Ashlyn Harris is candidly discussing the emotional toll of her ongoing divorce from Ali Krieger while navigating a new relationship with Sophia Bush.
In a recent interview with Women’s Health, published on Wednesday, July 17, Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) player, aged 38, shared her reflections on this challenging period. Harris described her divorce as “one of the hardest seasons” of her life, highlighting the profound difficulty she has faced during this tumultuous time.
“I’m navigating a divorce that’s been really hard,” Harris told the outlet. “I’m just riding the waves and realizing I can only control what’s in my controllable. I can’t control everyone else’s reaction. I can’t control everyone else’s opinions of me. I have to own myself and my body and be present and be human.”
Noting that she is trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for her and Krieger’s two children – daughter Sloane, 3, and son Ocean, 2 – Harris told the outlet that her “storm doesn’t haven’t to be theirs.”
She continued, “It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through — dealing with a divorce with two very young children and not letting them see or feel my storm and rain. It’s a really big test.”
The couple first crossed paths in 2010 while competing together on the USWNT. They got engaged in 2019 and married later that same year, marking a significant milestone in their relationship. However, their journey together took a challenging turn. In September 2023, Harris filed for divorce from the two-time World Cup champion Ali Krieger. Subsequently, Krieger submitted her own divorce filing in December of the same year, initiating a legal and emotional process as they navigated the end of their marriage.
In November 2023, Harris decided to address the online negativity she was encountering following her separation from Krieger. During this period, there were widespread rumors about her budding romance with Sophia Bush, 42. Both Harris and Bush have clarified that they were no longer involved in their previous relationships before starting their romance. Bush had ended her marriage to Grant Hughes after just over a year. The couple had tied the knot in June 2022 but went their separate ways by August 2023.
“The online hate that has happened since has been one of the most personally devastating experiences of my life,” Harris wrote in part via Instagram. “Words matter. The cheering on abuse, the people clamoring to encourage me to commit suicide, and the cruel words spoken about my children, and who I am as a mother? Those words matter.”
“As I came into myself, I already felt it was my home. I think I’ve always known that my sexuality exists on a spectrum,” she wrote in the magazine’s cover story. “Right now I think the word that best defines it is queer. I can’t say it without smiling, actually. And that feels pretty great.”