© Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
University of Illinois senior Lucas Byrd is one of the best college wrestlers in the country at 133 pounds. Byrd is a two-time All-American who is currently ranked fourth in the country and has a legitimate shot to win a national championship. The Ohio native have become a bit of an internet sensation in his senior season.
But the reason why has little-to-nothing to do with what Byrd is doing on the mat. Instead, Byrd is going viral because of relationship with his girlfriend, Ellie Holzman. Holzman is a former Illini volleyball player who has nearly 400,000 followers on her TikTok account. She stands at 6-foot-2-inches tall. Byrd, meanwhile, is just 5-foot-6. The combination of the two makes for an interesting sight, one that they recently opened up about for Big Ten Network.
Illinois Wrestler Lucas Byrd And Girlfriend Ellie Holzman Are TikTok Superstars
The duo most recently sat down with Big Ten Network to discuss their relationship, their newfound fame and, yes, even the uncommon height dynamic.
“I tried to keep it as a hard friendship because I never really let myself see anything past that because I’m like ‘ugh, he’s shorter than me. I’m never gonna date him,'” Holzman said. “I posted a video about us and I was like ‘there was a time where I was ignoring these rumors that my best friend was in love with me because I couldn’t get over the height difference.’ But then once I got over it, it flourished into this kind of beautiful thing.”
Holzman is a former Illini volleyball player. However, a torn ACL in her freshman season put an end to her athletic career. Byrd spoke at length about how her perspective has helped him further himself as an athlete.
Meanwhile, Byrd and Holzman said they’ve been approached by other couples who have a similar dynamic and told them their TikToks have helped normalize it.
@ellie_and_lucas Just a boy (and girl) ✨in love✨
Byrd and Holzman now share a TikTok page. Their most-played video has over 1.5 million views. And it’s clear the height difference in no longer an issue. Perhaps due to the fact that despite his size, Byrd could probably beat up most guys larger than him.
But it’s a remarkable love story, and one that could well end with Byrd as a national champion a month from now.