The image of Aaron Hernandez is usually one of two things: a freak-of-nature athlete snagging touchdowns for the New England Patriots or a man in a suit facing life in prison. But before the billion-dollar contracts and the murder trials, there was Bristol Central High School. And there was Dennis SanSoucie.
For years, rumors swirled about Hernandez’s private life. People speculated. Tabloids guessed. It wasn’t until after his death in 2017 that the man often referred to as the aaron hernandez high school boyfriend finally stepped into the light to tell a story that changes how we look at the late NFL star’s "macho" persona.
Who Exactly Was Dennis SanSoucie?
Dennis SanSoucie wasn’t just some random classmate. He was the quarterback. Aaron was the star tight end. On the field, they were a powerhouse duo for Bristol Central, connecting for touchdowns that made them local legends in Connecticut. Off the field, their connection was much deeper and, at the time, much more dangerous.
SanSoucie eventually went on to join the Marines. He lived a life far away from the NFL spotlight. But in the Netflix documentary Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, he dropped a bombshell. He admitted that he and Aaron had a sexual relationship that started in the 7th grade and lasted until their junior year of high school.
"We were very much into trying to hide what we were doing," SanSoucie told the Boston Globe. Honestly, it makes sense. Think about the environment. A locker room in the mid-2000s wasn't exactly a safe space for two star athletes to come out.
The Culture of Silence in Bristol
It wasn't just about football culture, though. It was about their dads.
Dennis Hernandez—Aaron’s father—was a legendary figure in Bristol, but he was also a man who ruled his house with an "iron fist." Aaron’s brother, Jonathan, has been vocal about how their father used homophobic slurs constantly. He had a very rigid, almost suffocating definition of what a "man" should be.
- Aaron wanted to be a cheerleader like his cousins? Denied. * Aaron showed a "feminine" side? Disciplined.
Dennis SanSoucie faced a similar wall at home. Both boys grew up in households where being gay wasn't just discouraged—it was viewed as a weakness or a failure. So, they did what they had to do. They compartmentalized. They played the role of the tough, womanizing jocks by day and kept their actual intimacy buried in the dark.
The On-Again, Off-Again Reality
It wasn't some stable, romantic "boyfriend/girlfriend" dynamic you see in movies today. SanSoucie described it as "on-and-off."
They were teenagers trying to navigate hormones and identity in a world that would have likely crushed them if the truth came out. SanSoucie mentioned that they would "experiment," then feel immediate guilt. "Did someone catch us? Is it ruined?"
That kind of chronic stress does something to a kid’s brain. When you're constantly looking over your shoulder, you never really learn how to be yourself. You learn how to wear a mask.
Why This Matters for the "Motive"
Some people try to link Hernandez’s hidden sexuality directly to his later violence. It’s a messy theory. While it’s unlikely that being closeted "made" him a killer, experts—and those close to him—suggest it contributed to a massive amount of internal rage.
If you can't be honest about who you love, and you’re constantly performing a version of "hyper-masculinity" to overcompensate, you're basically a walking pressure cooker.
Shayanna Jenkins and the Other Side
While Dennis SanSoucie was the secret, Shayanna Jenkins was the public reality.
🔗 Read more: Diana Princess of Wales Car Accident: What Most People Get Wrong
She was Aaron’s high school sweetheart and the mother of his child. She has stayed fiercely loyal to him even after everything. When the news about Dennis SanSoucie and other rumors about Aaron’s sexuality broke, she was blindsided.
In a 2017 interview with Dr. Phil, she admitted she had no idea. She said Aaron was "very much a man" to her. It’s a tragic layer to the story because it shows how successful Aaron was at keeping his worlds separate. He lived in silos. The "football Aaron," the "family Aaron," and the "secret Aaron" rarely met.
What We Can Learn From the SanSoucie Story
Looking back at the aaron hernandez high school boyfriend narrative isn't just about gossip. It’s a case study in what happens when trauma, CTE, and a culture of toxic masculinity collide.
- The Power of Environment: If Aaron and Dennis had grown up in a more accepting era, maybe the "internalized homophobia" wouldn't have been so volatile.
- The Complexity of Identity: A person can be a father, a fiancée, a killer, and a closeted man all at once. Humans aren't one-dimensional.
- The Need for Support: SanSoucie eventually found peace by coming out after Aaron’s death. He used his platform to highlight the importance of mental health and being true to oneself before it's too late.
If you’re looking for a simple answer to "who was Aaron’s boyfriend," Dennis SanSoucie is the name. But the "why" and the "how" are much more complicated than a simple label. It was a relationship born in a locker room and buried under the weight of expectations that neither boy was equipped to handle.
For anyone researching this today, the best move is to watch the Killer Inside documentary on Netflix or read The Truth About Aaron by Jonathan Hernandez. Those sources provide the grit and the nuance that short news clips usually miss.
🔗 Read more: How Tall is Susan Lucci? The Truth About the Soap Icon's Height
Understanding the role of Dennis SanSoucie doesn't excuse what Aaron Hernandez did later in life. Nothing can. But it does provide a much-needed window into the fractured psyche of a man who seemed to have everything, while actually having nowhere to truly be himself.
Actionable Insight: If you or someone you know is struggling with identity in a high-pressure environment like competitive sports, seek out organizations like You Can Play or The Trevor Project. Breaking the cycle of "the mask" is the first step toward preventing the kind of internal collapse we saw with Hernandez.