Nicolai Haugsted
Erling Haaland’s relationship has been public for years—but one answer is still missing.
Erling Haaland has spent the World Cup scoring goals, breaking records and attracting an even larger army of followers. Away from the pitch, however, the Norwegian superstar still manages to keep one important part of his life beyond public reach.
Nearly 75 million people now follow the 25-year-old Manchester City striker on Instagram, where trophies, training sessions and carefully selected glimpses of life outside football regularly appear.
According to Se og Hør, details surrounding his relationship with Isabel Haugseng Johansen remain far harder to pin down.
Nobody knows when it began
Haaland and Johansen have appeared publicly as a couple since the spring of 2023, but neither has revealed exactly when their relationship started.
Close friends and relatives are believed to know the full story, while everyone else has been left to piece together a romantic timeline from public appearances and occasional interviews.
Both grew up in Bryne, a small town in southwestern Norway, and first crossed paths through their local football club. Johansen also played football, meaning their story began long before red carpets, World Cup matches and fashion shows entered the picture.
Haaland later revealed during an appearance on NRK’s portrait programme A-laget that Johansen was the one who made the first move by sending him a message.
“So she checked me out, I didn’t check her out,” he joked.
From Bryne to the fashion world
Public sightings have become more frequent since the couple welcomed their first child in December 2024.
Johansen has increasingly joined Haaland at events connected to his commercial work, including a major Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Italy. Haaland serves as one of the luxury brand’s public faces, giving him another stage on which to appear when he is not terrorising defenders.
Life beside one of football’s most recognisable players naturally brings plenty of attention, and Johansen appears to be growing more comfortable with it.
World Cup exposure has sent her own social media following soaring. Around 350,000 people followed her on Instagram before the tournament, while that figure has now climbed beyond two million.
Haaland’s global profile has reached another level during the tournament, but his approach to private life has barely changed.
Photographs may now be easier to find, and joint appearances may happen more often, yet the couple continue to decide exactly how much the public gets to see.
Millions can watch Haaland’s matches, follow his holidays and study his latest designer outfit. The starting date of his relationship, though, remains protected with the kind of discipline normally reserved for Norway’s tactical plans.
