Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell was an unknown heading into the 2023 season. The second-year man out of North Carolina played well in his first career start at the tail end of the 2022 season, notching a convincing victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
That, and a strong offseason showing, earned him the starting role over veteran backup Jacoby Brissett. Howell’s been productive thus far with four interceptions in a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills. He’s got Washington off to a 2-2 start and was last seen pushing the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles to the brink in a narrow overtime loss.
That marked the second consecutive loss for Washington after a hot start to the year. But Howell and his Commanders have a chance to get back on a winning track during Thursday night’s tilt with the winless Chicago Bears. Howell will have plenty of supporters at the Washington home game, but few bigger than his girlfriend, Chloe Barbu.
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Who Is Chloe Barbu?
Much like Howell, Barbu is a fellow Tar Heel. The North Carolina native attended the university and, presumably, is where she and Howell first met. Barbu got her degree from UNC this past May.
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Barbu has amassed nearly 7,000 followers on her personal Instagram account. Some might presume that sizable following is due to her relationship with Howell, but her profile on the social media app links to the aspiring designer’s business website as well: casabychloe.com.
The site details her foray into interior design. Specifically, on the “about” tab, Barbu recounts how she received an opportunity from The Design Network in which she would team up with a fellow UNC student and NBA hopeful in Tar Heels center Armando Bacot on the show “Going Pro” to help redesign the Tar Heels center’s home and make it move-in ready.
On her site, Barbu wrote about what the opportunity meant to her.
“Reflecting on this special time in my life, I can hardly find the words to express my gratitude for my biggest, most challenging, yet most rewarding project yet. Others taking this chance on me has strengthened my hunger to outwork and outgrow myself, but through this all, I am grounded and confident in knowing that I will never be able to outwork the Lord’s favor towards me.”
As you can tell, Barbu is passionate about and proud of her faith. So too is Howell, something Barbu made obvious to viewers when she commented on his Instagram post celebrating being drafted by the Commanders (per Eduvast).
“It’s been a delight to observe you believing in God and praising Him while pursuing your dreams. Cheers to the next phase of your Commanders’ career!”
Back then, Howell was merely hoping to make the Commanders’ roster. Nowadays, he’s hoping his play will help get the Commanders back over .500 this Thursday night. And he’s got an ardent supporter in his girlfriend, Barbu.
