By In a world where identity often seems fragmented by the roles we play, Jenna Wright’s journey from NFL cheerleader to a devoted Catholic wife and mother illustrates a profound search for meaning beyond the spotlight. Jenna Wright is a 36-year-old wife and mother of five. The Charleston, South Carolina entrepreneur, founder of the First Communion boutique Gowns of Grace, shares her story with Embodied’s Kathleen Basi.
To tell my story of theology of the body, I have to take it back 16 years.
I’m a cradle Catholic, but I didn’t know much about the faith. I’m classically trained in ballet and many forms of dance. At Arizona State University, I pursued a degree in broadcast journalism, and I thought it would be nice to have a side gig doing dance. I auditioned for the Arizona Cardinals as a cheerleader and made the team. That was my junior year of college.
When you’re an NFL cheerleader, there’s definitely a type of lifestyle that’s easy to fall into. I would still identify as Catholic, but I was not practicing at all. I enjoyed the fun opportunities and perks the job gave me, but there was nothing truly good or beautiful about it. I was dancing around in a bikini in front of hundreds of thousands of people every Sunday. Some people thought that was something special, but the truth is, it’s not. I got used to being objectified for my body. It was fun and exciting, and I got to travel, but I was making choices that were leading me to an unfulfilling life.
It got to a point where I was at the bottom of the barrel — living a very worldly lifestyle, but so unhappy and ashamed and plagued by extreme anxiety and an eating disorder. I felt like I was in a dark, black hole. I remember screaming desperately in prayer in my room one day, “God, I want out!”
Sounds incredible, but it was like I was drowning and a hand reached down and pulled me out. I heard Christ say, “Just come back.”
So, I came back to the Catholic Church and never looked back. I read whatever books I could find about the Catholic faith, and I learned to appreciate the Church for things I didn’t know before. At this point, with past relationships and experiences, I was so tired of men and how they treated me! I was so in love with Christ and his Church that I thought I was being called to become a religious sister. That’s when I started to discern that vocation.
As I was discerning, one priest told me, “You know, there are three vocations: Holy Orders, Marriage, and Consecrated Singles.” I’d never thought of marriage as a vocation — as your purpose in life. I always looked at it just as the next step in the relationship. This priest said, “Go to Mass every day for a week, and pray for your vocation.”
So I did, and immediately after receiving the Eucharist on the seventh day, God told me, “Jenna, you’re being silly, you’re putting these ideas in your own head. Your vocation is marriage. I have a husband waiting for you.”
So I put down the pamphlet for the abbeys and started looking at the ones for marriage. That’s when I discovered Christopher West. Through his work I just fell in love with theology of the body. And coincidentally, two weeks after that Mass I met my husband.
Eric was an atheist before he converted, and he was on fire with the faith. He loved TOB. In the beginning of our relationship he said, “I want to court you.”
I said, “Court me? This isn’t the 17th century!”
But what he meant was: I want to date with the intent to find out if we are meant to be married to each other. If we realize we’re not, we can part ways with no hard feelings. But if we are, then let’s keep it moving. So we started our relationship on this great foundation of searching for Christ through our vocation together.
Once, I tried to break up with him. I knew he was in love with me, but I was intimidated by how quickly things were moving. I’d been objectified so much. I’ve done awful things in my past. I’m not worthy! So I tried to break up.
He didn’t understand. He said, “Just take tonight and think about it.” He had a three-hour drive home that night, and he prayed several rosaries on the way and the words came to him for what he knew he needed to say to me. He called me the next day and said, “If you need space, I respect that, and if you want to break up, I respect that too. I just want to love you like Jesus loves you. If that means loving you as a friend, that’s what I’ll do.”
That’s the theology of the body right there — seeking the good of the other! That’s when I knew he really loved me and that I really loved him.
TOB is so much a part of our marriage. Even if we’re having a down time or a bad day, we still respect one another. We’ve never fought. We have disagreements about things, and we discuss them, but we’ve never argued in a negative sense.
Not to say we haven’t had our moments! We’ve both said or done things that aren’t the best, but they’re few and far between. I think that comes from TOB’s call to have respect for one another. I can be mad at something he did, but there can still be a loving conversation about it, so it doesn’t escalate into a fight. We discuss in a way that respects the other person, always. TOB helps us see the beauty and the differences in the other person.
Our oldest daughter is 10, and we’ve already had the sex talk with her. It might be too young for some kids, but she’s mature and inquisitive. My husband is a physician, so he does a great job of including the clinical approach to things. But we also want to bring in the theological ones: Why should it be this way? What do you feel would happen if you made these other choices?
Our Catholic identity is just a part of our being. In my businesses, I have employees who have children. And we understand that sometimes kids get sick and they need to come to the office with their mom – and sometimes I’m the one with the sick kid, too! I try to be a business owner that sees the dignity in every single person we work with, employees and clients, and be flexible around those situations. Like my husband said all those years ago, “I want to love you like Jesus loves you.” We try to love everyone we encounter as Jesus would. It’s not always easy, but with God’s help we can try to do what is true, good, and beautiful.
