Former NFL player Rob Gronkowski has joked he and girlfriend Camille Kostek are "ready for a kid" after welcoming their French Bulldog Ralphie into their life two years ago. The four-time Super Bowl champion and Camille, who have been dating since 2015, have "definitely learned many things about ourselves" in the years since welcoming the pup, Gronk told HELLO! in an interview Wednesday March 22,
Camille is "a loving dog mother, she just does such a great job," said Gronk, who played Tight End position for the New England Patriots and the Tampa Buccaneers.
Gronk and Camille began dating in 2015
"For me, that fatherly side is coming out on me, even with just a dog," he continued.
"Everyone says a dog gets you ready for parenthood and so, eventually down the road, I believe that I'll be ready for a kid now because Ralphie has gotten me to that stage. There's no doubt about that."
Camille, a former cheerleader turned actress, starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy, and Gronk says she gave him advice before his appearance in this year's box office hit 80 For Brady with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Gronk's bff Tom Brady: "We always give each other advice and help each other study, keep repeating the lines over and over so it's in the back of your brain and you're not thinking when you show up on set."
Gronk and Camille live in Tampa, Fla., and Foxborough, Mass, and two years after retiring from the NFL, Gronk has now partnered with Anivive Lifesciences to raise awareness about the importance of new pet medicines, including a vaccine for Valley Fever.
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Gronk with his Frenchie Ralphie
"I really wasn't familiar with Valley Fever or canine diseases until I got my French bulldog Ralphie, and then once I got Ralphie I was alerted, left and right, 'Do this for the dog, do that for the dog, get that vaccine for the dog.' You just learn so much once you get a dog and it's probably the same thing with a kid," he shared.
"I just love pets and I believe it's important to find affordable treatments to keep our pets safe and healthy. Anivive will be saving many pets lives, especially with the vaccine to prevent Valley Fever, and there's gonna be more to come and I'm just happy to be part of something that's special."
Gronk and Tom played together for over a decade
Gronk first welcomed Ralphie in 2021 after winning the Super Bowl in 2021 with the Bucs against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"A couple family members have French bulldogs, and I'd be like, 'This is the best dog ever.' And I thought if I ever get a dog, it's going to be a French bulldog, hands down - they love me, I love them, we just get along together," he revealed.
"I was close to getting one during the pandemic but then it just didn't happen, and then I went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one of my teammates had a connection and he had an eight-week-old blue French bulldog and I was like, 'If we win the Super Bowl, I'm getting a French bulldog!' And what do you know? We won the Super Bowl and four weeks later I got Ralphie. It was the best day of my life."
Better than winning the Super Bowl? "Yeah, I think so," Gronk laughed.
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