Former University of Illinois wrestler Lucas Byrd, who stands 5ft 5in, is engaged to 6ft 2in former volleyball star Ellie Holzman, after photos from a trip to Lake Como in northern Italy went viral, with some fans questioning whether the images were generated by artificial intelligence.
Byrd, who won an NCAA wrestling championship at 133 pounds in 2025, met Holzman, a former Fighting Illini volleyball player, at university. The couple set up a joint Instagram account last November, with their first post showing the pair dressed up at an event. They captioned it: “Hi everyone! We’re Lucas and Ellie! You may have seen us before on TikTok :) or you may know Lucas if you’re a wrestling fan. We’re just here to share fun videos we love making. Please be kind, and enjoy.”
Couple share engagement shoot on Lake Como
The couple shared pictures from their engagement shoot on the shores of Lake Como, with Byrd wearing a dark grey suit and stripy socks while looking at Holzman in a flowing white dress. They captioned the post: “Dreamy day on the beautiful Lake Como for our engagement shoot.”
Holzman later responded to a story claiming they had married, writing: “Well this is news to us. Hey @lukebyrd106 I guess we got married! Where should we honeymoon?”
Fans alter photos to exaggerate height gap
Some X accounts edited the images to increase the height difference between the pair, prompting fans to ask “Is it AI?” While those edited pictures are AI, the couple’s relationship is genuine.
The pair previously appeared on the Big Ten Network podcast Beyond the Mat, where Holzman admitted she initially resisted dating Byrd because of the height difference. She said: “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. I posted a video about us and I was like ‘there was a time where I was ignoring these rumours 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.”
