Ashlyn Harris has addressed rumours she cheated on ex-wife Ali Krieger amid her new rumoured romance with Sophia Bush.
The former US National Women’s Soccer Team player took to her Instagram on 18 November to share a lengthy statement following her divorce from Krieger. In her post, Harris denied cheating rumours and revealed how the subsequent “online hate” has negatively impacted her mental health.
“Several weeks ago, a process that had been ongoing privately for some time became public,” Harris began. “Ending a relationship after almost 13 years of friendship, teammate-ship, marriage and co-parenting (many of them good years) is a decision that was not made lightly.”
“We agreed to centre our children, continue therapy, separate, and to move forward with our lives. Two happy families are always better than one unhappy one. This process is never easy, but we were making our way through,” she continued.
Harris explained that the former couple were advised by their agents and representation to keep news of their split private until after Krieger finished her NWSL season earlier this month. However, the 38-year-old athlete revealed that “a leak (a betrayal of our deepest confidence) made that impossible”.
“The online hate that has happened since has been one of the most personally devastating experiences of my life,” Harris said. While she noted that she was encouraged “not to feed the beast” of negative online comments, Harris maintained that the past few weeks have “devastated my mental health”.
She added: “This has been brutal.”
Harris claimed that she has received online death threats since her divorce, as well as comments from trolls criticising her two children - daughter Sloane, two, and one-year-old son Ocean - who she shares with Krieger.
“Words matter. The cheering on abuse, the people clamoring to encourage me to commit suicide, and the cruel words spoken about my children and who I am as a mother? Those words matter,” she said. “Someday my kids are going to be able to read the hate that strangers on the internet wrote, all because those strangers had an unsolicited opinion on my health and happiness? What are we doing here?”
Harris then addressed why she and Krieger split after four years of marriage, writing: “People have run with a narrative that’s unbearably painful. Not all marriages last forever. Ours did not. For many reasons.”
The former soccer pro admitted that the “false narratives” surrounding her marriage may be “juicier or make a better headline”, but the rumours that she cheated on Krieger were “simply not true”.
“Let me be clear: I did not step out on my marriage. I was always faithful in my marriage, if not always totally happy. Like in many partnerships, there was work and therapy and processing done. None of this happened on a whim,” Harris said. “We spent the entire summer working to tackle the separation and divorce steps outlined for us by our therapists, lawyers, and our shared agency.”
The former USWNT star explained how by “finally choosing my own health and happiness”, she has also “chosen a better future for my kids”. However, Harris claimed that she’s had “an entire community turn on me” in the wake of her divorce.
“I’ve spent my whole career trying to build an inclusive space where people can show up as themselves and where they know they will be safe,” she continued. “Right now, it feels like the entire community has poured gasoline on me and lit the matches. So many of you, including people who stand publicly as anti-bullying advocates, have cheered this on like bloodsport. As though a family in transition is on opposing teams. Like a divorce is a battle, one person stands to win.”
Harris wrote that her number one priority is her children, and being a “good co-parent” with Krieger. “Despite this current darkness, there have been years of love between us. And our kids are the best part of it all,” she said. “They deserve two healthy and happy parents, and that’s what matters most. We are all in pain.”
The retired soccer pro concluded her statement by reminding people that “bullying anyone about a personal decision, especially when that bullying is rooted in lies, really hurts”.
“I’m hoping that instead of continuing this cruelty you can remember the simple truth that I’m a human being, a mom, and a good person just trying my best. I’d appreciate if you could take a breath and treat me and my family with some humanity,” she finished her statement.
It was reported in October that Harris had filed for divorce from Krieger after nearly four years of marriage. The ex-goalkeeper filed the court documents in Florida’s Seminole County on 19 September. According to ESPN, the co-parents are required to decide on a parenting plan for their two adopted children.
The soccer duo first met in 2010 while playing for the USWNT. Harris and Krieger were engaged in 2019 and tied the knot in Miami on 28 December that same year. Now, Harris is reportedly datingOne Tree Hill alum Sophia Bush, who also filed for divorce from husband Grant Hughes after just 13 months of marriage.
“After being friends for years, and running in the same social circles, Sophia and Ashlyn went out on their first dinner date a couple of weeks ago,” a source told People last month. “This is so recent, and they are both beginning new chapters.”
Meanwhile, a representative for Hughes told Page Six that he is happy for the new couple following his divorce from Bush. “Grant will always want the best for Sophia, and is supportive of all that makes her happy and fulfilled,” they told the outlet.
Bush was previously married to her One Tree Hill co-star Chad Michael Murray from 2005 to 2006.
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