made a particularly good episode?

JOSH ROSS: Something that was funny–you know how people say stuff online? “If dad says no, ask mom. If mom says no, ask other dad.” The kids now have a third person in their universe to figure out how to get what they want out of. That was funny.

JEFF ROHRER: They worked us over pretty good. They won the overall war.

JOSH: Bella, our daughter, had a cute story about something that happened in school one day…

JEFF: The kids were a little freaked out after the news came out. They were coming back to school after the press was crazy, and somebody in one of Isabella’s classes goes, “Is your dad Jeff Rohrer? And did he just marry a guy named Josh?” And Isabella kinda went, “Yeah…” and the girl went, “Wow! That’s so cool!” 

JOSH: From my side of it, I’ve been out since I was 15 years old…

JEFF: You’ve been out since birth!

JOSH! … There was never any doubt. But on Jeff’s side, that wasn’t the case. I think this is about how all of the things that he was scared about coming out were all being received with so much love and support from all of his teammates and friends and family and kids. There was no negativity about it. It was this positive thing that kept growing and growing. It just became more positive.

Jeff, you’ve said you wouldn’t have been able to come out when you played for the Cowboys in the ’80s. Were you surprised by the positive reaction?

JEFF: I was honestly shocked. I did not expect… I knew I would get props from the gay community… or at least I hoped I would! I did not expect the amount of people, friends of mine on the right, on the left, married, unmarried, all colors, giving me their support. This says nothing about me, but I think it says something about our community. When you live your life well, when your handshake means something, when words come out of your mouth, they mean something. When you work, people appreciate what you do. That matters a lot more than your sexuality. 

How about when you guys met? Love at first sight?

JOSH: We met in West Hollywood at a restaurant that was not traditionally a gay restaurant. It’s hard for Jeff to go back to that time sometimes, but I think he was trying to dip his toe into the gay pool, but not necessarily like going to the Abbey. He was like, “Let me go to the nice Mexican restaurant in West Hollywood, and maybe there will be a gay person there.”

…I didn’t know that Jeff played professional football until we were dating for at least two months. I didn’t know he was married previously, or that he had two kids. I’m a single guy in West Hollywood. I was going out with a few different guys.

JEFF: Josh was dating like eight people.

JOSH: Let’s throw them in the roster, and see where it goes! … So things kept evolving and finally Jeff was like, “Let’s go to dinner. I have some things I have to tell you.” Nobody wants to have that conversation. “Oh God. What’s this gonna be?” Then he laid it out about being married, and having two children, and I was like…

JEFF: Did I even tell you my name was Jeff?

After dating in West Hollywood, what was more surprising about Jeff? That he was a former NFL player, or married with kids?

JOSH:  I think the fact that Jeff played in the NFL made it more palatable. Like, “OK, that’s kind of cool.” I didn’t think it was a bad thing. But I thought that was something that was going to present challenges. I never dated in the closet.

JEFF: The good news is, he likes daddies, so that worked out pretty good!

JOSH: … Because I feel like it was post-in the closet. There was no excuse to be in the closet. But the NFL thing, that actually was an excuse. There were no other NFL players who were out publicly. It did give him a shield, almost. It’s because of all these great achievements he’s achieved, and if we can peel back the layers, and he’ll do the work, I’ll do it with him. 

As an aesthetician to the stars, our readers want to know: Josh… what’s your skincare routine?

JEFF: This could be a really long answer!

JOSH: No, no. Very short! It’s all about the health, quality and function of the skin. Just doing the proper things for your skin: cleansing, exfoliating, protecting from the sun. Just living a healthy lifestyle is going to show from the inside out. It’s not about fillers and botox.  … It’s more about a lifestyle of healthy living. It doesn’t have to be a very specific routine. Just figure out works for you. Drink more water, eat a balanced diet, work out. There is no magic potion. 

What’s one thing about playing for “America’s Team” that people don’t know about?

JEFF: There’s a move called North Dallas 40. It’s a comedy, and it is based on a team that was there just slightly before when I was there. I say it’s not a comedy, it’s a documentary. It was everything anybody could imagine in their head, and more. It was hilarious, the parties were that good. Playing football in that era was probably the toughest football ever played, because of the experimental astroturf. There were rules, but there weren’t. Everybody playing hurt. No real concession protocols. The TV resolution was really bad then, so you couldn’t see that much. But it was a blood bath. Everybody had blood all over them. There was a lot of fun to be had with the cheerleaders. That’s when Dallas was just going off, so the bar scene was nuts. After games, there were some pretty crazy parties. We had a lot of fun.

On a fall Sunday, you guys can be found doing what...

JOSH: Jeff will be watching football… and I’ll be at pilates!

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