Christian McCaffrey turned 26 years old on Tuesday, which led to him getting “happy birthday” wishes by his girlfriend, Olivia Culpo, on Instagram.

“It’s someone’s birthday!!” Culpo wrote in the caption.

“I love you so much Christian. You are the most dependable, inspiring, thoughtful, + grounding person and I feel so lucky to call you mine.”

McCaffrey, a star running back for the Carolina Panthers, and Culpo, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, have been dating for about three years.

This past December, Culpo wrote about the key to maintaining a long distance relationship with McCaffrey, who resides on the East Coast while she lives in Los Angeles.

“Communication is key!!! Most of the time people are in long distance relationships because work/passions/family forces a person to live in a particular place,” Culpo wrote on her Instagram Story at the time. “I feel like part of really loving someone is loving them enough to care about their dreams and aspirations as much as your own. And that means respecting what they have to do to get s—t done!”

Culpo continued: “At the same time you have to make sure your needs are being met and you are secure in the relationship (this goes both ways). That’s where communication comes in! Always keep it open and honest. If a need isn’t being met, tell your partner. If your partner isn’t meeting your needs, explain what you need and why.”

On the field, McCaffrey has had a rough go of it the last two seasons, appearing in seven games in 2021 and three in 2020, suffering at various times ankle, shoulder and hamstring injuries.