Before the 2026 season opener, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s wife, Ann Michael, opened up to ESPN about the unexpected rise of her social media profile. Maye, who became a ray of hope for the Patriots fanbase after a run to the Super Bowl last season, entered the 2026 campaign with the same expectations on his shoulders.

However, that newfound visibility also comes with a less pleasant side of being connected to a high-profile NFL player. After Maye endured a difficult performance against Seattle and the Patriots suffered a 13-10 loss to the defending Super Bowl champions, some fans took their frustration beyond the quarterback himself. They flooded the comment section of one of Ann Michael’s TikTok posts, criticizing Maye and, in the process, unnecessarily dragging his wife into the conversation.

“Tell him to sleep on the couch tn,” one person wrote, referring to Maye, on a harmless get-ready-with-me video Ann dropped on Tiktok.

“I think you should teach us how cook meatball like your husband makes,” another fan commented.

“Make sure to add extra MAYo and PICKles,” read another comment, while another added, “Can you tell drake maye stop giving Stevenson the f——g ball.”

“can you tell drake he’s not brady” another comment read.

“😂😂😂 TikTok messy, she’s never been on my fyp until tonight.”

The criticism surfaced after the Patriots blew a 10-0 lead and lost 13-10 to the Seahawks at Lumen Field earlier this week. The highlight of it all, however, was Maye’s tally of three interceptions. What was meant to be a night to exact revenge on the Seahawks, the Patriots QB ended up giving away the victory himself.

Even thought here had been a gap of some months between the two games, it was pretty much the same story all over again. The Dark Side defense from Seattle had troubled Maye from the beginning, and the Patriots didn’t score until the second quarter. They entered the second half with a 9-0 lead over the Seahawks, but Maye’s first two interceptions led to Seattle adding 10 points on the board.

All three interceptions happened in the fourth quarter.

The first one came on a deep pass meant for Romeo Doubs on a 2nd-and-nine from Seattle’s 45-yard line. However, it was in double coverage: Seahawks safety Rodney Thomas tipped the ball away, and Nehemiah Pritchett grabbed the deflection at Seattle’s 3. They added an easy score in the next two minutes.

The next pick followed on a third-and-long with the Patriots still in their territory. Maye went for a deep pass yet again, targeting DeMario Douglas. However, Seattle’s Julian Love was quicker and grabbed the ball. Eight plays later, the score was 13-10 after the Seahawks followed that first touchdown with a field goal.

And then came the pick that will perhaps be a recurring nightmare for Pats fans. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the matchup, Maye targeted receiver Mack Hollins in the end zone for a touchdown. New England could have opted for a field goal; they were well within range and had orchestrated two fourth-down conversions prior to this play.

However, the Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe intercepted it as Seattle sealed the victory. Say what you want about the other two interceptions, but Maye was responsible for this last one. Had this been a field goal, the Pats could have the window to fight on in overtime.

“[I] lost patience,” a visibly disappointed Maye said after the game. “I think, just, decisions that cost us the game on my part, on my end … at the same time, can’t have those. It’s unacceptable.”

Throughout the entire night, Maye never seemed like the MVP contender he was last season. Decision-making was a major struggle, especially on the big plays. While Maye was very good in deep throws last season, all three of his interceptions came on these bold passes.

“You can’t throw three interceptions. Drake knows that,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “We can’t turn the ball over and we have to create more turnovers. There’s a few things we have to eliminate that get you beat in this league.”

The backlash for Drake was bound to reach Ann’s doors too. The couple shot up in popularity after last season; Ann’s TikTok account now has more than 600,000 followers, per USA Today. She was also featured in Boston Magazine’s 150 most-influential Bostonians, with the cover boasting her as the “Queen of New England.”

While her husband worked to reclaim New England’s lost glory, she connected with the audience in her own way. Ann’s ‘Bakemas’ series on social media, which involves her baking a series of holiday treats, became a huge hit.

“Food and cooking brings people together in so many ways,” Ann Michael said earlier this August, per the Patriots’ official site. “That’s one of my favorite things about it. Everything I make, I usually give to other people. It’s a great way to build community by giving someone something that you made. It’s so personal and means a lot to watch someone enjoy it, and have them know that you took your time to do that.”

The Mayes have been here for less than five years. The couple was settling in, but the public warmed up to them greatly after last year.

“It’s really cool in that it just happened in the most natural way,” she told ESPN. “It’s been fun to see the New England community rally around not just Drake but me as well.

“This whole world I’m in now, social media, this following, is something I didn’t know anything about. So it’s cool to see, day by day, the different opportunities that come in. I just did a Make-A-Wish and it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had. It’s cool to see what comes knocking on my door. It has brought so many fun and awesome opportunities.”

However, angry fans will be angry fans, and players’ partners often take a hit when their significant others disappoint on the field.

That said, there’s no denying that Drake Maye and the Patriots are off to a poor start. It remains to be seen whether they find rhythm in Week 2.