After playing his college ball for the Gamecocks at the University of South Carolina, the Dallas Cowboys signed Rico Dowdle as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He became the team’s third-string running back behind Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. Dowdle appeared in more than a dozen games, but injuries kept him off the field in 2021 and most of 2022.
He became Pollard’s backup in 2023 after Elliott was released and on March 18, 2024, Dowdle re-signed with the Cowboys. Now with Pollard having left to play for the Tennessee Titans and Elliott back in Dallas but not taking on as much of a workload as he used to, Dowdle has finally been able to shine as the team’s running back.
Playing under the bright lights in Big D has fans wanting to more about him and his life away from the gridiron as well. The woman the NFL player has been in a relationship for years is Shar’e “Shay” Harrison. She is a pretty private person, but there are a few things we do know about her and the couple’s children.
Dowdle and Harrison are high school sweethearts
Dowdle and Harrison have managed to keep many aspects of the relationship private but we do know that they’ve been together since high school as their prom pictures have circulated online.
There’s even been some chatter that they may have tied the knot. That’s because In June 2024, Dowdle’s mother, Leslie, gave Harrison a special birthday shoutout via social media. She posted nine snaps with the caption: “SWYD and wish my beautiful daughter-in-law a Happy Birthday #26!!! Love you and wish you many more to come Shay Harrison!!”
Since Leslie referred to her as “daughter-in-law” some fans immediately thought the pair got hitched especially after Harrison responded back with “Thank you mama Leslie! I love you.”
However, neither Dowdle or Harrison have confirmed if that’s the case. And while there are pictures of Dowdle’s lady on his Instagram, so far there are no wedding or engagement photos.
What is Harrison’s occupation?
While there is limited information about Harrison’s job, multiple outlets have listed an occupation for her revealing that is a skincare professional working as an Esthetician.
There isn’t any public information that gives Harrison’s date of birth, but based on Leslie’s post her birthday is on June 19. Leslie also stated that it was Harrison’s 26th birthday at the time meaning she was born in 1998, which is the same year Dowdle was born. The two are only five days apart as he was born on June 14, 1998.
His mother made sure to give him a birthday shoutout as well via an Instagram video playing over PJ Panda’s “Happy Birthday Song.”
When Dowdle and Harrison became parents
Today, Dowdle and Harrison have two children together. They welcomed their first daughter, on Dec. 3, 2020. She was born at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano in Texas. Dowdle announced the news on social media writing, “Araiya A’mour Dowdle. 7lbs 5oz. Got you forever” and a heart emoji alongside his baby girl’s picture.
The couple’s second daughter, Amina, arrived in February 2023. Prior to her birth, Dowdle and Harrison did a pregnancy photoshoot along with Amina’s big sister.
The running back shared a carousel of six photos with the caption: “When we have each other, we have everything” with the hashtag “girldad.”
Harrison also posted a video of the day which played over the song “Mama’s Hand” by Queen Naija. She captioned the clip: “And then there were four.”
