Though track and field’s most popular couple took their trip down the aisle over a year ago, the two weren’t able to find time for a honeymoon until recently. Brianne Theisen-Eaton, a world indoor and outdoor championships silver medalist in the pentathlon and heptathlon, respectively, left the honeymoon planning to Ashton Eaton, who currently holds the decathlon world record and is a 2012 Olympic games gold medalist. They traveled to Dubai and Seychelles, two of the few remaining cities that their competitive travels haven't already taken them to, and enjoyed the beaches, unique foods and a desert safari over some Arabic dunes.

I caught up with the couple shortly after their trip, and decided it would be fun to play a round of the Newlywed Game with them. Check out how the two, who share the same occupation, coach and address, handle married life.

First Question. Who asked who out first?
Brianne: Our first official date was on Valentine’s Day. He asked me, but before that we were just hanging out as friends in the same friend group. I guess I don’t give him as much credit for it, as if we didn’t know each other at all, but technically he asked me out first.

Ashton: I definitely asked her out first. Our first date was during Valentines Day and I took her out to Olive Garden.


Were you surprised or expecting it?
Brianne: Because it was Valentine’s Day, I was expecting it. We were clearly heading toward a relationship so I was waiting for it.

Ashton: I don’t think surprised is the right word. I think she was more relieved. We were hanging out with the same group of friends and there was clearly an interest there, so after it was all said and done she asked me what took you so long?

Who spends more time in front of the mirror?
Brianne: Me for sure. Ashton is in and out and the longest he’ll be in there for is if he’s cutting his hair, which is annoying because sometimes he’ll leave the hair sitting on the floor.

Ashton: Brianne. One hundred percent Brianne. Every time we walk past a mirror I’ll glance over and catch her checking herself out.

Who is the messy one?
Brianne: When it comes to stuff lying around that would be me, but I like the kitchen to be clean and the counters to be wiped. He’s not dirty, but he’ll forget to clean those things. Also, when there’s dust on things it drives me crazy. He’ll say we don’t need to dust when I feel there’s a ton of dust on something.

Ashton: Brianne for sure. It’s definitely Brianne. In high school I used to be really messy and had clothes and things all over the place with no organization. That led to having a really bad habit of losing important things. But something happened in college where I developed this technique of just getting rid of everything that’s extra, so I only had what was essential and nothing could distract from what was important. That led to me becoming super clean and minimal.


You went to the same university, do the same event and obviously spend a lot of time together, so I assume you two have a lot of similarities, but what is your biggest difference?
Brianne: Our personalities are completely different. I’m more likely to get super impatient or get mad and blow up, but he’s more reserved. He doesn’t get really upset, and when he does he just gets quiet and won’t really say anything. So if he’s annoyed or frustrated he’ll just stop talking where as I’m complaining and voicing my opinion.

Ashton: The biggest difference in my opinion is Brianne is more impatient than I am. She is smarter than me, but she wears her emotions on her sleeve where I’m more likely to keep mine in. She also has a greater ability to plan ahead. I’m a little more instinctual. I do think things through, but in the end it all comes around to it just seems like a good idea and I can’t really tell you why, but she can always tell you why.


Who is more outgoing?
Brianne: He’s more outgoing and I’m more reserved.

Ashton: I would say Brianne is more outgoing. Growing up she’s been a lot more social and had a lot of friends, where as I had a smaller group of friends. Even to this day she’s willing to try more stuff, but actually if there’s a food she doesn't think she’ll like she won’t try it. She won’t go skydiving and won’t do anything that she fears... you know what? I think I’m more outgoing. The thing is she’s more outgoing in social settings, but I’m more outgoing privately when it comes to things I want to do like skydiving or whatever. She’s a little more timid when she’s by herself.


What event will your children do?
Brianne: We’re both more speed and power athletes, so I can’t see them being distance runners. If not multi-event athletes then sprinters. I think the 400 is the event, but it’s hard to say.

Ashton: You know what? I bet you he or she would be the world record holder in the triple jump. I say that because I have a lot of speed and explosiveness and Brianne has a lot of robustness. Her joints handle impact very well, where as mine are a little more weak. So if there’s a combination of the explosiveness with the solidness then I see the triple jump being where they could excel because they could train more frequently on a higher level.


What track event best exemplifies your relationship; the 400 hurdles, long jump or 5K?
Brianne: 400 hurdles because they’re complicated. Our relationship isn’t complicated, but our lifestyles are. Sometimes in our lives things are going really smoothly, but there’s always hurdles that come up in life.

Ashton: 400 hurdles, no question. I say that because it’s an endurance event and in every relationship there’s always hurdles. Sometimes you get over them smoothly and your steps are on and sometimes your steps are off and it’s ugly, but in the end you still make it over and finish the race.

Who’s the better driver?
Brianne: We’re both going to say ourselves, but I can be impatient and sometimes get road rage really bad. So I’m probably a worse drive in that sense, but Ashton is awful with directions and never knows where to go. Also, if he’s talking to me while he’s driving, he’ll just blow by a turn that we were supposed to make. He can’t do two things at one time.

Ashton: I’m a much better driver than Brianne. She has the worst road rage imaginable and it wasn’t until this year that I found out why. I’ve visited her hometown a bunch of times and where she’s from is very small and very remote. Last summer we went camping with her parents there and we had to drive two and half hours to the campsite. During that time we probably saw five cars. So I complained to Brianne about her road rage for so long, but then I finally understood. If there’s a car in front of her she just gets pissed off and it’s because she grew up for 20 years never having to deal with it.


Do you two have any pet names for one another?
Brianne: I call him Ash and he calls me Bri.

Ashton: Yeah I call her Britree, Treeanne and any name that has Bri in the beginning and some made up ending.


What was the worst gift you’ve ever gotten from one another?
Brianne: He hasn’t given a bad gift. We don’t usually give things as gifts, more experiences, so we’ll do something like go out for a weekend of wine tasting or he’ll take me to the spa. I like that kind of stuff.

Ashton: I can’t give you an answer because I don’t know. I have no idea. Maybe it was a candle or something. When we were in college we would spend money on each other because we didn’t know any better, and after a while we got to the point where there wasn’t much left that we could give each other in that form. So when we started spending more time together. We realized we like doing fun and unique things together and decided that was a good gift.


Who’s the money saver and who’s the money spender?
Brianne: I would say we’re pretty equal. I like clothes and shoes and bags and he likes technology items like Xbox. Neither of us spends more than the other one and we’re both on the same page with saving and spending.

Ashton: Brianne has a very financial mind. She’s definitely more of the saver. The things that I get tend to be more expensive. I don’t necessarily like spending money, I like saving it more, but I do get things like Xbox games without a second thought. I have to try out anything technology related that peaks my interest.


How do you grab each other's attention?
Brianne: I’ll start with, hey Ash? And his mom does it, too. He says that is the most annoying thing he can ever hear because he knows it’s going to follow up with something that he has to do. His mom did it to him all throughout growing up and now I do it. So I’m trying to stop saying that.

Ashton: To get her attention I’ll just say her name, but I’ll do it like a joke, like I’m completely helpless.


What is the most popular food dish at the Eaton household?
Brianne: Our most popular snack is greek yogurt. Our go to meal would be quinoa or couscous or chicken and vegetables because that’s easy and quick to make. We drink a lot of water and gatorade at practice, but drink a lot of fizzy water at home.

Ashton: Something with pasta or noodles is always my go to. Or it could be steak. We don’t cook it, but we always get Thai food and really like Thai noodles.