Megan Rapinoe Talks Coming Out in the World of Sports in One Life — And Celebrity Memoir Book Club Breaks It Down

In ‘One Life’ star soccer player reflects on her experiences as a lesbian. For Pride Month, the Celebrity Memoir Book Club podcast hosts went deep on all the book’s best revelations

Megan Rapinoe and ‘One Life’.Credit : Kayla Oaddams/WireImage; Amazon

The 39-year old’s memoir was recently discussed on the Celebrity Memoir Book Club, where the show’s hosts, comedians Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton, hashed out their takeaways book’s main themes of identity and perseverance.

The memoir, which came out in 2020, covers Rapinoe’s journey to realizing her own sexuality, watching her teammates struggle with coming to terms with theirs and the muddled dialogue about the subject in women’s sports.

The United States womens national team celebrating their 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup victory.Naomi Baker – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

Rapinoe, who was raised in a large family in Redding, Calif. describes the moment she knew she was gay: during a college soccer practice when she was struck by the fact that she had a crush on her teammate. Parker and Hamilton recount this life-changing moment for Rapinoe from her memoir: “Oh my god. I’ve been gay this whole time. Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

After this realization, Rapinoe comes out to her twin sister, Rachel, who simultaneously came out to Rapinoe. One Life focuses on times of change and maturation.After being on the United States women’s national team (USWNT) for some time, Rapinoe began a discreet romance with team leader Abby Wambach — who was five years her senior at the time.

Parker and Hamilton summarized the relationship as “this dynamic where (Rapinoe) thinks Abby is like the older, more serious and in-charge person.” This power imbalance pushed Rapinoe to eventually end the relationship with Wambach, her teammate after the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

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In July of 2012, Rapinoe decided to come out publicly. As she reflected on her fellow professional female athletes, Rapinoe noticed a lot of the players were out, just not explicitly. Parker and Hamilton highlight Rapinoe’s observations of this “don’t ask, don’t tell” mindset.

“I think she is trying to break that barrier of like, don’t ask, don’t tell,” the hosts said “Because she said, even amongst the team, it sounds like if you’re gay, you just didn’t talk about your relationship.”

Though the USWNT player had never really been closeted per se, she was never explicitly open about it either — no one has ever asked her about her sexuality.

Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird at the 2024 Olympics.Victor Boyko/Getty

Once she was public about her identity, Rapinoe acted with a certain transparency, which the differed from how her teammates handled the issue. Parker and Hamilton mention how the trysts of women on the team were dealt with; “going to visit a friend” was one phrase in particular they recalled from One Life. 

The podcast episode also takes time to focus on Rapinoe’s relationship with four time WNBA Championship winner and partner of eight years, Sue Bird. The two met at the Rio Olympics while Rapinoe was engaged to another woman.

Per Parker and Hamilton — once Rapinoe has broken her engagement — the two fell “madly in love.” However, Bird only came out in 2017, after the encouragement of Rapinoe.  Rapinoe and Bird also launched a podcast  A Touch More with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe in August.

One Life is available wherever books are sold.