The belle behind the book.

Now she's writing the next one, and turning a love of Saturdays into a full-blown lifestyle brand. Because some of us are never not thinking about football.

A Louisville, Kentucky native, Christie Leigh grew up close to a grandfather who played the game and grandmothers who taught her every aspect of it, Vegas spreads included. "What time is kickoff?" was the only question that mattered when planning anything. That foundation followed her to Rhodes College — Southern in every sense of the word, minus the football team — where she watched girlfriends miss out on the full magic of fall Saturdays and decided to give them a guide. Gridiron Belles was born.

A business etiquette consultant by trade, Christie Leigh has always believed that how you show up matters — whether you're walking into a boardroom or a stadium. That philosophy is at the heart of everything Gridiron Belles does.

Christie Leigh has friends who text "go sports!" and friends who will argue a bad call with her for the entire drive home — and she genuinely loves every single one of them. She knows that what makes a fall Saturday great isn't where you fall on the football IQ spectrum. It's showing up. Christie Leigh's Southern hospitality doesn't discriminate between the ones who know the playbook and the ones who just know where the party is — there's a seat at her tailgate for all of it.

Gridiron Belles: Second Down arrives spring 2027 — updated for a sixteen-team conference and written for every smart, clever, fun-loving belle who understands that 12 Saturdays a year are sacred, that it is completely normal to invest this much time, money, and heart into a team that doesn't know your name but can absolutely feel you there.

Christie Leigh lives in Louisville with her Alabama-grad husband, two littles, and two dogs — Henry (as in Derrick) and Jeudy (as in Jerry). She wants your recipes. No, really. Send 'em in.