In December, Auburn Tigers offensive lineman Austin Golson proved his heart was in the game of a lifetime when he proposed to the love of his life, Alexandra Ray, at Lake Martin – the spot where they officially became a couple.
Even though the two attended the same high school in Prattville, Ray and Golson’s paths never crossed. They officially met at a mutual friend’s housewarming party May 2017. Ray, being under 5 feet tall, said that 6-foot, 5-inch tall, dark and handsome Golson caught her attention the moment he walked into the party.
“I happened to sit down where he had been sitting, and he just looked at me and said, ‘I think I was sitting there.’ I was like, ‘Well, you’re not anymore!’” Ray said.
Later that evening, the group decided to move the party to downtown Montgomery. Even in the Uber ride, Ray was drawn to Golson after hearing him talk about a mission trip he and some football friends had attended. Once downtown, the pair was inseparable and ended up talking for hours into the night.
The following day, Golson already made plans to ask her on a date to the lake.
“There was just something about her,” Golson said. “I couldn’t wait for my family to meet her.”
After two weeks of spending every day together, Golson invited Ray to his family’s lake home on Lake Martin. They spent the majority of the weeknd out on a boat enjoying the early summer weather. One evening, they ate dinner at Kowaliga Restaurant – a longtime favorite for both Golson and Ray – and afterward, Golson grabbed a blanket and set up the perfect spot on the pontoon to stargaze. On that romantic May night, Golson asked Ray to officially become his girlfriend.
The couple spent all summer traveling together to and from both the lake and beach. It wasn’t until summer ended and school began that Ray truly understood the important role her boyfriend played in the Auburn football world.
“It was amazing to see how hard he worked and how diligent he was,” Ray said.
Ray, whose family members are actually Alabama football fans, admitted she was a kind of nervous to introduce Golson to her mom and dad.
“For my daddy, it was a hard pill to swallow,” Ray said. “When I brought home a football player from the opposing team, I knew my dad was not going to like it.”
Despite the friendly rivalry, the couple’s relationship grew with each passing day.
What impressed Ray the most was Golson’s interest in her relationship with her late grandfather. Ray and he were the ultimate fishing partners and close friends before he passed away nearly two years ago. Aside from recreational fishing on Lake Martin, her grandfather often asked Ray to fish in tournaments with him. Whenever they would fish together, a sack lunch often followed at Church in the Pines or Children’s Harbor.
By the time November rolled around and the regular football season had ended for Golson and the Auburn Tigers, the couple began to wonder what the next step in their relationship would be.
“Austin was graduating with his master’s degree that December, and he would enter the NFL draft later that spring,” Ray said.
One day in December 2017, Golson asked Ray on a lunch date, but it was unlike any date they had gone on before. The couple looked at rings together in a local jewelry store. Ray tried on ring after ring, giddy with excitement.
“I actually bought a ring a month before taking her shopping,” Golson said. “What’s crazy is she ended up trying on and loving the exact ring I had already bought her.”
The day before the SEC championship game on Dec. 22, Golson asked Ray on one last lake date of the season after a summer of lake romance. The couple made plans to visit their favorite Kowaliga Restaurant and take a bouquet of poinsettias to Ray’s grandfather’s grave at Macedonia Baptist Church. After putting the flowers out, the biggest surprise of her life awaited Ray just moments later.
As they pulled up to Kowaliga, Golson veered off to Church in the Pines.
“He just looked at me and told me he loved me more than anything,” Ray said. “He then asked me if I would go for a walk with him.”
Hand in hand, the couple began walking toward the church. Ray recalls candlelight dancing off the pews as they approached the quaint church where she and her granddad would picnic.
Ray said she was shaking with excitement and doesn’t remember exactly what her now-fiancé said.
“I was having an outer-body experience. But I do remember him saying, ‘Will you marry me?’” said Ray.
And she said yes.
The surprise didn’t end there. Golson planned an engagement party with friends and family at Kowaliga where they had shared so many fond memories with one another.
“It was just amazing that Austin was able to include almost everything that was so important to me during the proposal,” Ray said. “He thought through all the little things, from visiting my Pawpaw and then getting to celebrate at our favorite place with all of our family and friends.”
At the end of the 2017 football season, Golson ended with 39 career starts for the Tigers with plans to head to the 2018 National Football League draft, but his future was celebrated both on and off the field.
