Celebrity

Who Is Skylene Montgomery? Inside the Life of Sean Payton’s Second Wife

Published

2 weeks ago

September 2, 2026

Skylene Montgomery is the wife of Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, a former Miss West Virginia titleholder, a registered nurse, and a dedicated philanthropist who has built a life far removed from the football spotlight her husband occupies. Since marrying Payton in June 2021, she has become a familiar face on NFL sidelines, yet her own story, from small-town West Virginia to intensive care nursing to pageant stages, is one that deserves telling on its own terms. This article looks closely at who Skylene Montgomery is, how she met Sean Payton, her career, her family background, and the philanthropic work that defines much of her public life.

Table of Contents

Skylene Montgomery: Quick Bio Table

Category	Details
Full Name	Skylene Montgomery (born Kasey Montgomery)
Date of Birth	4 December 1984
Place of Birth	Parkersburg, West Virginia, USA
Nationality	American
Education	Marshall University (exercise physiology); West Virginia University (Bachelor’s in Nursing, 2009)
Profession	Registered nurse (intensive care); former volleyball coach, Bayou Sports Club
Pageant Title	Miss West Virginia USA 2008
National Pageant	Represented West Virginia at Miss USA 2008
Spouse	Sean Payton, head coach of the Denver Broncos
Marriage Date	18 June 2021, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Parents	Skylar Montgomery (father) and Darlene Montgomery (mother)
Philanthropy	Payton’s Play It Forward Foundation, Ochsner Moonlight & Miracles Foundation, Second Harvest Feed the Children
Notable Feature	Met Sean Payton in 2014 through an unexpected phone call while seeking football tickets

Who Is Skylene Montgomery?

Skylene Montgomery is an American registered nurse, former beauty pageant titleholder, and volleyball coach who is best known today as the wife of NFL coach Sean Payton. Born Kasey Montgomery, she later adopted the name Skylene, a blend of her parents’ first names, Skylar and Darlene. She holds the title of Miss West Virginia USA 2008 and went on to represent her home state at the Miss USA pageant that same year.

Beyond pageantry, Montgomery built a genuine career in healthcare, working for years as an intensive care nurse, and she has remained active in charitable causes throughout her adult life. Her marriage to Payton in 2021 made her a public figure, but her professional background stands entirely apart from her husband’s coaching career.

Early Life and Family Background

Skylene Montgomery was born on 4 December 1984 in Parkersburg, West Virginia. She grew up as an only child to her parents, Skylar and Darlene Montgomery, and her name is a direct combination of theirs. Her father was a businessman who co-owned a garage door supply company in the region.

By her own description, Montgomery was something of a tomboy as a child, favouring baggy shorts and trainers over ballet slippers, despite her parents’ early attempts to enrol her in dance classes. She gravitated instead towards competitive sport, playing softball, baseball, and volleyball throughout her youth.

She attended Parkersburg South High School, where she earned All-State honours in both volleyball and softball. Her competitive streak on the sports field would later translate into a very different kind of competition: the beauty pageant circuit.

Education

After finishing secondary school, Montgomery enrolled at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, where she studied exercise physiology and served as vice president of her Delta Zeta sorority chapter. She graduated from Marshall before continuing her studies at West Virginia University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2009. She went on to pursue further qualifications, including work towards a Doctor of Nursing Practice, reflecting a long-term commitment to her medical career rather than treating nursing as a stepping stone.

Skylene Montgomery’s Pageant Career

Long before she became known as Sean Payton’s wife, Montgomery was making a name for herself in the world of pageantry. She entered the Miss Teen West Virginia competition in her mid-teens, aged just 14, and placed as first runner-up.

She continued competing through her college years, entering the Miss West Virginia USA pageant on several occasions before finally claiming the crown.

Key pageant milestones include:

Competed in the Miss West Virginia USA pageant in multiple consecutive years during the mid-2000s, placing in the top ten and as a runner-up before her eventual win.
Crowned Miss West Virginia USA 2008 in October 2007.
Represented West Virginia at the 57th Annual Miss USA Pageant, held in Las Vegas, Nevada, competing against 51 delegates from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Took part in the standard Miss USA categories, including swimsuit, evening gown, and personal interview rounds.

While she did not go on to win the national Miss USA title, the experience marked a significant chapter in her life and one she has spoken about candidly in later interviews, often crediting the discipline of pageant preparation for shaping her work ethic in nursing.

A Career in Nursing

Skylene Montgomery’s professional life has centred on healthcare rather than the entertainment or sporting world often associated with NFL spouses. After completing her nursing degree at West Virginia University in 2009, she began her career as an assistant nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia.

She later relocated and took on more demanding clinical roles, eventually working as a nurse in the Gastrointestinal Intensive Care Unit at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, a position she held after moving to the city in 2013. Intensive care nursing is widely regarded as one of the most demanding specialisms within the profession, requiring both technical skill and emotional resilience, qualities Montgomery has carried into her charitable work.

