Share and Follow
Robert Kraft, 80, is gearing up to walk down the aisle for the second time – more than a decade after his first wife passed away from cancer.
It was announced on Sunday that the billionaire businessman is set to wed his glamorous 47-year-old doctor girlfriend, whom he has been dating for three years.
Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots NFL team and CEO of the Kraft Group, popped the question to leading New York City ophthalmologist Dana Blumberg with a ’10-carat diamond’ ring – which was described by an onlooker as ‘a giant rock’ that looked similar to the ‘Super Bowl rings’ often sported by Kraft’s Patriots.
But while Kraft boasts an impressive array of sporting and business successes – as well as an estimated net worth of $8.3 billion – his wife-to-be has quietly achieved her own slew of accolades in the medical world, where she is regarded as on of the country’s leading eye doctors.
Born in 1974 – making her 33-years younger than Kraft – award-winning Dr. Blumberg has achieved quite a lot throughout her career, even as her romance to the mogul began to blossom in 2019.
Billionaire businessman Robert Kraft, 80, is set to wed his 47-year-old doctor girlfriend, Dana Blumberg, whom he has been dating for three years. They are pictured together in 2019
It’s been reported that Kraft proposed with a ’10-carat diamond’ ring, with a source comparing it to the ‘Super Bowl rings’ often sported by Kraft’s Patriots (one of which Blumberg is seen modeling back in 2017, before they began dating)
But who exactly is his wife-to-be? As the pair gets ready for their wedding, FEMAIL has uncovered everything you need to know about the future Mrs. Kraft (pictured in 2018)
Blumberg has stayed notoriously private throughout their relationship – doing her best to keep a low profile by not using any social media.
And while she has tried to keep the intimate details of her personal life out of the spotlight, the huge impact that the glamorous NYC doctor has made in the health community through her research is no secret.
She has dedicated much of her career to developing a screening process to detect eye conditions, which could help to reduce vision loss caused by glaucoma.
She and Kraft met years ago but remained close friends until they started dating in 2019.
The couple kept the engagement news under wraps – so it’s unclear when exactly he asked her to marry him – but their friend Tommy Hilfiger, 70, reportedly let it slip that they were gearing up to tie the knot at the inaugural amfAR Gala Palm Beach event on Saturday.
‘Tommy Hilfiger was the honoree and Robert and Dana were both chairs of the event for Tommy,’ a source told Page Six.
‘[Tommy] said his “good friend Bob Kraft got engaged to Dr. Dana Blumberg” at the event on stage, speaking to the whole audience.’
As news of the couple’s engagement is made public, FEMAIL has uncovered everything you need to know about the future Mrs. Kraft. From her career and impressive professional achievements to her personal life and family, here’s what we know about Dr. Dana Blumberg.
Dr. Dana Blumberg is one of the top doctors in the country
Dr. Blumberg is one of the top ophthalmologists in the U.S. and she is based at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She is pictured in 2012
She graduated from Brown University for her BA, and she then achieved her medical degree in May 2000 from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She is pictured in 2016
Besides owning the NFL team – which he bought in 1994 – and serving as chairman and CEO of Kraft Group, Kraft also owns the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, which he founded in 1996, and the esport-based Boston Uprising, which he founded in 2017.
And his soon-to-be wife has an impressive career of her own. Dr. Blumberg – based at Columbia University Irving Medical Center – has become one of the top ophthalmologists in the U.S.
She went on to complete her residency in 2004 at Case Western Reserve, before heading to Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University for her fellowship. She is pictured in 2014
She specializes in eye and vision care, as well as glaucoma – a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve.
In the past, she worked as an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University, but it’s unclear whether or not she is still working on her research there there.
She was working on screening strategies for disease detection there, which could help to reduce vision loss caused by glaucoma.
‘She is also funded by the National Institute of Health for her work in screening and disease detection,’ her bio for the company read, according to Heavy.
‘Her research focuses on the potential reduction in glaucoma-related visual loss through novel screening methodologies.’
In a 2012-2013 newsletter posted by the medical center, they said she had won a ‘prestigious’ grant which she used to evaluate a screening tool called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).
‘To be effective, a glaucoma screening tool should be easy to administer, minimally invasive, reasonably priced, reproducible, valid and able to detect disease,’ it wrote.
She now specializes in eye and vision care, as well as glaucoma – a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve. She and Kraft are pictured together in February 2022
She was previously working on screening strategies for disease detection, which could help to reduce vision loss caused by glaucoma. She is pictured in 2021 with Kraft
‘Dr. Blumberg hopes to demonstrate that the wide-scale implementation of such a tool for high-risk patients would reduce their lifetime prevalence of visual loss from glaucoma.’
Dr. Blumberg said at the time: ‘We think of undiagnosed disease as something that happens in developing countries, not right here in the United States.
Blumberg owns an apartment in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, however, it’s unknown whether or not she resides there or if she and Kraft are sharing a new residence in New York City. She is pictured in 2021 with Kraft
‘In medical school we’re trained to be clinicians and to think about patients on an individual level, but we’re not taught about population health as a whole.’
