Get to know Michelle Rafferty, Brogan Rafferty’s wife, in our fourth Better Halves spotlight of the season. Michelle and Brogan met during college and have been together ever since. She shares her story about the joys of parenthood, her appreciation to being closer to family, the excitement of being in pro hockey, and much more. 

Give us your backstory. Where you’re from, childhood, hobbies, etc.

I was raised in a military family in Viriginia Beach. I was born there but we traveled around and moved to lots of different places when I was young, but moved back to Viriginia Beach when I was five. I loved growing up there and being in a beach town, going down to the beach after school during high school. I am the youngest of three sisters. I grew up playing soccer a lot and I think I was on three different teams at one point during high school. My mom pushed me to try and play college soccer, but I was kind of exhausted by it by the time I finished high school. I ended up playing club soccer in college but nothing too serious. I went to East Carolina University for my undergrad. After graduating, I decided I wanted to do something different and moved to Connecticut and went to dental hygiene school up there. That is actually where I met Brogan, in Connecticut.  

Talk about your college days and how you met Brogan during school. 

Brogan and I went to different schools in Connecticut. He went to Quinnipiac, and I was at the University of New Haven. I was at a local bar on a Thursday night and saw a group of guys walk in. I spotted Brogan and thought he was pretty cute. I think Brogan had a bye weekend, so that is why he was able to be there that night and the stars kind of aligned. I went up to him at the bar and we started talking. I remember asking him ‘if you think I’m cute, would you buy me a drink at the bar?’ and he told me ‘no’. So, I got turned down at first, and then I guess I had a little more liquid courage by the end of the night and went back up to him. He apologized and said he had been looking for me all night. We ended up going on a date a few days later and the rest is history. 

I went to undergrad for art and education but decided I did not want to become a teacher and wasn’t really passionate about art. I knew dental hygiene was a good career, could raise a family with it, and was flexible. I really enjoyed school and when I finished, I began working in Utica during Brogan’s first pro season. Then COVID hit, and ever since then, just where our paths have taken us, I haven’t really been able to work much. I really have been enjoying my time as a stay-at-home mom. 

How has Maren changed your guys’ life and how special is it to see her interact with her dad? 

We got married and had Maren pretty quickly. She was born in August of 2022 and two weeks later we were on a plane with her to move to Seattle for a couple months during the NHL preseason. We stayed in a hotel for a few weeks, then an Airbnb, and it was pretty wild. I probably should’ve just stayed home with my parents for that part of the season. It was challenging, but once we moved to Palm Springs from Seattle it was a lot calmer. We settled in to a new house and got to bring Maren to the games. The atmosphere down there was amazing during the inaugural season for the Firebirds. Also, being able to raise her in a warm climate for the first handful of months was a game changer, too. Obviously, when you have a kid, you have to think more and your life now revolves around Maren. 

Seeing her interact with Brogan during warmups and stuff has been so fun. It puts a huge smile on my face every time, and I know Brogan loves it. She also does great in the stands, too, she loves getting her popcorn. I think she is really starting to understand what her dad does. It’s nice for her to see her dad close up on the ice during warmups, and then we will go up into the stands and I will tell her ‘okay, dada is out there now’. She also now recognizes what a goalie is and that has become her favorite thing. She always shouts, ‘that’s the goalie!’. She is very smart, so I think she is catching on very quickly. She gets excited when it’s a hockey day. When I wake her up and tell her it’s a hockey day, she just gets so happy. 

I know you make custom jackets for Maren, is that a hobby of yours? 

With the art background, it has kind of interests me but most of the products that I have done have been for events or just for Maren. Everyone says I should start an Etsy page or something, but we will see. It will also be nice in the future to be in one house and set up an area that I can work from. I have a cricket at home, so that has been fun making Maren her little jackets. That is an awesome part of it, too, she gets to wear all the cool clothes with the guys’ names on the back.

What has it been like being married to a professional athlete? 

I would not trade it for anything, it has been so much fun. Even during times when it does get frustrating, when he’s gone weeks at a time or moving every other year, it’s tough but I truly enjoy every minute of it. I’m a pretty flexible person, so moving to different cities has not been too challenging. We always joke about what are we going to do in 10 years when we have to stay in one spot. The people we have met along the way have been incredible and we’ve made friendships that will last forever. 

You’ve been with Brogan for his whole career, how has that been moving from city to city and just as a whole? 

When we met, I remembered him mentioning that he was hoping to be in the NHL one day and talked about it a lot. I kind of just went along with it, not really believing him. Then Quinnipiac’s season ended his junior year, and you could see his parents on the phone. Then the next day, he was on a plane to go play Nashville with the Vancouver Canucks. I remember thinking ‘what is happening?’, and it was kind of like a woah moment for me. This has been one of my biggest blessings, being able to see him go from college to a professional career and being with him every step of the way. It’s been awesome and I am so proud of him. Every game I think it is just the coolest thing being in the stands and watching him do his thing. 

What does a typical game day look like for you? 

On Friday’s, Grand Rapids Gymnastics does an open gym, so I will take Maren there. If Brogan is home in time, he usually comes with us. We then come home and put her down for a nap. I also usually prepare Brogan’s pre-game meal, which is chicken and pasta. While Maren naps, I get things done around the house or just take some time for myself. After that, we get Maren dressed and head out to the game. We also have a lot of family that live close by in Detroit and Chicago. So, a lot of times we have family in town and will go out to eat before the games. 

What are some of your favorite things about Grand Rapids and being closer to family?

We love the area here. It has been great raising a family and I think Grand Rapids is a perfect spot for that. There are a ton of activities for kids, and we love that. The Fredrick Meijer Garden and gymnastics have been our favorites so far. We also just started doing soccer with Maren every Tuesdays. The food is also outstanding. We love going to Maru for sushi and where we live, we can just walk outside and enjoy some of the local spots. We love being in a city atmosphere but also being a little removed from it all but still get that city feel. It’s freezing, but the snow is very pretty and has been fun for Maren. 

It's been so helpful being closer to family. A lot of my side of the family that are close are my aunts, uncles and cousins. They usually come visit when Brogan is here playing and then I get a reset once Brogan hits the road. His parents are about three and a half hours away, so they have been able to shoot over and have been very helpful.

What are you most excited about for your future? 

I would say the stability of being able to stay in one spot but as I think about it, I may not be all that excited about that. Like I said earlier, I am just used to moving all the time. But being able to choose where we want to stay and being able to pick a place that is closer to friends and family will be nice. During the season, if there is a wedding or something, Brogan usually can’t go. So, it’ll be nice to have that flexibility of being able to do whatever whenever we want. Also, maybe starting back in my career when the kids are older. Who knows, maybe I’ll change my career path again, but I think I’d like to go back to work at a pediatric office or something. It’ll also be interesting to see what Brogan decides to do once he is done playing.