Harrison Smith's Wife – She and the NFL Player Met Way before They Started Dating in 2012

Harrison Smith's wife, Madison Bankston, has known her husband for most of her life. The two met while still in elementary school, and even though they weren't close back then, they had many mutual friends.

Bankston and Smith have a great relationship. The couple support and challenge each other to be their best version.

Bankston not only supports her husband's football career but she's also actively involved in his charitable works. The couple has an amazing marriage, which can be seen from the photos she shares on her Instagram.

Who Is Madison Bankston?

Based on her LinkedIn profile, Harrison Smith's wife studied at the University of Tennessee. She is an Account Manager at SumTotal Systems, which provides market-leading human capital management software solutions to enterprise corporations worldwide.

Over the years, Bankston has honed her professional skills at the company, and she seems committed to the organization, considering she hasn't changed her job in 11 years.

As an Account Manager, Bankston is in charge of different call points around the firm. She also helps identify crucial business matters and develop IT solutions to improve employee performance.

Besides being committed to her professional work, Bankston also has an active social life. She frequently shares photos of herself, her husband, and their child on her Instagram.

Madison and Harrison Met Long before They Started Dating

Bankston and Smith had known each other for most of their lives, even before they started dating in 2012. The two first met in elementary school on a youth swim team in Tennessee.

The duo didn't connect immediately but developed their friendship over time. Smith revealed that at the time, as an eight-year-old, the first thing that came to mind when he saw Bankston was that he thought she was mean. Bankston jokingly responded that she was that way because Smith was annoying.

On the other hand, Bankston's earliest memory of Smith is when he would play the little brother role to her, his sisters, and friends. She recalled when they went swimming, they would chill in the shallow end, and Smith would jump into the pool and splash water on them.

Before her wedding, Bankston used to visualize the location and was glad that everything manifested according to her wishes.

Even though Smith wasn't a great swimmer back then, he revealed that Bankston was a star in swimming. In those days, the two barely knew each other well, but they had mutual friends. Smith and Bankston began as acquaintances and slowly became close friends even though it was a long-distance friendship.

Madison Was Completely Unaware of the Proposal

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, everything came to a standstill; many events were canceled, including the NLF 2020 preseason league, so most athletes had to quarantine at home with their families. During that period, Smith saw the perfect opportunity to go down on one knee and propose to his then-long-term girlfriend.

Harrison Smith's wife's proposal came as a surprise as she never thought the proposal would happen in her parents' backyard, where she used to play as a kid. Smith and Bankston's mom worked secretly to ensure everything went as planned without her suspecting anything.

The two agreed that Bankston's mom would organize and invite them for dinner at her home one July evening. Everything went as planned even though Bankston wasn't prepared for the occasion—she was dressed in a T-Shirt and a pair of shorts.

When Smith asked her about her outfit, she responded that since they were going to her mom's house for dinner, she preferred being there on time than looking nice. Later, when the duo arrived at Bankston's mom's place, Harrison Smith's wife noticed that her mother looked gorgeous and glammed up.

Bankston stated that she realized something special was about to happen when her mother escorted her into their backyard. Soon after, Smith looked at her, smiled, went down on one knee, and proposed. It was a special occasion for Smith and Bankston as they celebrated their engagement with their parents.

The Smiths Had a "Super Small Wedding"

Smith and Bankston exchanged vows in Noth Carolina. Their wedding ceremony was held on a Saturday at the beautiful Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Their wedding was minimal and only attended by close family and friends. Speaking about their special occasion, Smith said:

"It was a super small wedding, and luckily it was black tie … so it worked out."

The wedding location had a special meaning to Bankston since she had visited the estate several times with her father when she was a kid. According to Bankston, the place was special to her and her father, who died in 2013.

She was happy that she was able to celebrate one of the best days of her life in a venue that felt like home in the presence of her family and friends.

Before her wedding, Bankston used to visualize the location and was glad everything manifested according to her wishes. Some athletes in attendance included Xavier Rhodes and Eric Kendricks, among others.

The Couple Welcomed Their Baby a Year after Getting Married

On May 31, 2022, the couple welcomed their first child and named her Eleanore James Smith. In an interview, Smith spoke about being a first-time parent and said he enjoyed being a dad.

He said he enjoyed hanging out, bonding with his daughter, and seeing her smile. He also stated that even though he would instill discipline when raising his daughter, he would be more of a fun dad. The couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary in April, a month before their daughter was born.

Besides Smith's long-term relationship wife his wife, other athletes known to have long-term relationships include Peyton Manning and his wife.