Best of BFFR: Alyssa Thompson's New Accent, Hayley Kiyoko's Meet Cute & Lilly Singh's Gay Met Gala

Summary

Best of BFFR: Alyssa Thompson's New Accent, Hayley Kiyoko's Meet Cute & Lilly Singh's Gay Met Gala

Podcast: BFFR with Sydney Leroux & Ali Riley
Hosts: Sydney Leroux, Ali Riley
Original Air Date: December 15, 2025

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Episode Overview

This "Best of BFFR" episode compiles favorite moments and insightful conversations from a diverse roster of recent guests, including Alyssa Thompson, Riley Tiernan, Lilly Singh, Sarah Gordon, Hayley Kiyoko, and Becca Tilley. Hosts Sydney and Ali deliver their signature blend of candid talk, humor, and real-life on/off-field stories featuring everything from travel and training adjustments to personal identity, fashion, community, and the joy/chaos of life in the women’s soccer universe.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Athlete Journeys & Adjustments

• Navigating New Environments: Riley Tiernan reflects on the challenge of joining a new team:
  • “I feel like the hardest adjustment has just been, like, coming into training and not knowing everyone and them not knowing me as well as everyone on the team knew me.” (00:57)
  • She highlights the differences in facilities and routines, missing her previous team's big spaces but appreciating the crisp field in her new setting.
• Building Connections:
  • Riley tries to keep her love for TikTok alive but struggles to find fellow TikTokers:
    • “I'll try to convince them to do more, like, easy ones, because I feel like they'll be okay with those ones.” (05:36)

2. Cultural Adaptation & British Slang

• Riley’s playful take on UK life, including the influence of "Love Island," and her attempt at a British accent:
  • “What's happening? You all right?” (07:06)
  • Expressions like "fussy" instead of "picky" amuse the group.
  • Discussion of UK-based celebrities she hopes to meet:
    • “Definitely Central C, like, for sure.” (07:51)

3. Jersey Pride & Regional Differences

• Conversation on the nuances of being a "Jersey girl" and differences between North and South Jersey:
  • “South Jersey are, like, gritty and, like, tough and, like, blue collar... North Jersey's a little bit softer.” (08:51)
  • The legendary pork roll vs. Taylor ham debate (09:41)
  • Memories of the Jersey Shore and the unique character it brings.

4. Community, Support, & Investment in Women’s Sports

Lilly Singh on Angel City:

• Shares her journey to becoming a dedicated Angel City investor:
  • “People always are like, did you grow up playing soccer?…I really don't even know the rules of the game. You know this. I don't really know the rules, but I will blindly support girls and women.” (14:09)
• Emphasizes the ripple impact of supporting women in sports:
  • “Sports is the intervention that we don't give enough credit to… it teaches girls and women such important skills.” (15:00)
• Discusses the inclusive, electrifying environment at Angel City games, loving how it brings people together:
  • "Everyone I bring…they all say the same thing. They're like, this is such a positive, just warm environment. And that's very unique for a sporting event." (17:00–18:00)

Notable Quote:

• Lilly Singh: “I don't do anything half assed. If I do something I do to the fullest of my ability.” (13:18)

5. Personal Identity, Names, and Heritage

• Discussion with Hayley Kiyoko on her decision to change her jersey name to “Marley,” reflecting on her father’s encouragement and the cultural/personal significance:
  • “In African culture, in the Congo... they can, like, just gift a name instead of, like, having a name passed down…” (21:16)
  • The bittersweet transition from "Williams" to "Marley," and the process of updating her signature.

6. The Angel City “Gay Met Gala” and Celebrity Stories

• Lilly Singh describes game days as the “gay Met Gala”—a celebration of inclusivity and community in women’s soccer.
• She recalls bringing high-profile guests (like Zed, Poorna Jagannathan) to Angel City games, aiming to normalize and elevate women’s sports.

Notable Moment:

• Lilly Singh: “If anyone is performing in any capacity…they’re going to get 100% of this energy because I know it…makes the difference when you’re…fueled by the energy around you.” (15:00)

7. Love Stories & Meet Cutes

• Becca Tilley and Hayley Kiyoko share the story of how they met (26:01), initially under the pretense of Becca setting up Hayley with her younger sister, only to become romantically involved themselves.
  • “So then the whole night, she kept asking our friend…‘is Becca into girls?’... I just knew. I thought she was really cute. I liked her confidence...” (27:23–28:43)

8. Fashion, Self-Expression, and Team Style

• Sarah Gordon is celebrated as Angel City’s unofficial style icon:
  • “I just love the form of self expression that it brings. It's like walking art when you put your outfit together.” (34:28)
• Honest fashion critique session of coach Alex’s evolving looks, offering playful but serious fashion feedback (40:14–44:28).

9. Athlete Motherhood & Club Support

• Becca Tilley reflects on pregnancy while playing and the increased support provided by the club and league:

  • “I never felt like I had to pick between my career and having a baby...” (46:51)

• Notable support moments: surprise ultrasound sessions at the training facility, and discussions about paving the way for younger players.

10. Appreciation for Pioneers & Mentors

• Just Women’s Sports founder recounts the media company’s origins and Ali Riley’s vital role in restoring its Instagram account after a takedown:
  • Quan Nguyen: “And like, yeah, you saved just women's sports.” (58:48)

Notable Quote:

• Ali Riley: "People who are just like, yes. Random girl who, like, I guess we went to the same school. I'll take your call. And yes, I'll help you out. And like, yeah, you say JW as Duda." (58:55)

11. Growth of Women’s Soccer and Quarter-Life Crises

• Celebration of NWSL’s growth, more broadcast visibility, and a reflection on career/life transitions for millennial and Gen Z women.

