Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe have announced their split after being together for nearly an decade. The athletes revealed the news via a joint post on Instagram.
“There really is no smooth or easy way to share this news,” their statement begins. “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 continues. “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."
In the announcement, the two reveal that they won’t be doing their podcast A Touch More together. “The conversations, the laughter. the connection - it means more than we can put into words,” their statement reads. “While this chapter of doing the podcast together is ending, what we've built with you isn't.”
The Olympic gold medalists were together for more than a decade after meeting at the 2016 Rio Olympics. They went public with their relationship in July of 2017 at the same time that Rapinoe came out as a lesbian.
"I'm gay. Megan's my girlfriend…These aren't secrets to people who know me," Bird to OUT magazine at the time. "I don't feel like I've not lived my life. I think people have this assumption that if you're not talking about it, you must be hiding it, like it's this secret. That was never the case for me."
The couple announced their engagement in October of 2020.
Bird was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2025 after spending her entire WNBA career of over 20 years with the Seattle Storm. She’s a four-time WNBA champion and 13-time All-Star at the point guard position.
Rapinoe played for the Seattle Reign of the National Women’s Soccer League for 10 seasons. She’s a two-time Women’s World Cup champion with the United States Women’s National Team and has had 63 goals in international competition.
