Elsbeth‘s newest episode about a basketball coach in an age-gap relationship featured several similarities to Jordon Hudson and Bill Belichick‘s high-profile romance.
During the Thursday, December 4, episode of the CBS series, Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) looked into an athletic director’s murder, which thrust her onto a college campus. The prime suspect seemed to be the coach’s 22-year-old girlfriend, Peyton (Lana Condor), but Elsbeth wasn’t as certain.
The mystery at the center of the episode quickly got overshadowed by the way Hudson and Belichick’s love story inspired the show. Belichick and Hudson initially sparked romance rumors in 2023 when they were spotted together on multiple occasions. It wasn’t until later 2024, however, that Hudson started sharing glimpses into her and Belichick’s connection on social media.
The couple have remained focused on their relationship amid an overwhelming public reaction to their romance — and significant age gap. Before Elsbeth found a way to creatively reference the pop culture moment, Condor revealed whether Hudson inspired her performance.
“A little bit of that,” she exclusively told Us Weekly this month. “Also, I never yuck anyone’s yum. In this episode, I’m with a much older man, whom I love.”
Condor continued: “Love is love, no matter how the weirdness of it might be perceived by others. I was really excited to work with Sam [McMurray] because I think he’s an amazing actor.”
Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the similarities:
The Podcast Crossover
In the CBS series, Peyton (and her older boyfriend, Russ) were seen listening to various sports podcasts that addressed their high-profile romance. Belichick and Hudson have had a similar impact on the podcast world with a multitude of hosts using them as the basis of their episodes in the year since they took their romance public.
Offering Advice to the Team and Getting Involved in His Career
Belichick, who is 48 years older than Hudson, previously addressed speculation that Hudson was making decisions regarding his professional engagements and coaching schedule at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Elsbeth touched on that when Peyton offered suggestions to members of the basketball team — including secret recruiting help and even weighing in on their plays.
Their Social Media Activity
After soft launching their romance, Belichick and Hudson shared photos of their romance, which included a glimpse at them trying some acrobatic yoga positions during a beach excursion in Florida.
Before the fictional athletic director’s death on Elsbeth, he berated Peyton for making Russ look like a job with their “selfies and sandwich ads.”
Getting Banned
Elsbeth heightened the tension — and hinted that Peyton could be the killer — by having the athletic director ban her from Russ’ workplace shortly before his death. As sports fans may remember, the University of North Carolina addressed a report earlier this year that Hudson was banned from their football facilities.
“While Jordon Hudson is not an employee at the University or Carolina Athletics, she is welcome to the Carolina Football facilities,” Carolina Athletics said in a statement to Us in May. “Jordon will continue to manage all activities related to Coach Belichick’s personal brand outside of his responsibilities for Carolina Football and the University.”
The SpyGate of It All
The episode of the CBS show revealed that Russ was secretly taping his students in the locker room to hear who was saying what about his personal life. Us once again takes you back in time to the real SpyGate when the New England Patriots illegally taped opposing coaches’ defensive signals, leading to a heavy fine for the team and then-head coach Belichick.
Their Relationship Status
After Peyton realized Russ could be the killer, she convinced him to get married as a way to protect herself from having to possibly testify against him. Offscreen, Belichick and Hudson have sparked engagement rumors but a source exclusively told Us in September that it’s highly unlikely the coach has proposed.
Shutting Down the Haters
“It is not his record [that is the problem]. It is the way he is letting this woman embarrass him. He looks ridiculous,” said a fan of Russ’ on Elsbeth before arguing that he “should have stayed retired” if he was exploring a romance with a much-younger woman.
Peyton clapped back against those criticizing her personal life, telling Elsbeth, “People act like it is the age difference between me and Russ, but really I just think they are miserable lonely losers who hate to see people who are actually happy.”
In real life, Hudson and Belichick have waved away comments about their romance.
“Let’s take a deeper dive into the hot topic of the day: LOVE’… ‘What constitutes love?’ or ‘What makes someone worthy of loving?’ are questions that require a deep analysis and could possibly enable one to understand the romances that they may not understand nor relate to,” Hudson wrote via Instagram in March. “With such a limited character count.”
Hudson noted that “there is no objective criteria for what constitutes someone’s worthiness of love” and “we do not need to justify ‘why’ we love a particular person.”
“The ways in which we develop our biological preferences are deeply personal in which we owe no justification nor explanation,” Hudson continued. “Love does not discriminate against sex, skin color, religion, age or ability. Love does not fluctuate along with someone’s body weight. Love does not lie within a perfect complexion. Love is not as deep as one’s pockets. Love does not look the same every time you see it.”
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