Former NFL Player & Actor

Kerry Rhodes | Biography

Played Rick in the TV Series 'If Loving You Is Wrong'

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Original : December 10, 2021

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Kerry Rhodes is an American actor best known for his role as Drew in the 2017 film Tragedy Girls. He is also a former football player and football safety in the NFL from 2005 to 2012.

Who is Kerry Rhodes?

Kerry Rhodes was born on 2 August 1982 in Birmingham, Alabama. He started playing football at age nine and continued to play in high school. Then in 2000, he started his collegiate career at Louisville as a quarterback. He later transitioned to safety and earned first-team 'All-Conference USA Honors' in 2004.

After his collegiate career, Rhodes kicked off his professional football career after being drafted by New York Jets in the fourth round (123rd overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft. In his first season with the New York Jets, he started in 16 consecutive games and recorded 108 tackles. In the 2006 season, he was named to the All-Pro team by the Associated Press. In his five seasons with the New York Jets, he intercepted 15 passes and helped two playoff berths. 

In 2010, Rhodes was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. He was inducted into the Kentucky chapter of the NFL Players Association 'Hall of Fame' the following year. After playing for three seasons, Rhodes was reportedly released by the Arizona Cardinals after the 2012 season, after turning down a contract offered by the team. Then he did not get a contract offer from any team.

According to Spotrac, Rhodes earned more than $30 million during his professional football career.

In addition to his football career, Rhodes is an actor, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Daryl in the 2012 film General Education and Drew in the 2017 film Tragedy Girls. He is also known for his role as Rick in the television series If Loving You Is Wrong from 2016 to 2017.

Gay Rumor

Reportedly, Rhodes derailed his opportunity to play in the NFL after the 2012 season because of his alleged sexuality. The controversy about his sexuality began when someone posted a now-deleted picture of Rhodes with his arm around another man. However, Rhodes frequently denied that he's interested in men. While responding to the rumors about his sexuality, he said, "I emphatically said no once and that's all I need to say and people who know me know that's definitely not the case, To me I'm definitely not and I can't control what people think, so I move on."

Rhodes told ESPN in a 2014 interview that he didn't believe he was not offered other teams because of rumors about his sexuality. However, he added that he did not find the right opportunity to play in the NFL in 2013. He also told ESPN that he thought teams might have stayed away from signing him for financial reasons rather than rumors. 

Wife

Rhodes was married to Nicky Whelan, an Australian actress best known for playing Pepper Steiger in the television series Neighbours from 2006 to 2007. Whelan also co-starred as Leigh in the 2011 film Hall Pass. She also appeared in the role of the Australian medical student Maya in the final season of the television series Scrubs from 2009 to 2010. She is the granddaughter of Marcus, who was one of the best AFL players of his time.

Rhodes and Whelan tied the knot in April 2017, but they reportedly got divorced after just six months of marriage for unknown reasons. 

After refusing to speak about her divorce for a year, Whelan shared an emotional essay about heartbreak on Instagram in October 2018. Later, in an interview with WHO magazine in May 2020, she shared why they broke up through social media.

She said, "I thought that I had lost everything - but in fact I had gained more love for myself than ever before. But I did think it was important a year later … to reflect and let people know that I am human and there were moments when I was on my knees and then there were moments when I laughed harder than I ever have."