How Christen Harper stepped outside of her comfort zone after Jared Goff’s Lions trade
Christen Harper had an inkling she and her now-fiancé, former Rams quarterback Jared Goff, were destined to have “some sort of an adventure somewhere else.” And when the former first-overall pick was traded to the Detroit Lions in January 2021 after five seasons in Los Angeles, the model and philanthropist viewed the opportunity as a “fresh start.”
“We’ve always been in California, so there was an excitement to a fresh start, but at the same time, my whole career has been in L.A. and I did not know what it was going to look like moving away from that,” Harper recently told The Post.
Though initially worried about the transition, Harper, much like Goff, has continued to thrive professionally beyond the borders of Hollywood.
Upon being named one of the winners of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s annual Swim Search in 2021, Harper was introduced as a “rookie” in this year’s edition of the iconic publication. Now, she’s taking on a new challenge as one of the four panelists featured on Stay Doubted’s recently released web series, “Women of the League.”
Hosted by Josie Leinart, the wife of former NFL quarterback Matt Leinart, the six-episode series stars four partners of current NFL players — Harper, entrepreneur Allison Kuch, the wife of Browns defensive end Isaac Rochell, content creator Kym Jackson, the wife of Jets wide receiver Jeff Smith, and business owner Whitney Risner, the wife of Broncos guard Dalton Risner — as they navigate a variety of discussions ranging from trades to finances, social media and more.
“This project has been so fun, to be able to use my voice instead of, you know, sit behind a camera and just look pretty. It’s nice to have these important conversations,” Harper said.
Episode two, which dropped Tuesday, covers an array of topics such as free agency, trades, and the long-term effect of injuries. Harper believes stepping out of her West Coast comfort zone allowed her to broaden her horizons professionally.
“I feel lucky to kind of start branching out into doing different things,” she said. “I think the space allowed me to do that because if I stayed in L.A., I probably would have continued to do the same work I’ve done for years.”
Meshing with the cast was also a seamless process, according to Harper, who bumped into Kuch in an elevator at an NFL game years prior, when the latter’s husband played for the Chargers.
“We just instantly clicked,” Harper said. “I think when you have the background of the NFL, we all just kind of got each other and also, all of them have careers in social, we all have these things going on, and it was so easy to relate to each other.”
Strength is a commonality as the “Women of the League” are often tasked to pick up the pieces in the wake of a team shakeup.
“Their husband goes and flies [to the next destination], and then they have to pack up the dogs, the house, everything,” Harper said.
“So much work is going on behind the scenes when you see these big trades happen and nobody really thinks about the logistics because why would they, but it is really amazing what so many of these women do.”
Harper hopes the show can “humanize” players for fans, and in turn, help illustrated how there’s more to an athlete than what’s seen on gameday.
“I think it’s so easy to throw stones or say words to people you don’t know or don’t care about, but these are guys that have families and they have a life outside of football and I think that fans forget that,” Harper said.
“I think it’s good to humanize these guys, they’re just a guy playing football, they’re not this super-human person who can’t be hurt by things.”
Though Goff has endured professional challenges throughout his seven-year NFL career, it’s been exciting for Harper to see the quarterback blossom into a leader in Detroit, where he is having a standout second season with the emerging 6-7 Lions.
“I think he grew as a player and as a leader,” Harper said of Goff, who has been elected a Lions team captain for the past two seasons.
“Being able to kind of get a fresh start and have some more leadership opportunities, and be in a new place where he was the veteran, kind of — this is such a young team here, so guys really look to him to answer things and he’s able to do that here, and I think he really, really has loved taking on that role,” Harper said. “I feel he’s more himself than ever and that’s amazing to watch.”
Nearly two years removed from that fateful day in January 2021, Harper believes the transition, though difficult, helped her and Goff grow together.
“I think when you go through tough times… you definitely lean on each other and you grow closer. I think for our relationship, it was one of the best things that could have ever happened and we really grew a lot together,” she said.