  • “We're kind of the first generation that has the level of mobility and access that we do. And, like, for the first time ever, we're, like, living alone, putting off motherhood, putting off marriage.” (67:12)

12. Penalty Shootouts — Mindset and Preparation

• Insight into the psychology and preparation goalkeepers undertake for penalty shootouts, the memorization of kicker tendencies, and the emotional toll:
  • "It's a cruel part of the game. It's a horrible way to lose... but the more that you can be in the moment... it's like, you won't get, like, put into a trance a little bit..." (68:56–71:59)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Riley Tiernan: “You have a vintage jersey now.” (23:30)
• Ali Riley (re: Jersey Shore): “Snooki. Something Snooki posted came up and I was like, oh my gosh, the Jersey Shore. I haven't thought about that in 20 years. I bet nobody even knows Jersey Shore. And it was like liked by Riley Tiernan!” (12:21)
• Sarah Gordon: “It's like walking art when you put your outfit together.” (34:28)
• Becca Tilley: On training while pregnant: “I actually feel great... I just feel a bit bigger and like bending over now like to put my stays on is a wee bit like, oh, I can't really squash the baby here...” (45:01)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Begins (MM:SS) | |----------------------------------------------|---------------| | Riley Tiernan on New Teams | 00:57 | | British Slang & Accent Attempts | 06:28 | | Jersey Identity & Pork Roll Debate | 08:51 | | Lilly Singh on Angel City Investment | 13:06 | | Hayley Kiyoko on Name Change | 21:16 | | Becca x Hayley “Meet Cute” | 26:01 | | Sarah Gordon on Fashion | 33:52 | | Coach Alex Style Critique | 39:52 | | Pregnancy and Support in Soccer | 45:01 | | Founding Just Women’s Sports Story | 53:03 | | NWSL Awards & Growth of the League | 59:08 | | Young Women & Quarter-Life Crisis | 67:12 | | On Penalty Shootouts | 68:56 |

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Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is fun, open, and a mix of heartfelt confessions, playful banter, and thoughtful reflection. It carries an unfiltered, supportive, and community-focused spirit—whether it’s about surviving career transitions, authentic self-expression, or simply sharing the joys (and messiness) of life as pro athletes, friends, and public figures.

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Final Thoughts

This “Best of” installment is a rich sampler of everything BFFR offers: laughter, vulnerability, solidarity, and a view into the real lives and personalities driving the culture of women’s sports and beyond. Whether you’re here for the TikTok drama, the tales from the Jersey Shore, or deep dives into names, love, and legacy, you’ll find plenty of memorable moments and powerful takeaways.

Hosts and team wish every listener a happy holiday and a fantastic new year! (73:51)

Transcript

[Ali Riley]

Hello.

[Becca Tilley]

What.

[Ali Riley]

What's up, everyone? Welcome back to another episode of bffr. We've got a very special episode for you today as we head into the holiday season. Our best of episode. We've pulled together some of our favorite moments and conversations from the incredible, wonderful amaz amazing guests we've had on the show recently. You'll hear from Alyssa Thompson, Riley Tiernan, Lilly Singh, Sarah Gordon, Haley Kiyoko, Becca Tilly, and more. Thank you to everyone who listened, watched shared clips, sent messages, called in and showed us love this year. We appreciate you so much, and I hope you enjoy the episode.

[Riley Tiernan]

I feel like the hardest adjustment has just been, like, coming into training and not knowing everyone and them not knowing me as well as, like, everyone on the team knew me.

[Quan Nguyen]

Yeah.

[Riley Tiernan]

And I feel like everyone on our team, like, kind of watched me grow up a little bit, and they know me. You guys know me super well. So it just feels weird coming into an environment where I'm new again.

[Ali Riley]

And.

[Riley Tiernan]

I feel like, just, like, literally how things. How everything's run is just so different from Angel City. So it's weird adjusting to, like, just new ways of how the med stuff works, how the gym work, how on the field works. Like, I feel like I'm just adjusting to all those intricacies and, like, what. How I fit into them and what I need to do and how I tell them what's good for me and stuff. So I feel like that's been hard to adjust, but I feel like that's when you're new anywhere, like, you need to adjust in that way.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah, of course.

[Ali Riley]

I'm sure the listeners would love to know. And things have changed so much since I was at Chelsea in 2018-2019. How would you compare the facilities and the trainings and the players? You can be honest. Obviously, we're very proud of our performance center here at Angel City.

[Riley Tiernan]

Obviously, Angel City's performance center is amazing. Like, world class. I do miss the big locker room and just all the big spaces because. Yeah, just all the big spaces and having a lot of room to do stuff. I feel like here, like, since it is a little bit, like, crisp and, like, I don't know, like, the air.

[Lilly Singh]

Is a little different.

[Riley Tiernan]

I feel like the fields, like, just move. The ball moves so, so much nicer. I don't know, like, the fields are wet and, like, the ball, you just. I feel like the passes are just so, like, crisp when you play them.

[Ali Riley]

Yes, I know exactly what you mean. We're having quite a hot, dry period over here in The Valley. Yeah.

[Riley Tiernan]

So I feel like those two things are definitely the most.

[Ali Riley]

And how are you finding the. The speed of play? You don't have to compare to Angel City, but how are you finding the speed of play? I mean, I watched as much as I could of those. Of those first two games, obviously, to. To see you out there, but you can tell these players know, like, where each other are is going to be and the movement and, you know, I think have more possession, are attacking more, and that is obviously a great thing for you, being able to just run that wing and you are close. We were all saying, like, if she just, like, stuck a foot out, but the ball came super fast, but, like, she was in there. Like, we're. We are so on it. Following. Following you and Giselle especially. So.

[Haley Kiyoko]

Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

Would you say the team and those games so far have just been really.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

Just a good style of play and something that you look forward to being more and more part of?

[Riley Tiernan]

Yeah, for sure. I feel like just being able to be on the field with the team is really cool. I think how we're just able to keep possession a lot and get into attacks. I think for me, it kind of plays into my game and being able to just get on the wing a lot, staying wide and being able to go at defenders, I feel like the coaches want me to go 1v1, like, every time. Um, so being able to have that freedom and being able to just, like, know that in the coming games my confidence will come is helpful. Um, but, yeah, it's just. I think that has been an adjustment for me, but I think as games go, when I play more, I'll be able to, like, do what I've been doing before, so.

[Ali Riley]

Well, you have clearly gotten to know the team well enough to persuade them to be in a TikTok. Who is the. Do you have fellow tick tockers like you and Giselle? You were. You were there regularly in that recovery room making. Making tick tocks. Do you think you're gonna have a. A partner in crime or a group that will be willing to join you in your. Your tick tock era?

[Riley Tiernan]

Sadly, I don't think any of them are tick tockers or.

[Lilly Singh]

I'm gonna have.

[Riley Tiernan]

To really beg on my. On my hands and knees to get them to do a TikTok. Me and Giselle were just like, would send them to each other and then once we got to the training facility, we would know them like it was easy. So I feel like it's definitely going to be difficult. There might be Some by myself, but I will try to convince them to do more, like, easy ones, because I feel like they'll be okay with those ones.

[Ali Riley]

Okay, so everyone knows when. When you're getting the. Your teammates in there, like, you're grafting. You are notice my slang, my British slang. There you are grafting. You are working hard to get. To get them to join you. So it's even more impressive. That was really funny. I also like the two girls just sitting in the back who are like, nah, that's not a bit of me.

[Lilly Singh]

You know?

[Ali Riley]

This way.

[Lilly Singh]

Yes.

