Who is Maddie Musselman's husband? Olympic water polo star wants to win gold for her biggest cheerleader
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA: Maddie Musselman has been competing in the Paris Olympics 2024 and her biggest cheerleader is her husband Patrick Woepse.
However, the water polo player, who is aiming to win her third Olympic gold medal, is facing a battle at home.
Who is Maddie Musselman's husband?
Maddie Musselman's husband is Patrick Woepse, whom she met while attending UCLA, where they were water polo players on their college swim teams.
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He has been battling a rare form of lung cancer, which was diagnosed in 2023.
Woespse noted, as reported by NBC Los Angeles, “It's a stage four lung cancer-specific mutation. At that time I didn't know what that meant.”
“I never smoked. We have a pretty healthy lifestyle. Hearing that news was a huge shock and obviously devastating,” he told TODAY.
Woespse continued, “(The doctor) noticed a mass in my lower lobe on my right lung, which led to additional imaging and then eventually a biopsy. That’s when it was diagnosed at the end of September that I had NUT carcinoma.”
Besides, Musselman said, “There (are) fears and doubts that creep in, but I don't think they possess my mind all the time, And I think our faith is a huge part of that.”
As per reports, the devastating diagnosis came a few months after they got engaged. However, they decided to fight this battle together by getting married.
Musselman revealed, “With Pat’s diagnosis, we decided we wanted to get married as soon as possible. All the people that came together to make it happen within four days – it was pretty crazy.
“We had flowers. We had a church that welcomed us with open arms to marry us. It was just a perfect weekend.”
Patrick Woepse is Maddie Musselman's biggest supporter
Maddie Musselman, 26, also shared that there were times when she wanted to halt her Olympic training to be with Woepse.
Woepse, however, did not want to hamper her career and goals.
“There are times where I wanted to be with him, but he’s like, ‘No, you have to go to practice.’ Obviously, I want him to know that I’m there, but yeah, it’s been hard,” she stated.
Patrick Woepse’s ‘biggest goal’ was to watch Maddie Musselman compete in Olympics
Patrick Woepse even joined his wife Maddie Musselman at the 2024 Paris Olympics to cheer for her and witnessed her team beating Greece.
He reportedly explained, “This was my biggest goal, with everything being so unknown. So pretty emotional, emotional day for me. Couldn’t be more thrilled to be here to support Maddie and the team..”
Musselman added, “We're sharing our story not for people to feel sorry for us or feel bad for what we're going through. If anything it's for inspiration and that you can get to the other side of things With the people that are right next to you, we hope for that.”
