Joe Burrow's house break-in: What we know about the robbery and how Olivia Ponton is involved

There’s more than one mystery surrounding the burglary at Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home.

Authorities are investigating the Dec. 9 break-in, which took place while the NFL star was in Texas playing the Dallas Cowboys, and whether it’s linked to other professional athletes who have had their homes broken into since September. No suspects have been identified in the cases, and the FBI is reportedly investigating whether “South American Theft Groups” could be responsible.

The whodunit aspect of the theft aside, Burrow’s break-in has led to speculation and conjecture about his personal life because Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Olivia Ponton reported the burglary, not Burrow’s longtime girlfriend Olivia Holzmacher.

What happened?

Following break-ins at the homes of sports stars like Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, Burrow’s home outside Cincinnati in Anderson Township was targeted.

At first, authorities said an “employee” of Burrow reported the incident at 8:14 p.m. on Dec. 9. The woman told authorities that when she arrived at the home, she noticed a “shattered bedroom window” on the first floor “and the room [was] ransacked.”

When the police report was obtained by outlets, including People magazine, Ponton was identified as the woman who reported the incident. The report also said the IMG model gave authorities on the scene “a non-detailed itemization of what items were possibly missing.”

Ponton at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Oct. 15, 2024. (Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage)

Ponton — who has 7.6 million followers on TikTok and 2.9 million on Instagram — told police that she called her mother when she realized there had been a break-in, and her mother called 911. Ponton also called 911 herself.

When the 911 calls were made public, Ponton was heard saying, “Someone broke into my house. It’s like completely messed up.”

In Ponton’s mom’s call, she told the dispatcher that her daughter was “wondering what she should do, if she should be hiding or if she should be going outside.”

Neither Burrow nor Ponton has publicly shared the nature of their relationship, whether it’s a personal one or professional.

A spokeswoman for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said its investigators were “exploring every avenue,” according to the Associated Press.

What has Burrow said?

Burrow addressed the burglary at the top of a regularly scheduled press conference on Dec. 11. While he didn’t mention Ponton by name, he said he felt “my privacy has been violated in more ways than one, and way more is already out there than I would want out there and that I care to share.”

Burrow warming up before kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

He continued, “We live a public life, and one of my least favorite parts of that is the lack of privacy, and that has been difficult for me to deal with my entire career. [I’m] still learning, but I understand it’s the life that we choose, doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.”

The tale of two Olivias

While Macaulay Culkin döppelganger Burrow’s relationship status is unclear, he had been in a longtime relationship with his college sweetheart, Holzmacher.

Joe Burrow and Olivia Holzmacher at the Fanatics Super Bowl party at the Arizona Biltmore in February 2023. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Fanatics)

The pair began dating in 2017 after meeting at Ohio State University. In August 2023, former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones claimed the two were engaged. Neither Burrow nor Holzmacher have confirmed any engagement.

The couple was pretty low-key with their last public appearance together seeming to have been at a February 2023 Super Bowl party. Burrow did appear in an Instagram photo shared by Holzmacher in January.

In July, a blind item on Deuxmoi — which posts tips that aren’t confirmed — said Burrow was “single and mingling.” There was a photo of him with Ponton in the shot.

As far as Ponton’s love life, she came out as bisexual in 2021. During a June 2022 appearance on Call Her Daddy, she clarified that she identifies as pansexual. She previously dated Canadian soccer player Kaila Novak and has been linked to music video director Cole Bennett and TikTok star Kio Cyr.

What’s going on with the break-ins?

Both NFL and NBA stars have been the victims of burglaries at their homes in Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio since September. Cash and jewelry are among the items that have been taken.

Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Kelce, and his Kansas City Chiefs teammate Mahomes were targeted within days of one another, on Oct. 7 and Oct. 6, respectively.

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr.’s home was burglarized on Sept. 15, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis’s residence was broken into on Nov. 2.

The leagues have warned players not to share to social media where they are at a given moment — though that’s impossible when their game schedules are very public — and not to post photos of big-ticket purchases.

While the FBI wouldn’t confirm an investigation to the New York Times, a November memo from the NBA said that authorities “connected many of the home burglaries to transnational South American Theft Groups,” a sophisticated crime ring that goes after cash and items that can be resold on the black market, including jewelry, watches and luxury bags.