[Ali Riley]

So that leads me to my next question. Have you picked up any British slang? Did Love island prepare you? Let's hear your British accent.

[Quan Nguyen]

Let's go.

[Lilly Singh]

Oh, my gosh.

[Riley Tiernan]

Okay. I'm being on the spot. Maybe you could, like, edit this so that I could do a couple, say.

[Ali Riley]

A few, and, like, we'll like, boom.

[Riley Tiernan]

Boom, boom for socials, you know?

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Riley Tiernan]

Any, like, phrases? I feel like. Like fussy. Like, instead of picky, they say fussy.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, yes, yes.

[Lilly Singh]

What else?

[Ali Riley]

There was another.

[Riley Tiernan]

There was a word that Kira used one day, and I just thought it was so funny. She was talking about traffic, and it made me laugh so hard. But I'll try to do a good British accent. What's happening? You all right?

[Ali Riley]

That was great.

[Riley Tiernan]

That was pretty good. You know, like, I've been watching Love is Blind uk, and it's been pretty good. I feel like I sound pretty posh right now.

[Ali Riley]

You are very posh.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah. I want the.

[Riley Tiernan]

The South London accent. That's, like, my favorite. Like, Central C.

[Ali Riley]

Speaking of.

[Lilly Singh]

Who, who.

[Ali Riley]

Is a celebrity that you're hoping to meet most in London?

[Riley Tiernan]

Definitely Central C, like, for sure.

[Ali Riley]

Have you made any progress on that front?

[Riley Tiernan]

No. I feel like hopefully it comes to a Chelsea game, and maybe I'm there and, like, we meet, like, just, like.

[Ali Riley]

Casually, like, pass by Central C, if you're listening. Central's the avid listener of bffr. You gotta meet my girl. If anyone out there knows Central, see everyone tag Central Cee on this episode.

[Sarah Gordon]

Okay, thank you.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, God, thank you. It's bloody brilliant. Okay. Okay, let's get a little bit into your Jersey background and what it's like to be a Jersey girl. So our BFFR producer, Chelsea, is also a celebrity South Jersey girl. So I have just learned that North Jersey. South Jersey. Like, there's a difference.

[Lilly Singh]

Oh, there is a very big difference.

[Quan Nguyen]

Yes.

[Ali Riley]

Like, what? What? Why? What is this, like, South Jersey thing?

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

It's a very big deal, too. I don't know. If it's just my family, like, the way that we are. But there's. I think it's just more so, like, the mentality, I would say. I think people from South Jersey are, like, gritty and, like, tough and, like, blue collar, if I could, like, use that term. The north are more. More like, in soccer terms, I would say they're more like, like, fancy footwork and stuff like that. Whereas, like, South Jersey would just be like, go out there and work as hard as you can, and that's what.

[Quan Nguyen]

You have to do.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

So, yeah, I feel like South Jersey has that, like, tough mentality, whereas North Jersey's a little bit softer.

[Riley Tiernan]

Okay.

[Becca Tilley]

Yeah.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

And, like, South Jersey says pork roll. North Jersey says Taylor ham, which just proves itself.

[Becca Tilley]

Like, that's not.

[Ali Riley]

Excuse me, what did you just say? Pork.

[Sarah Gordon]

Pork roll.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

You know, like, pork roll.

[Lilly Singh]

Like.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

Like, it's like a breakfast. Like, patty. It's like pig, I'm pretty sure.

[Ali Riley]

Well, if it's pork, it's a pig. But what. What is this? This is a sausage on a. It's a breakfast sandwich.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

It's like a circular. It's like a circular meat, and you just cook it, and it's, like, a great breakfast thing. Like, my dad would always make it on the grill in the morning when he would make breakfast with, like, eggs and a bunch of stuff. It's really good. But the container of it says, like, Taylor ham. Some of the containers. But it's not Taylor ham.

[Lilly Singh]

It's pork grill.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

But people from North Jersey say Taylor ham because they're not as good as.

[Lilly Singh]

People from South Jersey.

[Ali Riley]

I think Chelsea would agree. She told me something similar to this. I just did not know what she was talking about. Okay, this is an ignorant L. A question here, but where does the Jersey Shore and, like, Snooki and JWow fit into the, like, Jersey, North Jersey, South Jersey lore?

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

Jersey Shore is, like, my favorite show of all time, which is probably so stereotypical. But, like, I remember it was, like, a very big thing when my sister was.

[Ali Riley]

I was gonna say, how old were you?

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

I was, like, probably 10.

[Lilly Singh]

Maybe this shaped the show.

[Ali Riley]

Shaped you.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

Like, it explains a lot.

[Lilly Singh]

I think it's half my personality. I literally think.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

But, yeah, no, it's just, like, the same thing. I feel like Jersey is just so. Like, there's so many words that I could use, and I'm trying to think just, like. I don't know, like, when it comes to Jersey Shore, like, the Jersey Shore within itself is, like, the best place ever, in my opinion. One of the Best places ever. Because it's just like you have everything. You have like the boardwalk, you have the beach and then you got like the ice cream shops on the boardwalk.

[Lilly Singh]

That are really good.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

You got the pizza shops that are really good.

[Lilly Singh]

So.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

So yeah, I feel like it's just.

[Lilly Singh]

A place to be.

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

And in that show they like party a lot, which I would say is a part of Jersey too, but that's pretty much anywhere.

[Ali Riley]

Who is your favorite person on the show?

[Unknown Jersey Speaker]

Oh, that's hard. I have like a lot. My favorite girl is definitely Snooki and then my favorite boy. It would be a tie between Pauly D. And Vinnie, but it's probably because Vinnie, sometimes he annoys me. The stuff that he does.

[Ali Riley]

So randomly on my feed. Snooki. Something Snooki posted came up and I was like, oh my gosh, the Jersey Shore. I haven't thought about that in 20 years. I bet nobody even knows Jersey Shore. And it was like liked by Riley Tiernit. Let's talk the gay met Gala. And we both know, we both know what the gay met gala is and.

[Lilly Singh]

That is Angel City games, baby. Let's go.

[Ali Riley]

How did the opportunity to become an investor in Angel City come about and why was it so important to you to take it so seriously? If you have been to an Angel City game, you have seen Lily saying we chest bumped at the last home game.

[Quan Nguyen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ali Riley]

On the jumbotron. Absolutely. Giving her all to give us on the field energy. And she believes in us and it means so much as a player.

[Lilly Singh]

Well, thank you. Well, first off, let me say as a person, it's a blessing and a curse. I don't do anything half assed. If I do something I do to the fullest of my ability. True.

[Ali Riley]

Also in your bio.

