USA teammates Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris confirmed on Wednesday they are engaged to be married later this year.
Krieger and Harris, who also play alongside each other for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride, went public with their relationship for the first time in an interview with People magazine and said they were engaged in September.
Krieger, a 34-year-old defender who has made 98 international appearances since her senior debut in 2008, said the pair were previously reluctant to reveal their partnership out of fear it would be a distraction.
“We wanted to be professional and make sure that we showed up every day and did our job and it wasn’t just because we were together, it was because we love what we do, and we’re really good at what we do,” Krieger told the magazine. “And that was most important for us.”
The 33-year-old Harris, the longtime backup goalkeeper behind Hope Solo on the national side, has been capped 20 times in her international career. Both were members of the USA team that lifted the World Cup in Canada four years ago.
“We became more and more confident within and ourselves and then clearly within our relationship,” Harris said. “We were like, now is the right time … and I feel like it’s a massive weight off of my shoulders. Finally, after all these years, I just feel like I don’t have to hide anything or feel like I’m not living up to the community I’m in.”
The couple said they are planning on marrying at the end of the year in Florida following the US team’s World Cup defense in France this summer.
