Megan McElaney is a well-known former member of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC). Originally from Oceanside, California, she joined the squad in 2021 and spent five years training under director Kelli Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell. By her final year, she had earned the role of group leader.
The California native was part of a Cowboys operation built by Jerry Jones into a global brand. She performed in front of 80,000 fans at AT&T Stadium and documented every moment across three seasons of Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.” During her tenure, McElaney helped advocate for a significant salary increase for the cheerleaders and was named “Veteran of the Year.”
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders close with “Thunderstruck” during their final tour stop at the Abraham Chavez Theatre in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.© Gaby Velasquez/ El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
She retired from the squad at the end of the 2025–2026 NFL season to focus on new career paths and media projects, but her retirement was accompanied by another major change in her personal life.
Ex-Cowboys cheerleader Megan McElaney breaks silence on retirement and breakup
The demanding DCC schedule strained McElaney’s personal life. She began dating Alex Blaszyk, a former Division I baseball pitcher, in December 2022. They bought a home together on Valentine’s Day 2025, but the relationship ended later that year.
Fans first suspected a split in December 2025 when McElaney deleted photos of Blaszyk from her Instagram account. She later confirmed the breakup in Episode 7 of Season 3, opening up about how difficult it was to balance her unglamorous cheerleading career with her relationship.
“I know this job is so demanding of our time, and I felt that I wasn’t there enough for him,” she shared on the show. “Any moment I had, I was trying to be intentional and put him first. I think I just didn’t take care of myself in that way.”
Instead of slowing down after losing both her career and relationship, McElaney shifted her focus to new projects. In May 2026, she launched The Sidekick Pod with her brother, Sean McElaney, giving her a platform independent of cheerleading.
Her time with the DCC also helped her build an Instagram audience of over one million followers, leading to brand partnerships with companies like Nivea and Revolut.
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