[Lilly Singh]

Yes. When. So Alexis Reno Williams husband is actually the one who brought Angel City to me. And it was pretty. I don't even know if you know this. It was pretty close to when the team was being announced. I was like one of the later people to be involved in it. But he brought it to me saying, I have this opportunity. It's for a women's soccer team in L. A. I know you're a huge. And all he knew about me was that I was a huge advocate for girls and women. And so I do believe that one of my fundamental purposes on this planet is to support girls and women. Like, I really, really believe that to my core and in my body. And. And so I. People always are like, did you grow up playing soccer? Like, do you were you an athlete? What's the deal?

[Ali Riley]

Are you related to someone on the team? Why are you so into this?

[Lilly Singh]

Literally. So I literally have to explain to people. I actually never grew up playing soccer. I was not athletic growing up. I know I have that facade, as if I could be athletic, but not shocked.

[Quan Nguyen]

Yes.

[Lilly Singh]

I really don't, don't even know the rules of the game. You know this. I don't really know the rules, but I will blindly support girls and women. And especially because a few things, you know, I. I have a charity that's dedicated towards girls and women, and I've had the privilege of learning a bunch of things when it comes to girls and women around the world. And that is one, girls and women are the best investment you can make. They have the biggest return of investment. It is factually, statistically proven that they are the best investment you can make. Two is a lot of people view sports as just entertainment or like something exciting. But everywhere I've traveled in the world, from like the corners of India to parts of America, no matter where I am, I really believe that sports is the intervention that we don't give enough credit to in the sense of like, I've literally been to rural villages in India where, like, someone will tell me, I literally prevented myself from getting married off at 14 in a child marriage because my team showed up at my house, because my soccer team taught me confidence, how to stand up for myself. Like, it teaches girls and women such important skills. And the ripple effect of women's sports is so vast. Like, it really positively impacts a community, a neighborhood, a country, whatever it may be. And so when the opportunity came to me to support women in sport, I was like, I don't need to know the rules of the game. I don't need to. I don't need to have played soccer, absolutely 100%. And then I was like, I think it's because I'm a performer. Like, I've been on stage a lot. I know what it feels like to be on a stage and to either have an audience that is so invested or an audience that is checked out. And so I have a rule. If anyone is performing in any capacity, sport on stage, stand up, acting, whatever, they're going to get 100% of this energy because I know it is really makes the difference when you're like, you know, fueled by the energy around you. And so, yeah, that's why I'm doing those. I know, for the record, people that listen to. I know I look ridiculous on the jumbotron. I know I'm a fool. I know I'm a goof.

[Ali Riley]

You're a legend.

[Lilly Singh]

I'm just out here doing it for. Doing it for the girl pops, you know?

[Ali Riley]

Oh, it means so much. We all agree that you are the most invested investor. Obviously, some of our investors are employed by the club, but the most invested investor who is not employed by Angel City by energy.

[Sarah Gordon]

I'll take that.

[Lilly Singh]

Maybe, maybe not by some of them are really rich. Maybe not by money, but I will say by energy, I'll take.

[Ali Riley]

We feel it directly from you. I will say, when did you realize. You said, you know, I'll support girls and women. When did you realize that Angel City games were the game at gala week in and week out.

[Lilly Singh]

Day one.

[Quan Nguyen]

Day one.

[Ali Riley]

Day one.

[Lilly Singh]

I have to say, so I. I've been to a lot of sporting events, and I'm not only saying this because I adore you and I adore the team and I'm part owner, but I don't think there's any environment like an Angel City game. It is one of the most inclusive, positive sporting environments I've ever been to. You see every type of person cheering on these. These women. It doesn't matter. Like, I think there's this idea. I mentioned this at my premiere. I hate the word niche. I think the word niche has really weaponized. Been weaponized against minority groups. And when we talk about women, I feel like there's this idea that only women can watch women's sports. And, you know, as the T shirt says, everyone watches women's sports.

[Ali Riley]

Exactly.

[Lilly Singh]

But when you go to an Angel City game, you see, like, young boys, young girls, men, grown men, fathers. They're all cheering because talent is talented. And. And that's just what it is. And. And so when I went to, like, the first Angel City game, I was like, okay, cool. Maybe this is, like the first, you know, the first game. So the vibes are high. But every game since then, there's been multiple pride flags, prides of every country, inclusion signs at every game. Every type of person is at that game. I've never felt so safe. I've never felt such an inclusive environment. And everyone I bring from my friend, family, to, like, a celebrity, because I try to bring the famouses, you know, as you know, and they all say the same thing. They're like, this is such a positive, just warm environment. And that's very unique for a sporting event.

[Ali Riley]

I will say, well, Lily does have literally front row seats to the game. She is on the field. And sometimes after the game, we like, break it down in the huddle. And I turn around and she's right there with me, which I love. You bring, like, you said a lot of public figures, which is very exciting. I could not believe when you were like, yeah, some of the cast of Bend it, like Beckham. I don't know if you've seen that movie. Like, lost my mind. And I was bragging about that. Obviously. I'm still bragging about it, like, just name dropping. Because what I'm going to put you on the spot and ask you who of all the cool people you've brought was the most fun and into it.

[Lilly Singh]

That's a really, really good question. I brought some really fun people. Okay, just. I can give you two. One is okay. I remember when I brought Zed, the DJ and producer. Zed, he was over the moon. He was like, this is so fun. I will come any single time you ask me to come. This is like the best thing I've ever been to. He loved it so, so, so, so much. Poorna Jagannathan, who is in Never have I Ever and various other things, she really loved it as well. And she was like cheering and screaming and super invested. That's what I like to see. People know if they come to my suite, we're not just watching the game. We are part of the game. We are not the boring suite. We are cheering, we are screaming. In fact, the loudest person at every game is my publicist. She comes, she's a friend of mine, literally. Her name is Marla and she's the loudest person in my suite. Everybody knows if we're going to Lily suite, we're coming correct. There's gonna be food, there's gonna be drinks, and we're coming correct. So everyone has a great time. Zedd and Fourno, for sure. I remember, had a really, really good time.

[Ali Riley]

Is there someone who's been like, Lily, I wanna go. Like, is there.

[Lilly Singh]

Do you have people on the. There's so many people.

[Becca Tilley]

I.

[Lilly Singh]

Is my goal to bring a bunch of people to. In fact, I asked to remember at dinner, I was like, who would be exciting to come? I want to bring Brenda Song.

[Ali Riley]

Yes, Brenda.

[Becca Tilley]

I. I really want to bring Brenda.

[Lilly Singh]

I really want to bring Bianca Chopra and Nick Jonas one day. I would love to bring them.

[Ali Riley]

I really want to bring Three home. Home games coming up. Like we got.

