Gerzig spoke out after October 7, saying that “Hamas is a terrorist group that is against anyone who doesn't look like them, whether they are white, gay or Jewish”.
The 29-year-old also wore the yellow hostage pin at every event in the aftermath of the attacks, and said that “everyone I know knows someone who has been killed, gone missing, or been injured in the last few days”.
Having completed her mandatory service she resumed her modelling career, and she is now an international model who has walked the runway at New York Fashion week and participated in a television campaign for Coca Cola.
Courtois and Gerzig on their wedding day in 2023 (photo: Instagram @mishelgerzig)[Missing Credit]
Her modelling career began at the age of 13, and she works with ITM Models in Israel and NEXT Models Miami in the US.
Gerzig told Ynet in November that she had had an invitation to an event cancelled because she was Israeli, and said that the organisers didn’t want “to provoke or upset anyone”.
She now boasts over 800,000 followers on Instagram who are privy to the couple’s lavish life.
Gerzig speaks seven languages fluently.
She told Ynet in 2025 that she and Courtois speak to their daughter Ellie, the couple’s first child, in Hebrew, English, Spanish, Flemish, and French.
They tied the knot in 2023.
Ellie is two and she said that another child is “something we’re talking about”.
Courtois and Gerzig on their daughter's second birthday (photo: Instagram @mishelgerzig)[Missing Credit]
Courtois has two children from a former partner.
In 2022, Gerzig told Ynet that “they're very sweet, they've accepted me, we're a family and it's really heartwarming”.
The pair met in 2021 after Courtois messaged Gerzig on Instagram to compliment her pet dog, and they described it as love at first sight in a joint interview with Vanity Fair in 2023.
“As soon as we saw each other in person, we felt butterflies in the stomach”, they said.
Gerzig was born in Tel Aviv and now splits much of her time between Israel and Spain.
Aside from her modelling exploits, she released a song last year, realising her talents after singing to her daughter.
And she has worked as part of a management team of the Golden Ale Association for the Elderly, a non-profit that renovates the homes of the elderly and Holocaust survivors.
Courtois has long been considered one of the world’s best goalkeepers, with a trophy-laden career spent at Genk, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, and Real Madrid.
The 6’7” giant has twice won the Champions League with Real Madrid, and helped Belgium to their best ever World Cup finish in 2018, when they beat England in the third-place playoff.
Courtois, who won the Golden Glove in that tournament – the award given to the goalie with the most clean sheets – and he will hope to be similarly inspirational for Belgium over the next month.
Gerzig at the Bernabeu stadium, home of Real Madrid (photo: Instagram @mishelgerzig)[Missing Credit]
Speaking to Ynet’s sister publication LaIsha, Courtois said of their relationship in 2021: “When I'm with Mishel, I learn about Israeli culture. I see from the pictures what a beautiful country it is and I just can’t wait to travel there”.
“I'm very happy with Mishel, she's amazing. And I'm also very proud of her for her military service. Thanks to Mishel, my love of Israel has grown even more.”
Courtois and Belgium take on Egypt on Monday night in Seattle, before facing Iran in Los Angeles on Sunday, and New Zealand in Vancouver next Friday.
This summer’s World Cup is taking place between the US, Canada, and Mexico. It began on Thursday and will run until July 19.
