Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird started connecting during the summer 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro before getting engaged in 2020. Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird are known for their unbelievable talent on the pitch and court respectively — and between the two of them, athletes have even bagged seven Olympic medals.
Being the ultimate sports power couple, it’s only right that they first met at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and began dating right after. They got engaged in October 2020 and are planning a wedding—though Bird confessed to PEOPLE in December 2020 that they are in absolutely no rush to get hitched.
“I think we’re both totally OK with the fact that this might not happen for a year, maybe two,” she said, then added, “We’ve always kind of known that this was forever, so we aren’t necessarily in a rush.”
She told PEOPLE in April 2021 that she feels “lucky” to have her life with Bird. “I think I pinch myself all the time thinking how lucky we are to be in this life together,” she said.
Want to know more about how they make it work? Read on for a full timeline of Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird’s relationship.
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird meet at the Olympics and start dating
It wasn’t until Bird was doing press for NBC at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and Rapinoe just happened to be there, that the two finally met. What ensued was a meet-cute for the ages.
“She was in her basketball uniform and she had her hair down,” Rapinoe later recalled to NBC Sports.
“We kinda crossed and she was like, ‘Oh, hey! Ready for your game?’ ” Bird chimed in, “I was like, ‘ha-ha … funny.’ “
Though Rapinoe concedes she made “such a bad impression,” it was enough to charm Bird, who described the pick-up line as “dorky.”
Not long after that encounter, the couple began dating .
Sue Bird reveals she’s gay, and she’s dating Megan Rapinoe
While Rapinoe came out as gay to the public in 2012 through an OUT magazine feature, Bird did not come out until 2017. “I’m gay. Megan’s my girlfriend.. These aren’t secrets to people who know me,” the WNBA star told ESPNW, per Bleacher Report. “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.”
She went on to say about the timing, “It’s happening when it’s happening because that’s what feels right. So even though I understand there are people who think I should have done it sooner, it wasn’t right for me at the time. I have to be true to that. It’s my journey.”
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird for ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue
Nearly two years into their relationship, Rapinoe and Bird posed nude together for ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue; they were the first same-sex couple the magazine had ever featured.
“I think it’s important to do these things first. It’s important for people to come out. Visibility is important,” she said to ESPN The Magazine at the time. “I feel like [there are] a lot of negative ideas that hopefully I can break down just by being myself.”
She went on: “Not only are we female athletes, but we’re dating as well. It’s kind of badass.”
Yeah, I think it’ll probably be even more badass later,” Bird added. “A year, five years, 10 years, 20 years, to look back and be like, ‘Oh, they were the first openly gay couple to be in the issue.’ ”
Sue Bird defends Megan Rapinoe against President Donald Trump
In July 2019, she said in a video that she would not go “to the f—— White House” if the U.S. women’s national soccer team won the World Cup that season. President Donald Trump responded to the video in a series of tweets about Rapinoe and the soccer team.
Bird leaped to the defense of his girlfriend immediately, writing an essay entitled “So the President F—— Hates My Girlfriend” for The Players’ Tribune.
Everything to Know About Megan Rapinoe, the U.S. Women’s National Team’s Star Forward
Bird wrote in the piece of Rapinoe’s character throughout it all: “Megan, man … I’ll tell you what. You just cannot shake that girl. She’s going to do her thing, at her own damn speed, to her own damn rhythm, and she’s going to apologize to exactly NO ONE for it.”
She ended the essay with a description of how she felt while watching Rapinoe play after the Twitter comments. “I was happy. I was crazy. I was PROUD. I was pretending to know about soccer. I was a little overwhelmed. I was pretty damn American. And I was in love with Megan Rapinoe.”
Sue Bird on Megan Rapinoe’s World Cup win
Later that month, Rapinoe won her second World Cup trophy as Bird watched from the stands. After the final whistle, the soccer player ran to the stands and kissed Bird in celebration.
Megan Rapinoe says she is Sue Bird’s “number one superfan”
In October 2019, Rapinoe opened up about her special relationship with Bird in an interview with PEOPLE.
“We are huge fans of each other. I have become, like, a Seattle Storm number one superfan, of course,” Rapinoe said. “I think it’s just the understanding of what we have to go through and the appreciation for, you know, each other’s skills and lives, it’s really special. And in the same sense, we are just normal to each other. Which is really nice. Like neither of us are like, ‘Oh, wow you are the best person that has ever played basketball.’ Which she is!”
I love being a WAG, a superfan,” she said, using an acronym referring to the wives and girlfriends of athletes. “I think it’s AMAZING, and to be able to, you know, watch your partner exceed and excel and be exactly who they are in a public forum. That’s pretty special.”
She even explained that there was no jealousy in the relationship when it came to sporting success. “Neither of us are jealous or weird about each other’s careers,” she added. “We are just kind of there to support each other.”
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird host the 2020 ESPY Awards
On June 21, 2020, Rapinoe and Bird joined forces to host the annual ESPY Awards alongside fellow Seattle-based athlete Russell Wilson.
The virtual ceremony included prerecorded acceptance speeches and a segment on racial injustice, which both Rapinoe and Bird appeared in to speak about standing up for what is correct.
Sue Bird Posts Dance Video to Celebrate Megan Rapinoe’s 35th Birthday
Bird gave fans a look at the silly side of her girlfriend in a humorous dance video to celebrate Rapinoe’s 35th birthday.
The basketball player posted a video of Rapinoe dancing in the pool and miming drums. Alongside the silly video, Bird wrote, “How you live life on the outside is how you make me feel on the inside.”
She went on, “I love you, baby. Happy Birthday!! NOW GO DANCE YOUR ASS OFF (But not in a hot tub. Just in our apartment bc we got bubble to go to ????).”
Megan Rapinoe dishes on relationship with Sue Bird
The soccer player revealed to PEOPLE in October 2020 where she and Bird stand on taking the next step, saying, “We’ve talked about [marriage], definitely. I think in the future, for sure.”
“We’re not like, ‘Oh, let’s just — ‘ but I always tell her that if she ever wants to break up with me or does, that’s totally fine, that’s your choice,” added Rapinoe. “Just know that I will crumble to dust.”