[Lilly Singh]

Okay, here we go.

[Ali Riley]

Yeah, here we go.

[Lilly Singh]

Three home games.

[Ali Riley]

I'm retiring.

[Lilly Singh]

This is. This is.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, I guess I can with you and them, so.

[Haley Kiyoko]

But it's not the same well, you.

[Lilly Singh]

Should know that even if you. When you retire, you have a permanent seat in my suite, so.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, Lily, you do. Come on, girl.

[Lilly Singh]

I got you.

[Quan Nguyen]

Thank you.

[Ali Riley]

Sorry, Lucas, I'm sitting with Lily.

[Lilly Singh]

I'll try to squeeze both of you.

[Ali Riley]

No, no, it's all good. It's all good. Well, before I let you go, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing the story of Biandolo and just your last name and how much it means to you. And you speak so eloquently about, like, the coming together of families and obviously being someone who. People would have your jersey with your last name on it. And you've achieved a lot with your last name. How important it was to you to. To change your last name to Marley's?

[Sarah Gordon]

Yeah, I.

[Haley Kiyoko]

So I went back and forth about it a lot, like, should I just change it legally, but not on my jersey, Blah, blah, blah, blah. And what actually sold it for me was I was having my father. Daughter dance, and my dad just, like, was like, you should change your name on your jersey.

[Casey Murphy]

And.

[Haley Kiyoko]

At the wedding, like, I obviously started bawling. Right. And so the Bndolo name. There is only, I think, two families in the world with the B name. And it was like a. It's like, gifted. So in African culture, in the Congo, at least, they can, like, just gift a name instead of, like, having a name passed down. And so Clotaire Marley's dad, was gifted his last name, and then he decided to just pass it down to his boys.

[Jessica Kleiman]

Right.

[Haley Kiyoko]

And the name just for me is, like, so special because I. I can, like, follow our lineage. The name there is, like, a prestigious name. Whereas, no offense, but, like, Williams is obviously some, like, a slave name somewhere along the way.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Becca Tilley]

And.

[Haley Kiyoko]

And I can't, like. I don't know where that came from. I can't really follow the lineage. I don't know, like, what our family name is.

[Ali Riley]

Yeah.

[Haley Kiyoko]

And I think that, like, for me, having, like, such a gifted name on the back of my jersey, I was like, obviously, I'm gonna do this. And then on top of that, with this, like, administration of. That's going on in our country, I kind of, like. It was kind of like a fu. Every time somebody, like, I scored a goal and somebody had to announce my name, I was like, yeah, we are, like, putting Africans on the map, or put it, like, kind of taking back things. So that was like an added. But. But, yeah, like, I just kept going back and forth of like, should I do this? Should I do this? Should I do this. Should I not do this? And then when my dad was like, you definitely need to do this, I.

[Riley Tiernan]

Was like, balling, obviously.

[Ali Riley]

Yeah.

[Haley Kiyoko]

And I think that it's just, like, the Williams name is gonna live on. It's fine. Like, it's always gonna be a part of me. Right?

[Ali Riley]

Like, yeah, of course.

[Haley Kiyoko]

And that. And now I just look at, like, the Williams jerseys of mine and my old signatures, and I'm like, yeah, you just. You have a vintage jersey now.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, my gosh. I didn't even think about the signature.

[Quan Nguyen]

Yeah.

[Haley Kiyoko]

Did you?

[Becca Tilley]

I changed it.

[Ali Riley]

I'm gonna need to see the updated signature. I. I. I feel embarrassed. I don't have anything signed by you. I'm gonna have to change that.

[Quan Nguyen]

Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

Did you practice a little? Like, yeah, I practiced. Is there a big B? Like, is there a. Oh, my gosh.

[Haley Kiyoko]

I'm gonna have to, like. I'll just do it right now in my, like, in my notes. Show us in my notes. Little app.

[Becca Tilley]

How.

[Ali Riley]

How many tries till you, like, decided the one you wanted? Like, did you know right away how you're gonna write it?

[Haley Kiyoko]

No. There was, like, a lot, and then I think I, like, sent a picture. Like, I think I, like, went through a lot of papers of just, like, practicing. And I also went through, like, is it easy to sign it a lot of times? Right, Right.

[Lilly Singh]

Can I do this?

[Sarah Gordon]

Right?

[Haley Kiyoko]

Can I do this? A lot?

[Ali Riley]

A lot and fast.

[Haley Kiyoko]

A lot and fast and not. So my old one was this. So lame, probably.

[Ali Riley]

Yep. I've seen that. I've seen that everywhere.

[Haley Kiyoko]

Just, like, squiggle, squiggle, squiggle. Also, Williams is, like, long. Right? And so I. I was like, we gotta. We gotta change this because it's. It's long and annoying. And then.

[Lilly Singh]

Now let me.

[Haley Kiyoko]

Let me do a really good one. Marley. Marley's jealous of it. Okay, this was bad. But it's like this where it's like Lynn and the beat in the way.

[Quan Nguyen]

Yes.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, the L. Yes.

[Haley Kiyoko]

So, like, the L and the B are one that was. It's obviously better on paper.

[Lilly Singh]

Duh.

[Haley Kiyoko]

But then also kind of like, I, for the longest time was, like, doing W. And then I, L, L, I into like other words is hard. And then I got B do. And I was like, D, O, L, O is hard. So we got to cut both of those out. So you'll never get a dolo.

[Ali Riley]

You'll just get a ba. Lbn.

[Lilly Singh]

Okay. Lbn?

[Haley Kiyoko]

Yeah, that's my name.

[Ali Riley]

But no, that was.

[Haley Kiyoko]

So then I asked people, too, like, if they have a Williams jersey. I'm like, do you want a William signature? Do you want to be in double signature?

[Ali Riley]

And people probably want updated ones now. I tweet their own. Yeah, well, we'll find out when you are coming back and signing all the jerseys with the lbn.

[Haley Kiyoko]

Lbn.

[Lilly Singh]

But, yeah, when I met Becca, she. I mean, she tells the story better, honestly. But we. We met in 2018, and she was trying to hook me up with her younger sister, and I don't know if.

[Jessica Kleiman]

We told you the story.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah, you want to tell us? Yeah, I mean, we. I went to a party, and her. A mutual friend that she grew up with invited me to the party. And I had just been introduced to Haley's music a few days before because my sisters lived with me at the time, and they're both queer. And they were watching her music video, and she was.

[Riley Tiernan]

She's.

