Who Is Nessa? New Details On Colin Kaepernick's Girlfriend
She's been dating Colin Kaepernick for YEARS.
Getty Colin Kaepernick arrived in Los Angeles late Tuesday night. Is he in the City of Angels for a Thanksgiving celebration or is he talking to the Rams or Chargers? Time will tell on that front. Kap was not alone when he exited the terminal at LAX and was confronted by the paparazzi. He was accompanied by the same stunning woman we've been seeing him out and about with for years.. The two looked awfully cozy and happy together. The woman is Nessa, his girlfriend. Inquiring minds want to know, who is Nessa?
1. She's in the media
Nessa Diab is a 37-year-old graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. She grew up in a Muslim family in Southern California with her two brothers. Her parents are from Egypt. Nessa first rose to prominence for her interviews of celebrities and musicians on the San Francisco Top 40 radio station Wild 94.9 and on YouTube. These interviews caught the attention of MTV, who cast her to host Girl Code. Nessa has also appeared on MTV2’s Charlamagne & Friends and Ain’t That America. She hosted the Snooki & Jwoww Aftershow, Jobs That Don’t Suck, The Real World Aftershow and the Teen Mom Aftershow. Currently she hosts the drive time shift on New York City's Hot 97 radio station.
2. She's been dating Kap for years
Nessa began dating Colin Kaepernick in July 2015. At that time he was still the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. The couple went public about their relationship in February 2016. She has stood by his side as he has fought to bring awareness to and end racial injustice and the backlash he has been enduring ever since he took a knee during the national anthem at the beginning of an NFL game.
3. She lived in the Middle East
Due to her father's job, Nessa, her mother, and her two brothers moved back and forth from the U.S. to the Middle East during the Gulf War. She started writing songs during this time in her life. She was scared for her life. She had to wear gas masks to school and heard war sirens constantly. Writing songs and mixing tracks became her escape from the violence of the day-to-day life of the Middle East during the Gulf War.
4. She was blamed for Kap taking a knee
A few months after Nessa and Kap started dating, congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) blasted Kapernick for not standing during the national anthem and blamed Nessa for "changing his political view. King went on Newsmax TV to denounce Colin for his relationship with Nessa. He claimed the she was "sympathetic to ISIS" and went on to say: "I understand that he has an Islamic girlfriend that is his fiancé, and that this has changed him and has taken on some different political views along the way." At the time Kaepernick told USA Today: "I have great respect for the religion, know a lot of people that are Muslim and are phenomenal people. But I think that (rumor of conversion) comes along with people’s fear of this protest, as well as Islamophobia in this country. People are terrified of them to the point where Trump wants to ban all Muslims from coming here, which is ridiculous. The impact is just conversations that we constantly have. This is an open discussion that I have with many people, not just my woman. She is Muslim, her family is Muslim, I have great respect for them. I have great respect for people’s right to believe what they want to believe. And I don’t think anybody should be prosecuted for judged based on what their beliefs all."
5. Her Twitter controversy
In August 2017, Nessa posed a tweet aimed at the NFL's Ray Lewis, who had recently criticized Kap for taking a knee against racial injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement. The tweet had a photo of Lewis with his arms around Steve Bisciotti, the owner of the Baltimore Ravens that above a photo with a scene from Django Unchained, in which Samuel L. Jackson's slave character has his arms around Leo DiCaprio, his plantation owner. People took this to mean that Nessa was comparing Bisciotti to a slave owner. The problem was that the Ravens were in discussions to sign Kaepernick to the team because Ray Lewis had called for him to have a chance. Rumor has it Nessa's tweet ruined Kap's chances of an NFL comeback with the Baltimore Ravens.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.