“You kinda say, ‘Well, straight people don’t have to come out.’ I understand now that’s not necessarily the right way to look at it,” she noted. “Megan and I would have conversations about it, and she opened my eyes to another way of looking at it, which is that in today’s time, in today’s society, it’s still important to kind of say it to make it the norm.”
So there she was, 2002’s No. 1 draft pick, confirming to ESPNW what was obvious to those that had spotted the pair tooling around Lake Washington in Rapinoe’s pontoon boat or attending Seattle Pride. “I’m gay. Megan’s my girlfriend. … These aren’t secrets to people who know me.”
And in the summer of 2018, not long after Rapinoe moved into Bird’s condo in the city’s Queen Anne neighborhood, they became the first same-sex pair to strip down for the cover of ESPN The Magazine‘s “Body Issue”. “I think neither of us really wants to just do things and be like, ‘We’re the gay couple.’ But to have this really unique vehicle to actually do that, to celebrate who we are in our sport, but also the fact that we’ll be the first gay couple, is pretty special.” Rapinoe explained. “It’s pretty amazing to think about, especially in the times we’re in. Just think of how far we’ve come, but also the current climate and defiance in the face of that. Not only are we female athletes, but we’re dating as well. It’s kind of badass.”
