Former USWNT goalie Ashlyn Harris, who split from Ali Krieger last October and is in the midst of divorce proceedings, is still not satisfied with being labeled a cheater in the public eye.
While appearing in the latest work, Podcast “Naked Sports with Cari Champion”Harris said it was her decision to end their four-year marriage after more than 10 years together because she didn't feel loved or wanted by Krieger. did.
“[The biggest lie about the breakup is] I've always been labeled a fraud, but that's far from the truth and she knows it,” said Harris, who is currently dating actress Sophia Bush. “And it burned me.
“… She was in a lot of pain, which is understandable, and I want to give her space for what she's going through. I really thought she never expected me to leave. I don't think she ever took me seriously.”
Harris shares custody of Krieger's two children, Sloane, 3, and Ocean, 2, but they separated last summer before their divorce was made public in October 2023. spoke.
Harris and Bush went public with their relationship earlier this year, but are believed to have started dating several months earlier.
“I had my own apartment and people were starting to recognize me, so I thought I had to make a joint statement. People know I live here,” Harris said. said. “But once everything exploded, I think that affected her last season.” [Krieger retired in March]. She was upset and angry, which was understandable. ”
Harris filed for divorce on September 19, 2023, claiming the marriage was “irretrievably broken down.” According to court documents obtained by Page Six.
The following month, Krieger posted that she was in a “Beyoncé Lemonade era,” a reference to Beyoncé's infidelity-themed album.
Ms. Harris explained that the “reality” of the situation was that she and Krieger had nothing in common after they stopped playing together.
“I felt like I wasn’t a priority,” she said. “I just didn't feel connected, emotionally or physically. It was about soccer, it was about work, it was about kids, and at some point it was like, 'Okay, what about me?' I decided to leave my marriage after about 4 and 10 years together. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. And I think people miss that. People may think that there was only one person who suffered, or that you have to choose a side that you know, or that you have to punish this person because the thoughts you had through social media didn't meet your expectations. People think you should, but you haven't lived my experience.
“I wanted someone to love me so much that I dug everything inside myself to be loved more…I just wanted to be enough…Someone missed me, wanted me, could walk through the door. I wanted to be like this. Everyone thought I was like this on the field, but at home I felt like I was living with a stranger and myself. We needed to take back our power. And unfortunately, people were hurt in the process.”
Harris and Krieger played together on the USWNT teams that won World Cups in 2015 and 2019, and dated for nearly a decade before tying the knot in Miami on December 28, 2019.
Harris will retire from professional soccer in November 2022.and Krieger called it a career at the end of the 2023 NWSL season.
“Everyone has an experience, but only one experience was covered in the media. It was very difficult…I was watching from the edge,” Harris said. “It was the first time I felt like someone had to take this 9mm and take it away from me.
“I was probably at my lowest point…I honestly thought I wasn't going to survive this. In the meantime, let's raise two kids and go through this process and make sure my storm doesn't become theirs.” While I was there, I was in a lot of trouble.”
Harris explained that she didn't feel loved or wanted by Krieger, who wouldn't “touch me” or be intimate with her.
A year before their breakup, Harris recalled making a “last-ditch attempt” to save their marriage.
“I started trying all these things. Let's have an open marriage,” she said. “That's not even me. That was my last attempt, a year before we officially called it quits. I didn't get what I wanted and I wish we could keep this up.” It's also the burden that the public eye puts on you. You feel like you can't make brave, difficult decisions because you know the repercussions and ramifications that are going to come, and that's my biggest fear. did.”
bush filed for divorce from Grant Hughes August 2023, just 13 months after the wedding.
Krieger said in July. Date someone new.
