Ashley Manning: Peyton Manning’s Wife Actually Talked Him Out Of Retirement Four Years Ago

Ashley Manning has been the quiet and supportive wife to Peyton Manning for the past 15 years, shying away from the spotlight and raising the couple’s twins while Peyton took on Tom Brady and led his team to the Super Bowl.

But it turns out that Peyton Manning’s wife was far from a timid partner, and it was actually Ashley who convinced Peyton to keep playing when he was struggling through the recovery for his neck injury four years ago and considering retirement.

About 18 months after Manning signed with the Denver Broncos and started the second act of his career in 2012, he sat down for an interview with Peter King of Sports Illustrated. King asked Manning if there was ever a moment in which he considered retiring from the NFL instead of pushing through the year-long rehab and the uncertainty of what could have been a career-ending neck injury.

Peyton Manning admitted that he had considered retirement — until his wife Ashley Manning talked him out of it.

“Ashley [his wife] and I actually had those conversations,” Manning replied. “More than one. Because, you know, you don’t want to embarrass yourself. Because, they’re signing you and people are thinking they’re getting the player they had always seen before. And so, Ashley was the one that was saying, ‘Peyton, you’ve got to try. You’ve got to try.'”

Peyton Manning explained that it had been weeks without any kind of progress on his injury, and eventually he was at peace with the idea of retiring.

“I’ve given it as good a run as I can give it. I’ve got kids now,” Manning recalled. “I had a peace about it. So I didn’t feel like I had to play to get another win or a touchdown. But she’s like, ‘You’ve got to try.’ So I was glad that she pushed me to do it. Once I did it, I was going at it, and then I started seeing a little bit of light there. So, yeah, she was the one who kind of pushed me through it.”

Now, Ashley Manning is again in the spotlight as her husband has decided to do exactly what she talked him out of four years ago. Peyton Manning announced on Sunday that he will retire from the NFL, making it official at a press conference on Monday afternoon (a link to live streaming video of that press conference can be found here).

Ashley Manning has been connected to one of the darker sides of Manning’s career as well. The bombshell report accusing Peyton of using the banned substance HGH while recovering from his neck injury claimed that Peyton received the shipments in Ashley’s name. Peyton Manning has vigorously denied the allegations, and though his PR team confirmed that Ashley Manning did receive shipments of treatments from the medical center accused of distributing HGH to professional athletes, they did not say what she received.

Ashley has not spoken about the alleged scandal and is rarely in the spotlight herself. Though she is seen supporting Peyton Manning at games and their two children occasionally join Peyton in the locker room, Ashley herself isn’t one for media attention.

Peyton has talked about his family often, however, saying they help to keep him grounded.

“My entire family keeps me positive and they always support me,” Peyton told People magazine prior to the Super Bowl in February. “They will be coming to town to be with me. Without them, I would not be where I am today. I am very grateful.”

While she’s not usually one for cameras or interviews, Ashley Manning has established her own place in the sports world outside of Peyton’s success. She is a part owner of the Memphis Grizzlies and has made a name for herself in the real estate world.

[AP Photo/David Zalubowski]