[Lilly Singh]

It's her feelings music video, and she's really cocky, like, pursuing a girl in the video. And I was like, who is that? And they're like, oh, her name's Hayley Kiyoko. She's really popular in the lesbian pop world. And I was like, she thinks she's so cool. And then I just kind of went onto the kitchen, didn't think anything of it. And then a couple days later, my friend invites me, sends me an invitation. She was like, do you want to go to this? And I go, that's so weird. My sisters were just watching your video. And she goes, oh, invite them, too. So we were all supposed to go to this party together for her album release slash birthday party. And they ended up bailing because they had work or something. And I get there, and I meet Hailey, and the first thing I say, I said something along the lines of like, why didn't you DM me back? Why didn't you respond to my dm?

[Casey Murphy]

Yeah.

[Lilly Singh]

And she goes. She looked at me, and she was. You DM'd me? And I was like. I, like. I, like, grabbed my phone and was, like, trying to find the dm. I was like, I'm just kidding. I was like, I'm just kidding. So then the whole night, she kept asking our friend. She was like, is Becca into girls? And she was like, no, but her. Her youngest sister is. And she's so cute. Like, we should hook you up. And I just knew. I thought she was really cute. I liked her confidence, and I thought, oh, she'd be fun to have around, like my sister. They would be really fun together. So we made plans for everyone to get together as A group for them to me. And again, they bailed. And they're like, we're going out tomorrow night, so tell her to come meet us. And I told Hayley. I was like, hey, they're not able to meet up tonight. Everyone's going out tomorrow night. And Hayley goes, well, would you want to.

[Quan Nguyen]

Oh, my God, you just grabbed.

[Lilly Singh]

She just grabbed a bug out of the air.

[Ali Riley]

Okay, Mr. Miyagi.

[Lilly Singh]

That is really sexy. Okay, continue. And so I. She goes, well, do you want to get a drink instead? And I was just like, oh, no, sure. And then I was walking out the door, my sister was sitting there, and I go, I've never been out with a lesbian by myself. Like, what if she gets the wrong impression?

[Ali Riley]

I think she got the wrong impression.

[Lilly Singh]

Definitely got the wrong. Definitely got the right. The right impression.

[Riley Tiernan]

Yeah.

[Lilly Singh]

So, yeah, we went to. She made a reservation at Chateau Marmont, which this is part of the story and where there's room for us. And we talked for, like, five hours and shut the bar down. And that was kind of it. I didn't really go into a question of, oh, my gosh, I've never been with a woman before. I just was like, wow, I've never felt that way before. And let's see what happens. Yeah. So seven and a half years later, here we are and engage. Putting us in the Victorian era. But I just thought that Miku was wild. And I was like, this is.

[Quan Nguyen]

This is crazy.

[Lilly Singh]

You can't. You can't. You can't write that. That's the real stuff right there.

[Casey Murphy]

Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

I'm thinking about your little sister. Did she know there was an intention to be set up?

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah, I told her. I go, haley wants to meet you. And she was a fan, so she was like, oh, my gosh, are you serious?

[Ali Riley]

So then when.

[Lilly Singh]

Come to the party. Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

When you came home after that date, like, actually, she's mine. Snooze, you lose.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah. I was like, you missed out. Sorry. It's. It's funny in hindsight, because, like, obviously, I've been with Haley for seven and a half years, but it would have. Thank goodness. Nothing even was. The door didn't even begin. The door was definitely unlocked, but it was never opened.

[Quan Nguyen]

It was never opened.

[Lilly Singh]

We weren't gonna ever be a good match. Love her. Oh, my gosh. Wow.

[Ali Riley]

Okay, bffr fam. It's time for our best gift Ever segment, presented by Macy's. You can always shop your faves@macy's.com. lucas and I finally decided what we're Getting each other for Christmas Rollerblades. I'm a little bit nervous. I will definitely be asking for wrist guards, wrist pads and a helmet as well. But we have this image of ourselves holding hands, cruising down the Santa Monica boardwalk. We have just moved to the west side. We are out of the valley, back in my old stomping grounds. Surprisingly, my dad now is trying to say that he would be able to rollerblade. He will not be getting rollerblades for Christmas, but you can find me and Lucas somewhere by the beach rollerblading. Hopefully I will try to provide video evidence at one point. So that is hopefully going to be the best gift ever. This holiday season. One of the things that of course the club does and the league does is showcase some of the players arrival fits. And I. Maybe you would beg to differ. But I'm not sure if you were still at Chicago if this would be like. I feel like it's kind of an la. Sid and I have talked about this. LA is doing it well. Gotham. Gotham seems to take it pretty seriously. But I know we're biased, but we have Sarah Gordon and you are just our fashionista, our style icon. And if you go through like any fit after every weekend on like a Monday, I'm like, there she is. There she is. Because your outfits. And I mentioned to Riley when she gave you the superlative as, as the best dressed that. Do you seen me in like a dress shirt and the training shorts and you were like at boots and that's a vibe. And I found another text that I had sent you. I'm not sure if, if Chelsea will be able to bring the photo up, but I texted you I was getting an injection for my injury and you asked me how it was going and I sent you this photo of me in these shorts that I have to wear. I'm like in my flight socks. Okay. I have my Serena shirt. So obviously I love that shirt. And I'm wearing these special shorts that like, they rip away because the doctor has to like rip away, rip open the shorts to access the area that he is injecting. And you texted me and you were like, this look is kind of a vibe. And I'm just like, I, like, I can't with you. Like, you crack me up so much. But I have a couple.

[Sarah Gordon]

That is a vibe.

[Ali Riley]

Well, we have a photo here. It might not be the first one, but I have some of my favorite looks here. And I would just love if you could get us in your mind when you're picking out these outfits here. I Must say I was a little surprised to see you had your football boots in your hand with this really, really large bag. But you don't, obviously don't have to speak exactly to this photo. But just how have you gotten into style? How do you pick out your outfits? What makes you so passionate about it? Tell us, tell us all the things and be fucking for real.

[Riley Tiernan]

Okay.

[Sarah Gordon]

So it depends how I pick out my outfit.

[Riley Tiernan]

Depends.

[Sarah Gordon]

Like sometimes in this instance, I got a new shoe. Those pointed toe heels. When we were in Coachella, we all went to the outlets, the designer outlet.

[Ali Riley]

Yeah.

[Sarah Gordon]

And so I got this new little Gucci pointed toe. And I was like, we wear pink. Like pink is one of our Angel City colors.

[Lilly Singh]

This is home opener.

[Sarah Gordon]

Like, I'm going to style something around this shoe. And so all the pink kind of just made sense to me. But I would say overall, well, one styling, it depends on if I have like a piece I really want to wear.

[Lilly Singh]

I'll.

