WNBA star Sue Bird just won her fourth championship, and now she has added an even more important ring to her collection. She and soccer star Megan Rapinoe appear to have gotten engaged after four years together. Now they can continue to celebrate in 2020.
Bird dropped the news with a photo on Instagram. There was no caption to provide context to the photo or a true confirmation that they were now engaged. The post simply showed Rapinoe putting a ring on Bird’s finger. The United States women’s national team player was down on one knee while the WNBA star stood waist-deep in a swimming pool.
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“AMAZING!!!!!!! WOW WOW WOW [heart emojis]! CONGRATS,” wrote Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond. He was one of the many social media users expressing considerable excitement on social media after seeing the Instagram post. The congratulatory messages continued as the news began to circulate.
Bird originally came out in 2017 and announced that she was dating Rapinoe. She said that the relationship was not a secret to people close to her, but she also explained her timing. Bird said that the timing just felt right to announce to the world.
“I’m gay. Megan’s my girlfriend. … These aren’t secrets to people who know me,” Bird said in 2017. “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.”
Bird and Rapinoe met in 2016 — although their first interaction did not occur in Seattle, where they lived. They actually met up during the 2016 Olympics in Rio. They saw each other at a press event, and then Rapinoe attended a few of Bird’s games in the Olympics. According to an interview they conducted, the two athletes had “kind of the same agent” and hung out during their off time.
Their relationship continued historically as they both took part in ESPN The Magazine’s annual body issue. They became the first openly gay couple to appear together on the magazine’s cover, and they posed together in several shots. One image featured Rapinoe kicking a soccer ball while Bird went for a lay-up on the other side of the set.
