Ashley Harlan was brought into the limelight when she became the wife of the famous Ben Roethlisberger, an NFL quarterback for the Pittsburg Steelers. Although she is married to a millionaire husband, Ashley is also a successful woman in her own right. She was working as a medical assistant and health scientist before she became a popular figure.

Harlan’s marriage to her heartthrob has lasted for a long time with little drama and much fun for the lovebirds. Before they got married, her husband cut a controversial figure, but that has changed post-wedding, with Ashley serving as a protective foil that endears him to fans.

Ashley Harlan’s Brother Introduced Her to Ben Roethlisberger

Ashley Harlan might pose in a lot of Steelers colors these days but it is one of her two brothers who was the dedicated fan of the Pittsburgh football team in their family. In 2005, while she was hanging with her brother, the two of them were within a touching distance of Ben. As a big fan, her brother walked up to meet the athlete and Ashley followed.

That little meeting would spark a chain of actions that led her to become a football WAG. After the customary introductions, Ben took a liking to Ashley and invited her on a date. Over the next couple of years, the two became a couple.

During their dating period, Ashley and Ben’s relationship experienced a few ups and downs. Ben was accused of sexual assault twice; first in 2008 by a casino hostess named Andrea McNulty, and then in 2010 by a college student in Georgia. Regardless, their relationship survived the controversy as the police cleared Ben of all charges.

Roethlisberger is a Steelers Icon

Backyard football with Big Ben. @_BigBen7

— NFL Throwback (@nflthrowback) August 25, 2020

Ben Roethlisberger is an alumna of Miami University where he excelled in the game of football. He later got drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004 and has remained a committed player for the Steelers to date. He has won two Super Bowls with many other awards and recognitions.

The footballer is also a businessman with a barbecue sauce line known as Big Ben’s BBQ. Aside from business, he has a foundation called the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation that has in the past given grants to the Police department and others in the society.

The Mayor of Pittsburgh Attended Their Wedding

With all storms weathered, Ashley Harlan and Ben Roethlisberger decided to settle down once and for all. After getting engaged, they got married on July 23, 2011. They held their wedding at Christ Church at Grove Farm, in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

The lavish wedding had more than 500 people in attendance, including then-mayor of Pittsburgh, Luke Ravenstahl. He joined the rest of the couple’s family and friends to wish them a happy marriage.

While their wedding was hardly different from any other celebrity wedding, theirs stood out because they asked their wedding guests to make charity donations. Guests at Ashley and Ben’s wedding donated to the Ronald McDonald House and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.

The couple has since then welcomed three children; two sons and a daughter. They had their first son, Benjamin Todd Jnr., on November 21, 2012. Two years later, they welcomed their daughter, Baylee Marie, on March 19, 2014, before their third child, son Bodie Hunter Roethlisberger who was named in honor of Jim Kelly’s son who died of Krabbe Disease at the age of 8, was born on May 26, 2016.

Ashley Harlan’s Marriage to Ben Roethlisberger Brought Her into the Spotlight

Students and fans of St. Francis University where she graduated with a degree in health science would recognize her as a player on the school’s basketball, softball, and volleyball teams. However, despite her local recognition as a student, it is nothing comparable to the height of fame she reached when her relationship with the Pittsburgh Steeler began.

Even though her athletic days are over, and she works a quieter professional life as a physician’s assistant, Ashley Harlan routinely finds herself in the spotlight. She has featured in the conversation about both incidents of alleged sexual assault by Ben. She has also featured as a prominent member of WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends) for Pittsburgh players. Life in the spotlight may not be what she wanted when she graduated from college, but while the attention and scrutiny may not be welcomed, it has not been all bad.

Her Husband’s Money Funds Her Luxurious Lifestyle

They say you take the good with the bad. For Ashley, the good is access to a net worth of $100 million, owned by her husband, Ben Roethlisberger. Since he joined the NFL in 2004 as the 11th overall pick, he has earned more than $247 million in salary, and his 2019-2021 contract sees him earning over $23 million a year.

With such massive earnings, Ashley Harlan can afford to enjoy many of the finer things of life. Of course, that is not to say she depends entirely on her husband’s money. She makes her money as a physician’s assistant in the cardiac surgery department at Presbyterian Hospital. But this is not comparable to her husband’s multimillion earnings.

Cars and Real Estate are Some of the Things The Couple Spend Their Money On

So what does a family with a combined net worth of over $100 million spend on? Well, as far as we know, houses and cars. In 2011, the couple, perhaps in celebration of their wedding, bought a home worth $2.15 million. The house features luxurious amenities like 4.5 bathrooms and four bedrooms spread over 6,369 square feet of space. It also has a French country style kitchen, a grand foyer, media room, billiards room, gym, pool, and spa.

The home is interwoven with nature and surrounded by the 1000 feet deep Lake Oconee. Before they bought the property, they lived in an eight-bedroom, seven-bathroom residence in Pittsburgh worth $2.2 million, which they later sold for a similar price.

Aside from Ashley and Ben’s real estate portfolio, the couple also has an array of luxury cars. There are at least six known cars in the Harlan-Roethlisberger garage. They include a Hummer, Tesla Sports Car, Mercedes Benz SUV, Ferrari 488 GTB, Bentley Grand Convertible, and an Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spyder Carrozzeria. The couple’s car collection is worth an estimated $4 million.

Tack on luxury vacation trips to exotic locations around the world and in the US, and it is not hard to see Ashley Harlan is enjoying the good life. It is, however, not all materialism for the couple either seeing that as mentioned earlier, a significant portion of their wealth goes to philanthropy, primarily via her husband’s charity, the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation.