Who is Jessica Pegula's husband? All about Taylor Gahagen

Jessica Pegula may be one of the best tennis players in the USA, but she keeps her life off the court very private.

In recent years, the professional athlete, the daughter of Buffalo Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula, has worked her way up the WTA rankings and is competing in the US Open in 2024. Her husband Taylor Gahagen has been by her side the whole time, traveling the world to watch her play.

While not much is known about the beginnings of Pegula's relationship with Gahagen, he worked for her parents' sports and entertainment management company for nearly a decade. During that time, the couple came into contact – and by early 2019, they were engaged. The duo planned to marry the following year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their plans were postponed.

“We were supposed to get married in October last year,” Pegula said on the Tennis.com podcast in 2021. “We postponed it for a year… It's okay, it worked!”

As a married couple, Gahagen is not only Pegula's partner, but also a partner in all of her endeavors. Gahagen is vice president of Pegula's skincare company Ready 24 and helps her run her charitable foundation, A Lending Paw. Although the couple does not make their romance public, Pegula seems to count on Gahagen's support at every turn.

So, who is Jessica Pegula's husband? Here's everything you need to know about Taylor Gahagen.

He grew up in northern New York State

Gahagen was born and raised in Williamsville, New York, where he attended Williamsville North High School, where he played on the baseball team and even became friends with classmate Rob Gronkowski.

He attended college in New York and later earned his MBA

After graduating from high school, Gahagen enrolled at SUNY Fredonia, not far from his hometown. While in college, Gahagen played on the school's baseball team and was involved in the Accounting Society, Business Club and Financial Management Association. He graduated with a degree in business administration in 2011.

After graduating from college, Gahagen earned an MBA from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY. While there, he worked as a graduate assistant for the university's hockey program.

He worked at Pegula Sports and Entertainment

In 2013, Gahagen began working at Pegula Sports and Entertainment, the sports and entertainment management company owned by Pegula's parents. The company owns numerous sports teams, including the NFL's Buffalo Bills and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. Pegula Sports and Entertainment also owns Black River Entertainment, the record label that represents artists such as Kelsea Ballerini.

Gahagen has held numerous positions at the company, working as a marketing manager and being closely involved in the launch and branding of LECOM Harborcenter, a retail and entertainment facility in Buffalo that opened in 2014 (the Buffalo Sabres also train here). After working as a digital and advertising coordinator, Gahagen was promoted to director of corporate development and later to executive officer, according to his LinkedIn profile.

“I don't think there's anywhere else I'd want to work,” Gahagen said in an interview with WKBW TV in 2016. “It's so exciting. I think everyone's been talking about the opportunities in the area and the opportunities for Buffalo and Buffalo pride are unmatched. Raising the profile of Buffalo nationally, internationally and globally is the most exciting thing.”

Gahagen left the company in 2023 and is now a managing partner at Dragos Capital and Agarwood Wealth.

Pegula and Gahagen were first linked in 2015

Not much is known about the beginnings of Pegula and Gahagen's romance, as the couple has kept their relationship very private. They were first linked in 2015 when Pegula shared a photo from a costume party she attended with Gahagen. While the Instagram photo has since been deleted, the earliest photo Pegula still has with Gahagen is from a date in New York City in September 2016.

Pegula and Gahagen got married in October 2021

It is not known when exactly Gahagen proposed to her, but in early 2019, Pegula was spotted wearing a diamond on her ring finger. In an Instagram post from a trip to Prague in May of that year, Pegula was seen wearing the ring while posing for a photo.

After their engagement, Pegula and Gahagen were scheduled to marry in October 2020, but had to postpone the ceremony due to the pandemic. During an appearance on the Tennis.com podcast, Pegula revealed that the couple ultimately decided to postpone the wedding for a year.

In October 2021, Pegula and Gahagen finally said “I do” at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. The intimate ceremony was attended by the couple's family and close friends, including tennis players Jennifer Brady, Asia Muhammad, Taylor Townsend and Samantha Crawford.

Pegula and Gahagen spent their honeymoon in Costa Rica

Due to Pegula's busy tennis schedule, the couple did not have the opportunity to honeymoon until summer 2022. In July, Pegula and Gahagen flew to Costa Rica – although they had slightly different ideas about how they wanted to spend their free time. Pegula explained to WTA that she was much more “adventurous” than her husband and that while she took the opportunity to abseil down a waterfall and go ziplining, she preferred to watch Gahagen from a distance. Overall, she says, the trip was still an incredible experience.

“It was incredible, it was so much fun. We definitely want to go back. It was just the best experience. The people, the food, the lifestyle was so much fun,” she said.

Gahagen is vice president of Pegula's skin care company Ready 24

In 2018, Pegula founded her skincare company Ready 24 with Gahagen. The product line, which was recently relaunched, is aimed at people with an active lifestyle and includes a cleanser, moisturizer and spray.

“I like to call it adaptive skin care,” said Pegula fashion. “It's for people on the go, not just athletes, and for people who want to combine their skincare routine with other products. It's simple: I had terrible skin growing up, and when I did less, my skin usually got better.”

Pegula and Gahagen run their foundation together

Pegula and Gahagen both love animals, which is why they founded A Lending Paw together. The charity supports the training of rescue dogs to become service animals, which they then place with people in need.

“We wanted to help people afford assistance dogs. It's not just about dogs helping people, but also about people helping dogs, because we only work with rescue workers. That goes both ways,” Pegula said to fashion.

They are also dog owners themselves, and in May 2024, Pegula shared in a post on Instagram that they had adopted a new puppy.