Retired soccer player Ali Krieger was playing soccer wehn she discovered her estranged wife, Ashlyn Harris, had filed for divorce.
“I will never forget that moment,” she told SELF Magazine in an interview published Tuesday.
“I found out at training. I was on the field. And I came off the field, in the locker room, and I was obviously devastated.”
Krieger had a scheduled press conference and fitting for her upcoming retirement game that day, but she decided to clear her schedule and go home instead.
Pvnew broke the news that the US Women’s National Soccer Team star filed for divorce from Krieger in October 2023 after four years of marriage.
In light of the heartbreaking news, the former Gotham FC player’s teammates stuck by her side “until 2 a.m.” after she found out.
“My entire team came over for a dance party the night the news broke,” she recalled. “Then my teammates just started walking through the door. All of them. At different times.”
Krieger further recalled how the team “didn’t even think twice” about showing up at her home — “they just showed up,” she said.
The former athlete — who shares 2-year-old daughter Sloane and 1-year-old son Ocean with Harris — added that her teammates funneled into her home and were “just hanging out” and “dancing” as she processed the news.
“And that’s something that I will never forget, and they will never understand how grateful and how…” Krieger trailed off before adding, “I’m so appreciative.”
As for how she is navigating the separation today, Krieger explained that she is learning as she goes.
“I never thought I would ever have to be in this position,” the 39-year-old explained.
“But I’m focusing on me and the kids now, and just moving forward—how can I continue to set them up for success and make sure they are in a space where they’re continuing to grow and process everything as well?”
Weeks after news broke of their divorce, Pvnew learned that Harris had moved on with longtime pal-turned-romantic partner Sophia Bush.
An insider told us in October that their friendship had taken a romantic turn after they appeared on a panel together at Cannes Lions Festival in June 2023, four months before Harris filed.
A month after filing for divorce, Harris vehemently denied rumors that she had cheated on Krieger.
“Let me be clear: I did not step out on my marriage,” Harris wrote via Instagram at the time. “I was always faithful in my marriage, if not always totally happy.”
In terms of finding a new partner, Krieger told SELF Magazine that she wants to be able to give her “full self” to her next relationship but that she is “not there yet.”
“And so I think 2024 is going to be just me continuing to put myself first, and work on myself so that I am a complete Ali—so that I don’t carry all of this past trauma into that next relationship,” she explained.
“I’m so ready for the new year, and just propelling myself forward into that. And then I’ll be open, really fully open, to what’s next.”