[Sarah Gordon]

I'll start with that and then style around it. But I think that I'm really passionate about it because I just love the form of self expression that it brings. It's like walking art when you put your outfit together. And that's not to say like it has to be some extravagant thing. I mean, if you put on sweatpants and a sweatshirt, you're telling people a story about how you feel that day too. And I just like that you can express yourself in that way. And also, like I would say growing up and like being adopted, I always felt like kind, sorry if this is too deep, but I always felt kind of a lot lately too. So you, you asked me at the right time. I always felt like kind of different from my family in a way that they always, like, they always wanted me to feel like I was part of them and like, you know, like I. So they would make me feel like I fit in. But what it did to me was.

[Lilly Singh]

Make me want to be unique because.

[Sarah Gordon]

I felt different from them and it felt like we weren't honest about that. And so I feel like clothes was one of the first ways that I could approach appropriately, express that because words might have been like, hard.

[Lilly Singh]

So.

[Sarah Gordon]

Yeah, so that I think was the beginning, growing up of why I really started liking clothes and fashion and being able to dress myself.

[Ali Riley]

Wow, that was deep. And I really, really liked that answer. I have two follow up questions.

[Lilly Singh]

Okay.

[Ali Riley]

One is how, how does, how I dress? What, what story am I telling you when I see you every day?

[Sarah Gordon]

Well, what did you wear today? I don't even Remember.

[Ali Riley]

I wore this that Lucas got at a. A vintage store and then realized it was like two sizes too small for him, so now it's mine. And I always show up in jeans or shorts or something and then I always end up leaving in our training shorts.

[Sarah Gordon]

Well, as long as you're not leaving in the spandex, then. That we have yet to be able to replace.

[Ali Riley]

No, that I am not the thief. Someone has. Someone has been going home from training in the span. The extra spandex we have. So there are no more extra spandex for any of the players. Sidebar. I feel like I'm telling a story of, like, someone who is really just at the end of a chapter trying to keep it together, but is falling apart and needs treatment every day. So she's always wearing our training kit.

[Lilly Singh]

That's.

[Sarah Gordon]

I mean, maybe, I don't know. I was going to go with your bubbly and excited for the day, but okay, that's when.

[Ali Riley]

That's when I arrive. Not. Not when I'm leaving. When I arrive, I am excited. When I leave, I'm tired. Um, and my second question. And I feel like there will be other people out here who can relate to this. I cannot wear heels, so I get really sad. Like, you, you just found these great shoes. You styled your outfit around it. I have not really thought about that way. I usually have a top or bottoms that I really am excited about and especially if it's a little bit dressier. And then I look into my closet and I'm like, and now I have to wear sneakers, preferably running shoes, so it just falls apart before I even get started. Do you have any suggestions for those of us who need really comfortable footwear?

[Sarah Gordon]

Well, I guess I also have a question. Well, first I have an answer. I love boots. So there are boots that don't have a heel on them and they can definitely be worn. And then my second thing is, what about like a one inch heel?

[Quan Nguyen]

I love.

[Sarah Gordon]

Like, I can't wear. I have a bunch of heels in my closet that are like 3, 4 inches. And because I have turtle and I can't. I can't even put them on. So I am only 2, 2 and a half inches or less right now.

[Ali Riley]

Okay, Okay. I could try one. I could try one. Is that called a kitten heel or is that even shorter?

[Sarah Gordon]

Go with a kitten or boo.

[Ali Riley]

Okay. Okay. I'm not sure I would. Not that it matters anymore, but I'm not sure I'd be able to like, wear them to a game. I would be like, really just. I don't know, I feel like I need really, really comfortable shoes just to give my feet as much support as possible. But now, venturing out into the world and into the studio, I might have to hit you up for advice, but I'm gonna. I'm gonna attempt a kitten heel. Thank you.

[Riley Tiernan]

Please do.

[Ali Riley]

Thank you very much. You also. I mean, I. I had you on my show attempting to style me three years ago. So if anyone wants to see that episode of off the Ball with Ali Riley, that was highly entertaining. But I have another one, another person that I'd like to speak about when it comes to fashion, who is not me, and that is our coach, Alex. So when Alex arrived at Angel City, insert photo here, he coached our game well, this is most recently, but he coached our game wearing an Angel City polo shirt, hat, and track pants. Now, what we're seeing is an evolution of Alex's style. So I was wondering if you could rate some of his looks. We could maybe do it.

[Casey Murphy]

I don't know.

[Ali Riley]

On a scale of 1 to 10, you could say what you like, what you don't like. And he has told me that he is eager to listen to this and he trusts your feedback. It was actually his wife who sent these photos, so she maybe wants your feedback. Okay, let's start with the most recent here. What do we think? Like, the red, white, and blue?

[Lilly Singh]

Is this.

[Ali Riley]

Is this, like, representing Norway? Is this representing America?

[Sarah Gordon]

I have socks. I have a problem with the red shoes because I don't like how our Angel City pink looks like with them. So I'm. I think that to support the team better. He should not have been wearing those shoes.

[Ali Riley]

What color would have been, like, better with this outfit?

[Sarah Gordon]

What color is pants? Are those black or navy?

[Ali Riley]

I think they're navy. And then he has a black hat on.

[Haley Kiyoko]

Oh.

[Becca Tilley]

Okay.

[Sarah Gordon]

This is not his best look.

[Ali Riley]

Okay, okay. Okay. What are we giving this on, like, 1 to 10? 10 being, like, a Sarah Gordon fit.

[Sarah Gordon]

I'm giving this a five. Sorry, Alex.

[Ali Riley]

Okay. I feel like that was even generous.

[Lilly Singh]

Okay.

[Ali Riley]

I. I wasn't. I didn't like the black hat and the blue pants. Okay, moving on.

[Sarah Gordon]

This is a good fit. The crop of the jacket, the white tee, the socks with the shoes, this is a solid eight.

[Riley Tiernan]

Okay.

[Ali Riley]

We had some discussions about this, just with the length of the shirt. But you are liking the length of the shirt.

[Sarah Gordon]

His captions.

[Ali Riley]

Yeah, I'm. I'm pretty sure those are his wife. Anyone who follows Alex on Instagram, Ricky has been amazing working with Alex. He gets. He gets more photos than I do after game. I have to say.

[Sarah Gordon]

He hires his own photographer.

[Lilly Singh]

Maybe.

[Sarah Gordon]

I'm not mad at the length of the shirt. I'm not mad at it.

[Ali Riley]

Okay, so this is an 8 out of 10. I think this is high praise. He's wearing the same socks this week as the one we just saw. He likes those Feels.

[Sarah Gordon]

Do you have a picture. Do you have a picture of when he came to our meeting with slides on and then those socks that you wear with, like, loafers that, like, go really around your toes?

