Who Is ESPN’s Jen Lada Married To? Her Relationship With Dario Melendez
Jen Lada has been a staple on ESPN since 2015. She is now the features reporter for College GameDay, which puts her on television every Saturday during the college football season.
When she’s not reporting on the field, Lada is building a life at home with her husband, Diego Melendez, whom she married in 2017. Scroll down to learn more about him, their relationship, and family.
Who is Jen Lada’s husband?
Melendez is the sports director for WISN-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a position he’s held since 2022. He was previously the weekend sports anchor and sports reporter for the network from 2010 to 2012.
From 2018 to 2022, Melendez worked as a host/reporter for the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks at Bally Sports, per LinkedIn. Prior to that, he was a sports anchor/reporter for New York 1 News from 2015 to 2017, and an anchor for SportsCenter at ESPN from 2013 to 2015.
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Melendez graduated from Sacred Heart University in 2008 with a degree in media studies.
How did Jen Lada meet her husband?
Lada and Melendez met at Lambeau Field when they were both covering the Green Bay Packers. She was working for a Fox affiliate in Wisconsin, and he was at WISN-TV.
“When we met, admittedly, he was, like, very overwhelmed with the day,” Lada explained. “It was his first game at Lambeau field. It was covering the Packers. I’d been doing it for, I think, five years at that point. I just said, ‘Hello.’ You know, I actually remember telling one of the other women’s sports reporters in the press box, ‘The new guy at Channel 12 might be good looking, like, I don’t know, it’s just a picture, but he might be cute.'”
They ended up meeting in the press room and exchanged hellos for the first time. “There was no exchange of hellos. It was my jaw hitting the floor and I didn’t know what to say,” Melendez added.
When Lada introduced herself, Melendez told her, “I know who you are,” and the conversation didn’t go much further from there. He emailed her afterwards, though, and asked her for coffee, but Lada was “going through a divorce” and not interested in dating at the time.
Lucky for Melendez, he and Lada were seated next to each other in the press box for the Packers’ playoff run ahead of the 2011 Super Bowl. Then, they ran into each other at a friend’s party. He gave her his phone number, but when she didn’t reach out, he emailed again, and Lada finally agreed to a date.
Who is Jen Lada’s ex-husband?
Lada’s ex-husband is Sean Reti. They both went to Marquette University and got married in 2006, but split just four years later.
Lada was newly separated from Reti when she first met Melendez, which is why she was so hesitant to start a new relationship at first.
Reti is a sales account manager for Veregy, per his LinkedIn. With his company, Reti helps school districts “modernize buildings, improve learning environments, and reduce operating costs without asking for new budget dollars.” He is also a youth soccer coach.
Does Jen Lada have kids?
Yes, Lada has three children. With her ex-husband, she has a teenage son named Chase, and with Melendez, she has two daughters, born in 2018 and 2020.
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Of their daughters, Melendez said, “They just couldn’t be any, in my opinion, any more different personality wise. I mean, one is very adventurous and outgoing and the other one’s extremely funny and artsy. Dramatic is the word I like to use.”
He also confirmed that he considers Chase to be a son because he’s been in his life since he was a year old. “It’s cool to see how he’s developed into such a great kid,” Melendez gushed.
