Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger went from teammates to spouses – to exes.
The athletes got engaged in September 2018, eight years after they met while playing for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Harris and Krieger waited to make their relationship — and engagement — public until March 2019.
“When we first met, it was just her confidence and her comfort in being herself that [was] just captivating. I found myself wanting to just hang out with her all the time and be around her,” Krieger told Sports Illustrated in January 2020. “We built this friendship as a foundation, and it evolved into a relationship. She had this badass attitude and was just herself. I think I was more myself when I hung out with her, and that’s when I knew she would become someone important in my life.”
The pair went on to tie the knot in 2019 and adopted two kids — daughter Sloane and son Ocean — in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Us Weekly confirmed in October 2023 that Harris filed for divorce from Krieger after nearly four years of marriage.
Scroll down to relive Harris and Krieger’s romantic history:
2010
The now-exes met at USWNT camp in 2010. “We would sit and have really long conversations and talk about our hopes and dreams and what we wanted to accomplish,” Harris told Sports Illustrated in January in a joint interview with Krieger. “We were just so infatuated with each other, and all of our goals aligned. I just felt like it was so effortless, like we just clicked on such a cool level both emotionally and physically. Some of the best memories I have are sitting for hours and hours getting to know her. It was definitely for me like a love-at-first-sight type of thing.”
September 2012
Harris appeared in one of Krieger’s earliest Instagram posts, a pic of the pair with a teammate.
October 2015
Harris and Krieger attended their teammate Sydney Leroux’s wedding to fellow soccer player Dom Dwyer. (The pair later called it quits in 2021.)
December 2017
The two showed off their chemistry while posing for silly pictures on vacation in Turks and Caicos with friends.
March 2019
The athletes made their relationship status social media official by announcing their engagement six months after Harris popped the question. “She said YES!!!” Harris wrote via Instagram.
Krieger celebrated the occasion by sharing more of their engagement snaps on the app, including a shot of her dazzling ring. “She really rocks my boat,” she captioned the pics.
July 2019
The then-fiancées helped lead the USWNT to its victory at the 2019 World Cup. They posed with the team’s championship trophy on the ESPYs red carpet later that month.
October 2019
Krieger and Harris showed off their couple style at the 2019 InStyle Awards in a flowy blue gown and black suit, respectively.
December 2019
They tied the knot surrounded by family, friends and their teammates. “This was the most magical day of my life surrounded by the most incredible people,” Harris captioned an Instagram video featuring clips from their big day. “Thank you to everyone who made this special! @alikrieger I love you with all of my heart.”
Krieger, meanwhile, gave their guests a shout-out in an Instagram post of her own. “We wouldn’t be us, without you!❤️” she wrote alongside a trio of wedding pics. “Thank you for showing up for us, standing by us and always being in our corner! We love you all.”
February 2020
The then-newlyweds hit up the Vanity Fair Oscar party in complementary looks. Harris sported a black and white patterned suit while Krieger donned a long-sleeved black mini dress with beaded fringe on the skirt.
August 2020
The duo opened up about balancing their work and love life as professional athletes in an Allure magazine cover story. “The team comes first,” Harris stated. “We actually don’t [often] stay in the same room [on the road]. If we are in the same room, we’re in separate beds because sleep is a huge part of our recovery. I think that’s the hardest part. We don’t get really good time together. We have to make time even though we see each other all the time. It’s tricky.”
Krieger went on to tell the outlet that they were initially hesitant about having a highly-publicized wedding. “Originally, we just wanted to have a private ceremony,” she shared. “We were like, ‘Let’s save our money and worry about our future kids’ education.’ And it ended up being like, ‘Listen, let’s share our love with the world. We can make this [wedding] an event for our community.’”
She added: “Sometimes I did feel like, ‘What are we doing?’ But no, we’re saving people’s lives [with our visibility], and that’s what matters most. We can put our privacy aside for a moment and just be like, ‘This is worth it.’”
February 2021
Their family grew with the addition of their daughter, Sloane. “Dear Birth Mom, Our promise: We promise Sloane will be loved every single day by us, our friends and our family. We promise to give her the tools to live a happy, successful life of inclusivity and support,” Harris wrote via Instagram alongside pics of her and Krieger meeting their child at the hospital.
She continued: “We promise to share her adoption story with her from the very beginning and celebrate every milestone! We promise to encourage her to follow her dreams no matter how big or small. We promise to be open-minded and respect your wishes to have future communication and that she will always know how much you love her!”
Harris went on to thank Krieger, writing, “My heart is exploding with Joy. We did it, baby! All of the ups and downs, tears, stress and anxiety was worth it to have this beautiful blessing in our arms. We are building what we’ve always dreamt of. You both are my everything and I promise to always do right by the both of you. I love you so much.”
August 2022
Less than one year later, the couple announced they had adopted a son named Ocean. “Our hearts are full during this time and we are so grateful for the love and support our family, friends and club have shown,” Harris captioned pics of the pair’s baby boy via Instagram. “Sloane has been thriving and wakes up every morning saying ‘Baby, baby.’ We are incredibly thankful and excited for this new chapter as we parent 2 under 2. Let the sleepless nights rage on @alikrieger … I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
November 2022
Harris thanked her former partner in a lengthy Instagram post about her retirement from professional soccer. “To my wife Ali and children Sloane and Ocean. You all give me purpose far beyond the field,” she wrote at the time. “I can only hope to continue being the best wife and mom in the world to you all. I love you so much and can’t wait to show up everyday the way you all deserve.”
September 2023
Harris filed for divorce from Krieger in Florida on September 19.
Days after news of their split broke, Harris sparked dating rumors with actress Sophia Bush. At the time, a rep for Bush’s estranged husband, Grant Hughes, whom Bush split from earlier that summer, told Page Six that he “will always want the best for Sophia, and is supportive of all that makes her happy and fulfilled.”
November 2024
Harris claimed during an episode of the “Naked Sports With Cari Champion” podcast that she didn’t feel like she was a “priority” in her marriage.
“I didn’t feel that sense of connection, whether emotional or physical,” Harris explained. It was soccer, job, kids, and then somewhere down the line it was like, ‘OK, what about me?’”
Harris alleged that she suggested an open marriage — which she claimed was “not even her” — to try and save their relationship. “I felt so embarrassed and I felt so much shame that I didn’t know how to tell people that, like, oh, my wife doesn’t want to touch me or doesn’t want to be intimate or doesn’t want this,” Harris admitted.
After host Cari Champion asked if Krieger would “disagree” with her “assessment” of their romance, Harris replied, “No, she can’t say that because we weren’t intimate the entire part of our marriage. So that’s … I mean, facts are just the facts. It is what it is.”