KRISTIE MEWIS & SAM KERR WEDDING.
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM
Football power couple Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis kicked off 2026 by tying the knot on New Year’s Eve in a lavish wedding in Perth, Australia. The pair chose a black-and-white theme and married in front of 120 family, friends, teammates, and their son, Jagger. Kerr, wearing a black tux, walked down the aisle holding seventh-month-old Jagger, which moved Mewis to tears. Kerr sabered a bottle of French champagne, and the epic party can be viewed here. It was a high-profile affair, with old-world glamour usually reserved for elite Hollywood couples, covered by Vogue Australia.
Also getting married in the new year were Marta, the legendary Brazilian footballer, and her Orlando Pride teammate Carrie Lawrence in a gorgeous, stylish (custom-made outflits! Prada shoes!) white wedding in Jupiter, Florida.
Football fans rejoiced that the nuptials of Marta Vieira da Silva—widely considered the greatest female footballer of all time—symbolized the extent to which queer women have fought for and won acceptance while breaking records.
“We’ve waited a long time to see players like #Marta able to be her true, authentic self. Love is love,” said one social media post.
With the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and the Commonwealth Games all coming up this year, queer women in pro sports continue to come out, compete, advocate, and share their lives with the public in numbers that far exceed their male counterparts. While exact percentages fluctuate, recent data, such as from the Paris 2024 Olympics, show significantly more LGBTQ+ women than men (a 9-to-1 ratio according to OutSports).
Whatever the underlying causes, we are grateful to the lesbian athletes who did us proud these last couple of years—whether that’s contributing to the record medal haul at the Paris 2024 Olympics, achieving a first for Black women and out queer Black women (Lauren Scruggs in fencing); or a personal best (Diana Taurasi secured her sixth Olympic gold medal); making strides in human rights (Brittney Griner’s emotional win after her 2022 detainment in Russia, or Cindy Ngamba, who fled Cameroon, where homosexuality is criminalized).
MARTA AND CARRIE LAWRENCE; BILLIE JEAN KING AND ILANA KLOSS; SUE BIRD AND MEGAN RAPINOE;
NATASHA CLOUD AND IZZIE HARRISON.
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM
In 2025, lesbian athletes continued to excel in professional sports, with key achievements including individual athletic accolades, high-profile awards, and increased visibility in leadership roles and advocacy.
Last year, WNBA icon Sue Bird was appointed the first-ever managing director of USA Basketball’s women’s team, with her first major task the 2026 World Cup. Her wife, former USWNT leader Megan Rapinoe, co-hosted their podcast, A Touch More, which won a Webby Award, and criticized the nation’s executive order affecting transgender athletes in women’s sports.
After a ten-year hiatus, the LGBTQ Sports Hall of Fame returned with a powerful class of women inductees, including Bird and Diana Taurasi. Nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz won six consecutive U.S. 1,500-meter titles across both indoor and outdoor tracks in 2025. Track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson secured another gold medal for the U.S. women’s 4 x 100m relay team at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Cheryl Reeve coached the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx to the league’s best record in 2025.
And retired lesbian athletes continue to use their profiles for visibility and good. After becoming the first female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her advocacy of sports in society, Billie Jean King continues to share and celebrate her life with Ilana Kloss, including last Thanksgiving in South Africa.
ANNA PETRAKOVA AND CANDACE PARKER; DARIA KASATKINA AND NATALIA ZABIIAKO; LEILANI MITCHELL;
BREANNA STEWART AND MARTA XARGAY CASADEMONT; COURTNEY VANDERSLOOT AND ALLIE QUIGLEY.
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM
But last year was also huge for lesbian couples in sport getting hitched, raising children, launching podcasts, writing books, and more.
Tennis star Daria Kasatkina and former Olympic figure skater Natalia Zabiiako announced their engagement in June 2025, sharing their journey with fans through their YouTube channel.
Natasha Cloud said she’d be using the winnings from the skills competition at the WNBA All-Star weekend for a down payment on a house with partner Isabelle (Izzy) Harrison.
Former Chicago Sky teammates Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot recently welcomed a baby girl and shared the news with People magazine.
Retired Russian basketball player Anna Petrakova and WNBA star Candace Parker welcomed a second child last year. At the same time, multiple gold medallist Breanna Stewart and former Phoenix Mercury star Marta Xargay Casademont continue to raise a boy and a girl together. Similarly, accomplished Australian basketball players Leilani Mitchell and Mikaela Dombkins have two kids together.
Tziarra King and Jess Fishlock welcomed a baby boy named Lucien in late 2022 and another child in 2023, with King also sharing her pregnancy journey as a Peloton instructor. (They were married in a gorgeous manor house in Wales).
Keeping the gayby boom going strong, legendary US-Canadian women’s ice hockey stars Meghan Duggan and Gillian Apps are raising three children together, after marrying in 2018 following intense rivalries in their sport.
RAQUEL PENNINGTON AND TECIA TORRES; JESS FISHLOCK AND TZIARRA KING;
MEGHAN DUGGAN AND GILLIAN APPS; MARTINA SABLIKOVA AND NIKY ZDRAHALOVA.
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM
In fact, parenting among hockey couples seems to be an imperative, with Helen Richardson-Walsh and Kate Richardson-Walsh raising a little girl, Anya Packer and Madison Packer bringing up two kids and podcasting about parenting, and Olympians Julie Chu and Caroline Ouellette are also the proud moms of two daughters.
Maybe there will be babies in the future of Goldeneyes hockey couple Emma Greco and Michela Cava. Team Canada’s Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey have certainly discussed raising a family as a future goal.
Meanwhile, UFC fighters Raquel Pennington and Tecia Torres (now Pennington) are raising their daughter. Raquel quipped that she was the UFC’s “first mom champ” after giving birth to Alayah Rose Pennington.
Professional wrestlers Diamanté and Kiera Hogan have publicly shared their journey to start a family, including dealing with infertility and exploring options like IVF, as highlighted by a recent GoFundMe.
KAHLEAH COPPER AND BINTA DAISY DRAMMEH; VIVIANNE MIEDEMA AND BETH MEAD;
ALYSSA THOMAS AND DEWANNER BONNER; CHRISTEN PRESS AND TOBIN HEATH; PAIGE BUECKERS AND AZZI FUDD.
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM
Speedskating couple Martina Sablikova and Niky Zdráhalová recently came out on Instagram, saying “we’re happy, and we’ve been sharing a beautiful life together for over 12 years.” No mention of kids, yet.
Other couples to have on your radar include: Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd; Kahleah Copper and Binta Daisy Drammeh; Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner; DiJonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith; Tierra Ruffin-Prat and Victoria Vivians; Maddy Westbeld and Olivia Miles; Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead; Christen Press and Tobin Heath.
Did we miss anybody?