Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe announce split after nearly a decade together

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe ended a decade-long relationship on Friday, April 17, 2026, saying in a joint Instagram statement and a clip from their podcast, A Touch More, that the breakup was a mutual decision made after a lot of thought. The two athletes said they remained grateful for the life they shared, the community that supported them and the chapter they built together, even as both the relationship and the podcast now come to a close. They also said they planned six farewell episodes before moving on to separate projects.

The split closes one of the most visible athlete partnerships in women’s sports. Bird and Rapinoe began dating in 2016 after meeting during the Summer Olympics, went public in 2017 and got engaged in October 2020. Their relationship became part of the public identity of women’s sports and LGBTQ visibility, especially after they appeared together in ESPN The Body Issue in 2018 as the first openly gay couple featured in the annual issue.

Bird, 45, built a résumé that put her among the most decorated players in basketball history, with four WNBA championships and five Olympic gold medals. She retired from the WNBA after the 2022 season and later became managing director of the U.S. women’s national basketball team. Rapinoe, 40, won two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles, in 2015 and 2019, along with Olympic gold in 2012. She retired from the NWSL at the end of the 2023 season.

Together, Bird and Rapinoe also turned their platform toward politics and social issues. Both have been outspoken on equal pay, transgender rights and racial justice, and A Touch More relaunched in 2024 with a focus on women’s sports, politics, equality and inclusion. The podcast gave them a direct line to fans long after their playing days, extending a relationship that had already become unusually public for two athletes of their stature.

Their breakup lands at a moment when both women are navigating life beyond competition, but still inside the public eye. For a pair whose partnership became intertwined with the visibility of women’s sports, the announcement is more than the end of a romance. It is the end of a public symbol, and a reminder of how often high-profile female athletes are expected to carry private lives into the spotlight.