Megan Rapinoe’s Girlfriend, Sue Bird, Is a WNBA Star

Megan Rapinoe’s girlfriend, Sue Bird, is a legendary WNBA player for the Seattle Storm. Rapinoe and Bird met at a sponsor event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, per the Seattle Times. Rapinoe moved into Bird’s Seattle condo in the popular Queen Anne neighborhood in 2018.

Rapinoe opened up about being gay in 2012, but it took Bird a bit longer to discuss her sexuality publicly. Prior to dating Bird, Rapinoe was previously engaged to musician Sera Cahoone. Bird opened up to friends and family for some time, but it was not until 2017 when the WNBA star spoke to the media about being gay.

“I’m gay. Megan’s my girlfriend. … These aren’t secrets to people who know me,” Bird noted to ESPN W. “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.”

While the two have a lot in common, Bird admits that Rapinoe is more vocal about certain issues. Bird describes herself as “quiet and a little shy.”

“Megan feels really passionately about things,” Bird noted to ESPN W. “I just never felt that calling, if that’s the right word. I was living my life, just not necessarily leading the charge. But I never felt that made me any less real…I can be quiet and a little shy. I’m usually just dipping my toe in the water until the extrovert part of me can come out.”

Megan Rapinoe & Sue Bird Hope to Advocate for Other Gay Couples

The couple made history together as the first gay couple to appear in ESPN the Body issue. Rapinoe recently made more history as the first out gay woman to pose for Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue.

“I think our view is still way too narrow of gay people in general,” Rapinoe explained to OutSports. “Stereotypes still very much persist and they are just such incomplete views of who we really are as people, so I think for that reason it’s really important to just continue to push those boundaries.”

Rapinoe has not only been vocal about LGBTQ rights but has also been outspoken for other movements such as Black Lives Matter. Bird believes the work the couple is doing together could have long-term significance.

“Ten years from now, we’ll still be talked about as the first gay couple that ESPN had in The Body Issue,” Bird said, per Ad Week. “You might not realize, in the moment, the impact that something like that can have. Every now and then, when you talk to people and hear the reactions, maybe we helped somebody. But, really, with anything, it’s always about breaking down that first barrier and then have it be the norm—and I think you want that in any walk of life.”

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