Kate Upton once shared her unfiltered take on navigating through bachelorette life preceding Justin Verlander - "I'm not a toy, I'm a human" 

Kate Upton and Justin Verlander are one of the most well-known couples in the MLB. The two have been together for over a decade and live a happily married life.

However, Upton had quite a challenging bachelorette life before meeting Verlander. In 2011, Upton made her first appearance on the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue cover. She was making waves in the modeling industry but had issues in her personal life.

In an interview with Elle Magazine in Aug. 2013, Upton opened up on the struggles of being single while juggling her profession. She said:

"I felt terrible about myself for a solid month. Every single guy I met was either married or about to be married, and I felt like I was their bachelor present or something. I'm not a toy, I'm a human. I'm not here to be used. I am a grown woman, and you need to figure your s*** out."

Upton also went on to explain how models are treated differently in the industry:

"People deal with models like they are children. They think they can pull one over on you. It's actually funny. I'm always like, 'I'm about to pull something on you, and you're so focused on thinking I'm dumb you're not even going to know.'"

However, Upton was able to find love and stability in Verlander. She has been happily married to the MLB pitcher for over six years now.

Kate Upton and Justin Verlander's relationship timeline

Kate Upton (L) and Justin Verlander

As per reports, Kate Upton and Justin Verlander first met in 2012, while shooting a commercial together. The two grew close and began dating shortly after.

Verlander and Upton had a brief split in June 2013 but got back together in Jan. 2014. They announced their engagement in May 2016.

On November 4, 2017, two days after Verlander won the World Series with the Houston Astros, he tied the knot with Upton in a medieval church in Tuscany, Italy.

The couple became parents for the first time on November 7, 2018, when Upton gave birth to a daughter, whom they later named Genevieve.