She graduated from Brown University for her BA, and she then achieved her medical degree in May 2000 from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri, according to the Department of Health.
She went on to complete her residency in 2004 at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, before heading to Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland for her fellowship.
Records also show that she practiced medicine in North Carolina from 2007 to 2011, before she moved to New York.
Over the years, she has won many awards for her work, including the 2009 American Glaucoma Society’s Clinician Scientist Award and the Wilmer Eye Institute Teaching Award in 2006. She also made New York Time’s Super Doctor Rising Stars list in 2013.
Blumberg has an office located at 635 West 165th Street. She owns an apartment in the Upper East Side of Manhattan – however, it’s unknown whether or not she resides there or if she and Kraft are sharing a new residence in New York City.
In May 2021, Kraft also bought a 7,000-square-foot home in the Hamptons for $43 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Fiercely-private Blumberg is dedicated to staying out of the spotlight
Notoriously private: Her bio has since been taken down from the Columbia’s website, and she doesn’t use any social media
While Blumberg has attended a few events with Kraft over the years, she has certainly not courted the spotlight.
She doesn’t use social media at all – with her only account being a Facebook page, which has just two posts and hasn’t been updated since 2018.
Her bio has also been taken down from Columbia’s website. And although she did one interview with NBC in 2014, during which she discussed her medial research, that too has now been deleted.
Despite preparing to marry a famed sports star and business mogul and a lot of media coverage surrounding their upcoming nuptials, it appears that the doctor is fiercely dedicated to staying out of the limelight.
How Kraft and Blumberg’s relationship blossomed from friendship to romance
Although they didn’t start dating until 2019, Kraft knew Dr. Blumberg as a friend for several years, as they were pictured together in 2017 at an event for the Elton John AIDS Foundation
Going public: They confirmed their romantic relationship in June 2019, when they were seen holding hands at the French Open
Blumberg’s dad, Nathan Blumberg, is also a doctor. He reportedly specializes in Urology in Smithtown, New York, and has experience of more than 63-years in the field.
After that, they became inseparable, attending many events side-by-side, and by early 2020, the couple was seen walking the red carpet together at Sir Elton’s Oscars party (pictured)
Her mom, Marlene Blumberg, sadly passed away in October 2014. Marlene was a member of a women’s zionist organization named Hadassa before her passing. She taught English for 37-years.
Dr. Blumberg grew up in New York City, while Kraft, who was born in 1941, hails from Massachusetts, so it’s unclear where or how they met.
Regardless, they eventually crossed paths, and appeared to start their relationship off as pals.
They didn’t start dating until 2019, but Kraft knew Dr. Blumberg as a friend for several years before their romance blossomed, as they were pictured together in 2017 at an event for the Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York City.
They confirmed their romantic relationship in June 2019, when they were seen holding hands at the French Open.
A month later, they were spotted in the stands at the final of the Women’s World Cup in Paris.
After that, they became inseparable, attending many events side-by-side throughout the rest of 2019, and by early 2020, the couple was seen walking the red carpet together at Sir Elton’s Oscars party.
A source told Page Six at the time: ‘They’re serious, as the kids would say, “They’re going steady!” They’ve been dating for almost a year now and they’re happy.’
And now, after three glorious years together, they are preparing to become husband and wife.
A look back at Kraft’s past – including his former relationships and allegations that he solicited prostitution
Kraft was married to Myra Hiatt (left in 2006) from 1963 until she died from cancer in 2011. He then started dated actress Ricki Noel Lander (right in 2018) until they split in 2018
Unfortunately, no details on the wedding’s date or location have emerged just yet, but this will be the second time down the aisle for Kraft.
He was married to his college sweetheart Myra Hiatt from 1963 until she died from cancer in 2011.
Ricki gave birth to a child in the fall of 2017, and despite rumors that the baby was Kraft’s, he denied paternity. They are pictured together in 2012
Together, they welcomed four kids together over the years – Jonathan, now 58, Daniel, now 56, Joshua, now 54, and David, now 50 – all of whom are older than his future wife.
He then started dating actress Ricki Noel Lander the following year, but they reportedly parted ways in 2018.
She gave birth to a child in the fall of 2017, and despite rumors that the baby was Kraft’s, he denied paternity.
‘Last fall, Ricki Noel Lander became the proud mother of a beautiful, healthy baby,’ his spokesperson told People in 2018.
‘While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Ricki’s blessing of having a healthy child. With respect to her family’s privacy, we will not be commenting any further.’
In 2019, the same year that he began dating Blumberg, Kraft was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution in connection with a human trafficking sting tied to a chain of Florida massage parlors.
Ultimately, no human trafficking charges were ever filed by prosecutors, who admitted in April of that year that there was not enough evidence to prove their initial claims that the Orchids of Asia Day Spa was operating a human trafficking ring.
Kraft denied and pleaded not guilty to a solicitation of prostitution charge; the case was then dropped in September 2020 after two courts blocked use of video evidence that allegedly showed the businessman paying for sex acts at the massage parlor.
The unpublicized video recordings were the only purported evidence implicating Kraft, who – despite denying the claims – issued a public apology in March 2019 after he was arrested.
