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Basketball Hall of Famer Sue Bird and women’s soccer great Megan Rapinoe, one of the most prominent and accomplished couples in the sports world, announced in a joint statement Friday that they have separated after nearly a decade together.“This hasn’t been an easy decision, but it’s one we’ve made together with so much love, respect, and care for each other,” they wrote on Instagram. “We’ve shared a whole life over the last decade, through big moments and in quiet ones, and that is something we’ll always carry with us.”
The pair started dating in 2017 after meeting backstage at a photo shoot for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Rapinoe came out publicly in 2012, and Bird came out in 2017 when she announced her relationship with Rapinoe.
“We are so grateful to this incredible community that has held us up, welcomed us in, and supported us exactly as we are,” they wrote in their statement. “So many of you have reminded us, again and again, why loving out loud matters.”
Rapinoe played 13 professional seasons from 2009 to 2023. At the club level, she played primarily in the United States from 2014 until her retirement in 2023 with Seattle Reign FC. She also made 203 appearances for the U.S. national team from 2006 to 2023, scoring 63 goals. She was a leader on the team that won Olympic gold at the 2012 London Games, as well as World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019.
In 2019, she won the award for Best FIFA Women’s Player, the Ballon d’Or Féminin, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player) and Golden Boot (Top Scorer) after recording six goals and three assists during the tournament.
She also helped spearhead a successful campaign that pressured U.S. Soccer to pay the women’s team and men’s team equally in a landmark moment for female athletes.
Bird was a two-time national champion (2000 and 2002) for Geno Auriemma at UConn before being drafted with the No. 1 pick by the Seattle Storm in 2003. In her 20-year WNBA career, all in Seattle, Bird was a four-time champion (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020), 13-time All-Star, and became the league’s career assist leader. She is the only WNBA player in history to win titles in three separate decades.
Bird is also a five-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time Russian National League and EuroLeague champion. She was USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year in 2021, and her No. 10 jersey has been retired by Seattle and UConn.
More recently, Rapinoe and Bird hosted “A Touch More: The Podcast.” The show focused on the intersection of women’s sports and pop culture.
“Getting to create ‘A Touch More: The Podcast’ and build a network around it has been a tremendous joy,” they wrote. “The conversations, the laughter, the connection, it means more than we can put into words. While this chapter of doing the podcast together is ending, what we’ve built with you isn’t.
“Thank you for being with us through all of it. It means the world to us.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Seattle Storm, Connecticut Huskies, WNBA, Women's Soccer, Women's College Basketball
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