Ali Krieger shared with SELF magazine that she learned of her divorce from former partner Ashlyn Harris while at training with Gotham FC.
The retired soccer star and USWNT legend had a rollercoaster of a year in 2023 with the highlight of her first NWSL Championship and the low of her divorce with Harris. The USWNT duo had been together for 13 years and had married in 2019.
“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 said in an interview with SELF.
Gotham’s captain was preparing for her final regular season game that was also being celebrated as her retirement game in the situation that Gotham didn’t make the playoffs. Krieger canceled her press conference after she learned of the divorce and went home.
What happened next was an incredible display of love and empathy from her Gotham teammates.
“Then my teammates just started walking through the door,” Krieger said. “All of them. At different times. Until two in the morning, we were there, just hanging out, dancing, putting music on YouTube.
“We were sitting in the playroom, in my kitchen; we were dancing and hanging out, and they were all bringing wine and flowers, and just…themselves. They didn’t even think twice. They didn’t have to ask; they just showed up. They just kept coming in—from right after training, after their meetings, through 2 a.m. My kids were there, we all were there. And that’s something that I will never forget, and they will never understand how grateful and how I’m so appreciative.”
Now that’s being a team on and off the field.
When asked what Krieger’s plans are for the future following retirement the two-time World Cup winner said she’s taking care of herself with meditation, therapy and spending more time with her adopted children Sloane and Ocean.
She’s also not done with the soccer scene as CBS Sports announced that Krieger is joining the network as their newest studio analyst.
Ali Krieger, a two-time World Cup winner and NWSL champion, is joining CBS Sports’ soccer coverage as a studio analyst.
Krieger will make her first appearance Jan. 11 on CBS Sports Golazo Network’s MORNING FOOTY at 8 a.m. ET.Watch here: https://t.co/OUcvG4opr9 pic.twitter.com/Ofa7HgJ1y6
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) January 10, 2024
Krieger will only be getting stronger in 2024.
“Everything, I think, happens for a reason, and you don’t always have to understand it at the time,” Krieger said. “But how I react is definitely going to propel me to the future. I know that I need to go through all the shit in order to get there. That’s what I’m in now, and I’m just rolling my sleeves up.”