My man: Caroline Morehead Wideman on Chris Wideman

MONTREAL - We all know Chris Wideman as an eight-year NHL veteran, jokester and the ultimate teammate, but what is he like at home with his wife Caroline Morehead Wideman?

The canadiens.com staff caught up with Caroline in February to learn more fun facts about the Habs' No. 6.

Pssst, secret: Romeo was his old nickname.

Here are some highlights from the Q&A:

Please note that questions and answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

How did you and Chris meet?

We kind of knew of each other through - well, we were both born and raised in St. Louis. At the time when we sort of met each other again, he was playing for the Ottawa Senators and I went to college in Dallas, so I was working in Dallas. We ran into each other and then he reached out. From there, I came back to St. Louis, he took me on a date and here we are now.

How was your first date? Do you remember what you did?

He took me to a nice steak restaurant in St. Louis. We went there for dinner and then we went out with a few friends after. It was a lot of fun.

How long have you been together?

We have been together… I'm so bad at remembering time. I usually have to go back to my Instagram [laughs]. But we got married in July 2020 during the pandemic, and then we have been together… I believe it was 2016.

How did he propose?

It was actually on Easter in St. Louis. We were at brunch with my family and he was like, "Let's take our dog [a goldendoodle named Shooter, Ed.] for a walk in Forest Park." It's this nice, big park in St. Louis and I was like, "Ok, sure." Of course, I had a lot of laundry to do, so I was basically at the bottom of the barrel in terms of clean clothes. I had camouflage leggings on, a white shirt that had a hole in it and random sneakers with my hair all messy in a ponytail. We went to the park to walk our dog and for some reason, I never thought it was weird that my brother and Chris' sister were coming along too. So, I was walking our dog and I was trying to get a picture of him because [the view] was very scenic and pretty, and then apparently Chris was behind me when my back was turned and he was going to propose, but a whole family of six walked up to him to ask, "Oh, can you take our photo?" So, he had to readjust and after taking the photo of the family, he then proposed. I was absolutely shocked. He definitely caught me off guard.

How is Chris with your son Henry? Is he on diaper duty when he's at home?

Yes, Chris helps out a lot. Chris is very much a morning person, which is great because I am a night owl. So, when we're here in Montreal or in St. Louis, he conquers the morning which is good. Henry is absolutely obsessed with Chris and he looks identical to Chris as well. He is very, very helpful. It's always nice to have him home or being in Montreal with him because Henry loves the attention, so that means that he gets double the attention.

When he's at home, does Chris like to relax or does he prefer to keep busy?

Chris cannot sit still. He is a very busy person. He is always very regimented. He'll always make sure he's training or skating and doing all of that first. During down time, whether it's golfing, helping out around the house, going to dinner with friends or hanging out with our family… All of our family lives in St. Louis too, even our siblings. So, it's really nice, especially in the summer when Chris is home. His brother plays hockey also, so in the summer basically everyone is home which is really nice. But, Chris is definitely always moving and grooving.

We all know that Chris is an avid golfer. Do you like golf?

We'll play tennis together because I played tennis in high school, so we can be competitive against one another. I'll sometimes - if I'm invited - ride around in the golf car, but I'm awful at golf. I feel like that's his deal, so I don't want to intrude in his sacred golf time [laughs].

Earlier on, you mentioned your dog Shooter. Who is more strict with the dog and who secretly gives the dog food under the table?

Henry is number one, for sure. Chris is more strict with Shooter, but I think Shooter knows he can always get his way with me [laughs]. But, Shooter is obsessed with Chris. When Chris is home, he'll follow him everywhere and he'll sleep in the bed with us, in between Chris and I.

Is Chris a good cook?

Yes, he is a very good cook. He loves cooking. I am awful. I should not be in the kitchen, whatsoever. When Chris is home, especially in the summer when he has more free time, he's definitely the person that cooks. His mom is Greek and he has six Greek aunts, and they have amazing recipes that were ingrained in him growing up. He definitely gets it from his mom's side of the family.

What are some of Chris' best qualities?

He has a really funny sense of humor and can always find a positive, a silver lining or bring any humor to any situation. So, I can be very stressed or something can be going on and he just knows how to bring light to the situation and make me laugh. That's probably one of his best qualities. He can also literally talk to a wall; he's never met a stranger. He is very personable, very caring, and funny.

Does he do anything that annoys you?

He's gotten better at picking up and doing laundry and stuff like that. I feel like sometimes he thinks I'm crazy for cleaning up at night, vacuuming or doing stuff like that. He says, "Let's just do it tomorrow." So, there's that aspect, but maybe that's just a guy thing [laughs].

What's one fun fact about Chris or one hidden talent that we don't know about?

He's really good at juggling. He's been practicing that for hand-eye coordination. He's a really good cook. He really loves music and he's really good at coordinating trips, vacations, booking flights or hotels and stuff like that. He's very savvy in that sense. We also own a business together - Drybar, a blow dry salon in St. Louis. He's very smart in terms of business, networking and accounting.

We have to ask... is Chris romantic?

He is. He's never not put thought into anything. He's very thoughtful. He always makes sure, even if we can't be together for Valentine's Day, to make it a point that we go to dinner or send flowers or something like that [...] I used to call him Romeo. Before we got engaged and married he pulled out all the stops. He's definitely a Romeo, for sure.