Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe announce split after nearly 10 years together
Retired Seattle sports superstars Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird have split up after nearly 10 years together, the pair announced Friday.
The splintering power couple made a joint decision to separate "with so much love, respect, and care for each other," according to an Instagram post published Friday.
"We are so grateful to this incredible community that has held us up, welcomed us in, and supported us exactly as we are," they said in the post. "So many of you have reminded us, again and again, why loving out loud matters."
Bird and Rapinoe started dating in September 2016, following the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The WNBA and NWSL stars got engaged in 2020.
During an illustrious 21-year career spent entirely with the Seattle Storm, Bird won four WNBA championships and tallied 13 WNBA All-Star appearances before retiring in 2022. The two-time University of Connecticut national champion was the No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick in 2002; she also won five Olympic gold medals with the U.S. women's national team.
Bird, 45, has a street in Seattle named after her and joined the Storm ownership group in 2024. Last summer was a busy one: A statue built in her likeness was erected outside Climate Pledge Arena, a first for a WNBA player, and she was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rapinoe's soccer career ended with a torn Achilles in the Reign's 2023 NWSL championship final loss. She was allocated to the club during the inaugural season in 2013 and only played for the Reign. Rapinoe retired as the club's all-time leader in goals scored (54). A two-time FIFA Women's World Cup winner and a gold medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Rapinoe also helped the Reign win three NWSL Shields for finishing atop the regular-season standings.
Electrifying while on the pitch, Rapinoe, 40, was also a lightning rod for her activism off the field.
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then-President Joe Biden in 2022 after her part in a successful players' lawsuit regarding equal pay for the women's and men's national teams, and she was one of the first professional athletes to kneel during the national anthem in solidarity with NFL player Colin Kaepernick in 2016. She was also the first U.S. women's national team player to come out as a lesbian.
The news of Bird and Rapinoe's breakup rippled online, resonating in particular with the LGBTQ+ community. The stars publicly announced their relationship as a couple in 2018 and have served for nearly a decade as one of the most visible same-sex power couples in the world of sports and pop culture.
One commenter under the pair's Instagram announcement said, "Sue and Megan together made me believe there's still good in the world and nothing will take that away."
Bird and Rapinoe have told The Seattle Times in the past that the Emerald City and its queer-friendly culture made this a place where they felt comfortable as a couple. Rapinoe said in 2024 that "the support that the city has always given us has been incredible."
Bird's friends and family had known about her sexual orientation for years before meeting Rapinoe, but it wasn't until she met the soccer star that she realized coming out publicly could "help other people feel comfortable in their skin," Bird said in the same interview.
Rapinoe said it was "such a privilege" to be considered a gay icon. She chalked that up not to her and Bird's sexual orientation but to their shared sports and off-court and -field success, she said.
Bird and Rapinoe told The Times in 2018 that lesbian women, often in their 50s or older, would come up to them and thank the couple for giving them the confidence to be open about their sexual orientation.
The pair will also discontinue their weekly podcast, "A Touch More," which features athletes in women's sports, the couple posted Friday on Instagram. They will take turns individually hosting six more special episodes of the show, the couple said in an Instagram reel.
"I hope you all know we put a lot of thought and care into this. It's a decision that we made together," Rapinoe said. "We're still going to be there for all of you and each other. It's just going to look and feel a little bit different."
Seattle Times reporters Jayda Evans, Percy Allen and Kai Uyehara contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 4:53 PM.