Sports anchor Jessica Mendoza and her husband, Adam Burks, pay no mind to conservative gender roles. Their unconventional dynamic allowed Mendoza to "say yes" to many fulfilling opportunities at work.
While only one of them pursued a career in sports, Jessica Mendoza and her husband, Adam Burks, share a passion for the industry. Jessica has been part of the broadcast team for ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball," but she used to be a professional softball player.
Adam was an active sports player in school but later pursued work in different fields. He and Jessica will have marked their 17th wedding anniversary by this year's end, having tied the knot in 2006.
Jessica Mendoza is pictured at Day 1 of The Annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit at The Lodge at Torrey Pines on October 18, 2021, in La Jolla, California | Source: Getty Images
The couple shares two boys, Caleb Ashton Burks, born in 2009, and Caden Adam Burks, in 2013. Caleb and Caden's father graduated from University High School in 1987 before joining the US Marines.
The Spokane native is known for serving in Operation Desert Storm; however, he's not the only man in Jessica's life who's been in the army, as his father-in-law, Gil Mendoza, also served. Jessica once revealed that Gil was present when the Berlin wall was built.
Adam then pursued his tertiary education at Eastern Washington University, where he attained a degree in Civil Engineering. He worked as a civil engineer until his eldest son was born and decided to step down and become a stay-at-home dad.
The Couple First Met At a Wedding
During a chat with The Spokesman-Review in 2008, Jessica and Adam revealed that they had met in 2004 at a wedding in Southern California. From there, Adam said they "hit it off," and their romance "blossomed."
However, their relationship was initially long-distance since it was the Olympic year, and Jessica was still playing softball professionally. Despite the challenges that arrangement may have brought, Adam remarked:
"Life has a funny way of working out."
They Have a "Role-Reversal" Family
When Jessica and Adam welcomed their firstborn, there were both pursuing full-time careers; Adam, a civil engineer, and Jessica, a softball player. Initially, Adam stepped down to let his wife continue playing, but things slightly changed once she became an ESPN anchor.
Jessica now had to travel across the country to cover various baseball events, but she was reluctant to leave her family. Still, her husband encouraged her to keep going, and while that arrangement has worked for them, it also meant they "switched" gender roles, as Jessica said:
"I'm very aware of my gender. My big thing is focusing on the people that matter. We're a role-reversal family in every way possible."
Jessica then expressed her appreciation for how "role-reversal" in gender norms had become more socially acceptable in the country, adding that it didn't matter who made money as long as "something is rolling in" and everyone was "happy."
The night she and Adam met, she was going to leave for the Olympics the next morning. When she returned after securing a gold medal for Team USA, Adam gifted her with a scrapbook. Recalling the memory, she joked:
"He's not really the guy who [usually] makes scrapbooks, I've come to learn."
Jessica's Parents Help Her Husband with the Kids
Jessica's parents, Gil and Karen, live only twenty minutes from her home in Camarillo, California. The couple has lived there for over forty years, and while they helped Adam with Caleb and Caden, it opened many doors for their daughter, as she explained:
"I know I wouldn’t be in this position with work (without this arrangement), because I’ve been able to say yes to so many opportunities."
Jessica added that it felt "awesome" to know her boys were with Adam whenever she wasn't around. She remarked that the bond between the three wouldn't have blossomed if her husband had still worked the hours he once did.
Jessica Shares a Lot of Family Moments
While Jessica's Instagram timeline is filled with work content, she also shares a lot of updates about her family's most recent adventures. In 2015, she posted a sweet family portrait, including herself, Adam, and their sons, captioning:
"There is nothing, nothing in the world that could make me as happy as these three. I am so in love... These boys have my heart."
In the photo, Jessica donned a loose-fitting green top with floral designs and a white bottom. The mom of two had let her hair down and smiled wide with a happy baby Caden in her arms, who looked stylish in blue jeans and a white button-up shirt.
Adam also wore a navy button-up while holding young Caleb, who sported a white-and-blue striped shirt. In December 2021, the Mendoza-Burks family posed for more family portraits, this time for Christmas and with their adorable pup.
The previous month, Jessica and Adam partnered with Land Rover USA for an Instagram ad alongside their kids. The Mendoza-Burkses traveled in the Land Rover Discovery for an outdoor trip in Oregon.
Alongside the photo series Jessica shared, she revealed that, among other stunning sites, they visited Clear Lake and Sahali Falls. Last year in January, they took another trip across Montana, visiting Yellowstone, Big Sky, and Bozeman.
Jessica shared a thread of pictures and clips from the vacation on Instagram. Many left compliments under the post, with one user commenting that all of her family's vacations were on their bucket list.
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