Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird are going their separate ways.
The couple, who announced their engagement in October 2020, shared a joint statement to Instagram Friday, writing, “There really is no smooth or easy way to share this news. After a lot of thought, we’ve made the decision to separate as a couple.”
“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,” the statement continued. “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 couple said they are “so grateful to this incredible community that has held us up, welcomed us in, and supported us exactly as we are.”
“So many of you have reminded us, again and again, why loving out loud matters,” they added.
Not only is their romantic partnership coming to a close, but the former professional athletes also revealed this marks the end of their “A Touch More” podcast as well.
“Thank you for being with us through all of it…it means the world to us,” the ended the joint statement, signing off with “so much love, Megan and Sue.”
Bird, one of the greatest players in WNBA history with five Olympic gold medals to her name, publicly came out as lesbian in a 2017 ESPN interview while simultaneously sharing that she and Rapinoe, whom she had met the previous year at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, were dating.
Rapinoe, a National Women’s Soccer League alum, publicly came out years earlier in a 2012 Out interview the same year she won Olympic gold for the US in London.
Bird announced that she and Rapinoe were engaged with a low-key Instagram post in October 2020. The caption-less photo showed the latter down on one knee and placing a ring on the former’s finger.
The pair, one of the biggest power couples in the sports world, never exchanged vows.
Despite their split, it appears Rapinoe and Bird will still be working together under their A Touch More production company.
Deadline announced Monday they are executive producing “Playing the Field,” a series based on Meryl Wilsner’s “Cleat Cute” romance novel from 2023, for Amazon MGM Studios.
