What does Spencer McManes do for a living? All we know as Olympian Gabby Thomas engaged to former Yale Footballer

Olympic gold medalist, Gabby Thomas, is officially engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Spencer McManes, a former Yale football player turned entrepreneur. The couple, who started dating in 2022, announced their engagement in March 2025 after an elaborate rooftop proposal in Austin, Texas.

McManes is from Georgia and studied at the Blessed Trinity Catholic High School, where he excelled at football. His athletic prowess got him to Yale University as a quarterback, where he played while studying political science.

As per his LinkedIn profile, McManes began working in management consulting at the McChrystal Group after graduation before pivoting into tech. He later served as a Customer Success Manager at People. Ai, an AI-powered sales platform, then became vice president of sales and business development at DataGrail, a data privacy company, in 2023.

McManes is an entrepreneur as well as a corporate executive. In May 2023, he started Kaviva, a line of kava seltzers that are nonalcoholic and Austin-based. Kava, the root used to make the calming drink, is the main ingredient in his drinks, which are available in flavors including Orange & Ginger and Lemon.

Spencer McManes has always been by Thomas’ side throughout all her ups and downs, including the emotional gold medal performance in the Paris Olympics 2024. A video of him lifting her during her celebration had gone viral.

---

More about Gabby Thomas and Spencer McManes’ relationship and their engagement

Gabby Thomas and Spencer McManes’ love story started with an Instagram follow. Thomas, who had known of Spencer McManes through mutual friends, was intrigued by his pizza review series. She followed his account first, due to which McManes was stunned and immediately slid into her DMs. Remembering the very instance McManes said:

"I got the notification that I had a new follower. I was like, ‘That's crazy! Gabby Thomas? I immediately DM'd her and asked, "What did I do to earn a follow?,"" she told Vouge.

The couple began officially dating in October 2022 and Spencer McManes quickly proved to be one of Gabby Thomas’ biggest cheerleaders. He cheered from the crowd at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won three gold medals and was also present for her master’s graduation in 2023.

Gabby Thomas had no clue Spencer McManes was going to propose or so she believed. In retrospect, the Olympic sprinter says she should have seen the signs long back. According to Vogue, during Valentine's Day, the couple visited Tiffany’s in New York, where they casually browsed rings.

Now engaged, the couple plans to embark on their next chapter. The proposal was complete with flowers, a rooftop location, and a hidden photographer.

Thomas remembered being blown away as she stepped onto the rooftop of the Travis Heights Airbnb. Speaking to Vogue on March 25, 2025, she stated how surprised she was at the gesture:

"Normally he’s very bad with surprises—and this was the one surprise I think I've ever witnessed him keep."

---

Keep reading SoapCentral for more information.