In addition to her hospital work, she has coached volleyball for the Bayou Sports Club-USA Club team, drawing on her own competitive playing background from her school years.

How Skylene Montgomery Met Sean Payton

The story of how Skylene Montgomery and Sean Payton met has become one of the more talked-about details of their relationship, largely because of its unlikely beginning.

In 2014, Montgomery was working as a nurse in North Carolina and wanted tickets to an upcoming NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints for herself and several coworkers. She asked a friend to help her source tickets, and the phone number she was given turned out to belong to Sean Payton himself, who was then head coach of the Saints.

Montgomery ended up meeting Payton in person at a pre-game event to thank him for the tickets, and that introduction marked the start of their relationship. Notably, the pair crossed paths shortly after Payton had finalised his divorce from his first wife, Beth Shuey, to whom he had been married since 1992 and with whom he shares two children, Connor and Meghan.

Engagement and Wedding

Payton and Montgomery dated for several years before he proposed on 8 November 2019, at what Montgomery believed was simply an anniversary celebration. Two days later, the couple’s engagement was made public during a Saints-Falcons game.

They were married on 18 June 2021, in an intimate ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The wedding was officiated by former NBA player and coach Avery Johnson, a longtime friend of Payton’s. Speaking to Nola.com ahead of the wedding, Montgomery downplayed how much the marriage would change their day-to-day lives, joking that little would shift beyond being added to Payton’s insurance and wearing an engagement ring.

Life as Sean Payton’s Wife

Since their marriage, Montgomery has remained a supportive but relatively private presence throughout Payton’s coaching career. When Payton left the New Orleans Saints to become head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2023, he described his wife as “excited” about the move in an interview with Nola.com.

Montgomery has been photographed regularly at Broncos games at Empower Field at Mile High, often drawing attention for her gameday outfits, and she has become a recognisable figure among NFL spouses. Despite this visibility, she and Payton have generally kept their personal life low-key, rarely commenting directly on the public interest their relationship attracts.

Friends have described Montgomery in warm terms. Jennifer Ansardi, a friend of Montgomery’s, told Nola.com that Payton’s wife is “independent and wise, poised, caring and fun,” a description that aligns with the philanthropic and professional path Montgomery has followed throughout her adult life.

Philanthropy and Charitable Work

Charitable involvement runs through much of Skylene Montgomery’s adult life, both independently and alongside her husband. She has supported and volunteered for a range of causes, including:

Payton’s Play It Forward Foundation, a charity co-founded by Sean Payton that focuses on improving the lives of children and families through health, education, and social welfare initiatives.
Ochsner’s Moonlight & Miracles Foundation, for which she has helped co-organise the annual benefit ball alongside Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, supporting the Ochsner Cancer Institute.
Second Harvest Feed the Children, a hunger relief organisation.
Katrina Relief efforts, Breast Cancer Awareness campaigns, and Relay for Life fundraising.
The Friendship Kitchen, a New Orleans-based charitable food initiative.

This consistent charitable involvement reflects a pattern that predates her relationship with Payton, suggesting that community and volunteer work has long been part of Montgomery’s personal values rather than something adopted purely because of her husband’s public profile.

Skylene Montgomery: Frequently Asked Facts

What does Skylene Montgomery do for a living? She works as a registered nurse, with clinical experience in intensive care nursing, and has also coached volleyball at club level.

Where is Skylene Montgomery from? She was born and raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and attended Parkersburg South High School before studying at Marshall University and West Virginia University.

Is Skylene Montgomery Sean Payton’s first wife? No. She is Payton’s second wife. His first wife was Beth Shuey, to whom he was married from 1992 until their divorce was finalised in 2012 or 2013; the couple share two children, Connor and Meghan.

Conclusion

Skylene Montgomery’s story is far richer than a simple “coach’s wife” label suggests. From her competitive youth in Parkersburg, West Virginia, through a hard-won pageant career and an unlikely introduction to Sean Payton over football tickets, to a genuine profession in intensive care nursing and years of consistent charitable work, Montgomery has built a life defined by her own achievements as much as by her marriage. Since becoming Sean Payton’s wife in June 2021, she has remained a steady, supportive presence through his move to the Denver Broncos, all while continuing the nursing career and philanthropic commitments that shaped her long before she ever met her husband.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Skylene Montgomery?

Skylene Montgomery is an American registered nurse, former Miss West Virginia USA titleholder, and the wife of Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. She married Payton in June 2021 and is known for her nursing career and charitable work.

How did Skylene Montgomery meet Sean Payton?

The two met in 2014 when Montgomery, then working as a nurse, tried to source football tickets for a Panthers-Saints game. The contact number she was given belonged to Payton himself, and they met in person shortly afterwards.

When did Sean Payton and Skylene Montgomery get married?

They married on 18 June 2021 in a private ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Former NBA player Avery Johnson, a close friend of Payton’s, officiated the wedding.

What is Skylene Montgomery’s profession?

She is a registered nurse with a background in intensive care, having worked in the Gastrointestinal Intensive Care Unit at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. She has also worked as a volleyball coach.