[Ali Riley]

I wasn't given access to that photo, nor was I given access to the really slim Burberry top. That was also a topic of conversation.

[Sarah Gordon]

That's actually in black culture. That is a baby shower top that the dad wears pretty much every baby shower.

[Ali Riley]

I'll let you tell him that.

[Riley Tiernan]

Okay.

[Ali Riley]

What else do we have here in the bank?

[Lilly Singh]

Mm.

[Ali Riley]

I mean, I'm like. The man gets a, like, style getting off the bus photo. This must be from his own photographer.

[Sarah Gordon]

The pants are good.

[Riley Tiernan]

The.

[Sarah Gordon]

The socks, but the shoes are the same. But they look good.

[Ali Riley]

Are those the same socks again? Those are his favorite socks. They're the same socks, but the top half.

[Sarah Gordon]

Well, I have a question. Do you think he dresses himself? I think.

[Ali Riley]

I feel like his wife is super stylish. Stylish, stylish. And so she's giving him. She must be laying out some pieces.

[Sarah Gordon]

The bottom half of this outfit is her.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Sarah Gordon]

This is a 6.5.

[Ali Riley]

Okay.

[Lilly Singh]

I.

[Ali Riley]

You like these pants, though. You complimented these pants when he was wearing them at training.

[Sarah Gordon]

These are not the same pants, Ellie.

[Ali Riley]

Are you sure?

[Casey Murphy]

I don't know.

[Sarah Gordon]

They looked lighter in person. He needs a jacket.

[Ali Riley]

Here.

[Sarah Gordon]

This is like. This is just a T shirt and pants. I can't rate this.

[Ali Riley]

What about the matching shirt and the shoes?

[Sarah Gordon]

I'm not typically. I'm not into exact matching as a person, but if it works for you, it works for you.

[Riley Tiernan]

This.

[Sarah Gordon]

But. But this is not a full outfit. He needs a jacket. So five.

[Ali Riley]

Okay.

[Sarah Gordon]

I wonder what socks he has.

[Ali Riley]

I. I'm hoping they're his lucky striped socks. I mean, maybe those are the games we won.

[Lilly Singh]

I don't know.

[Ali Riley]

But this I felt positive about. Are we.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Sarah Gordon]

This is good. This is a good seven and a half.

[Casey Murphy]

Wow.

[Riley Tiernan]

Okay. I think.

[Ali Riley]

I think that was. Was that all the photos? I think that was all the photos. Wow. Well, thank you for your insight. I hope he'll take into consideration your feedback for next season. I will be eagerly watching. We can't ignore the fetus sized elephant in the room that you are pregnant and training. And so right now in this moment, how far along are you and how are you feeling?

[Becca Tilley]

So I've just turned seven months, just gone into my third trimester and I actually feel great. Like I didn't expect to feel like this. I just feel a bit bigger and like bending over now like to put my stays on is a wee bit like, oh, I can't really squash the baby here, so maybe I need to do things another way. But apart from that, honestly, like normal, like I've been lucky, like, I've not been sick. Really, like, yeah, I've had a good pregnancy.

[Casey Murphy]

So my gosh.

[Ali Riley]

Oh my gosh. Well, we are just so excited. The club is so excited and I think it's been very powerful for all of us to see you go through this journey, to see the club supporting you. How far we've come from some of our teammates and what their experience was when they got pregnant, when they have been bringing their kids along with them to games and traveling and their experiences and just what the, the mothers in this league have, have been fighting for. And it feels like you are just like how we have been fighting to have the future generations have it better than us. You are in this phase where you actually get to experience the consequences. The amazing benefit of having these women fight to make sure that players like you could have more support and I, it must be opening our younger teammates eyes to what is possible as a woman and in this league. Now. Have you talked to any of the younger players about. Yeah, what, how do, how do they approach this? How do they talk to you about your pregnancy?

[Becca Tilley]

It is amazing. Like, as you said, like, I'm so grateful for everyone that's come before me and like made changes to clubs and leagues and you know, made it acceptable thing to do and changed the narrative on how people see female soccer players that are pregnant and knowing that they can come back and knowing they can be just as good when they're back, if not better, like as other people have proven. So, yeah, I definitely feel lucky to be at this stage in my career and the games at this point now where it is supported really well, especially Angel City. So it has been amazing. Like, I never felt like I had to pick between my career and having a baby, which is how I felt growing up, which is nice. Nice now. Like, I think if the environment had been like this five years ago, I maybe would have done it earlier, to be honest. But as you say, you want to leave the game in a better place and at least I've managed to benefit now. And now, hopefully, when I see the younger players now, I've had a few conversations with them and I think they are like, okay, like, I can do this earlier and I don't have to wait till I retire. Which is quite nice because I think, as I say, like, I have been lucky in my pregnancy and I've been healthy and I've been able to keep training as much as normal. And I think the girls are looking at me thinking, how are you still training? Like, how do you feel? And stuff. And I'm like, I'm actually fine. Like, I'm. I'm good, like, so it's been nice to see them kind of open their eyes and be like, wow, like, this is really possible.

[Ali Riley]

Well, it was really cool for me. We have not really overlapped. When I was doing my return to play, you were still training with the team and so we had a brief overlap when you were pregnant, but pretending you had a hamstring injury before you announced and were really ready to and felt safe about.

[Quan Nguyen]

Telling everybody.

[Becca Tilley]

Remember that day when we were overlapped and when the team had traveled to the bay and I was having, like, I couldn't tell you I was pregnant, but I was having a hormonal day and I was stressed and I was like, I don't know what rubbish I made up. That was what was wrong with me.

[Ali Riley]

But you couldn't really say. And I was like, I don't think this is about her hamstring. You were like, I need to be home, I need to be home. And I was like, okay, we need to take care of her.

[Becca Tilley]

And I couldn't explain it. And I was like, just tell her. And I was like, nah, it's too soon. Like, I don't know.

[Ali Riley]

So I've never seen you cry like that before. I feel like I've seen you cry angry tears when we've lost a game. But this was different.

[Becca Tilley]

Been plenty of angry tears over the years, tell you that, Trixie, but yeah, no, it was. Yeah, you caught me at one of them moments where I was just. That was the worst bit, honestly. The first 12 weeks was the worst. Having to lie to people and then knowing that I couldn't act normal, like, I couldn't fly into challenges and I couldn't, like, make the runs as much as normal because I was feet fatiguing too quick and not having an explanation of why, like having to make stories up and why I'm not myself. So I think Everyone just thought I was having a mental breakdown for the. For a while, but.

[Ali Riley]

Well, we all understood when you announced and we're very excited and it is one of those things you and I have spoken about in terms of how early you wanted to tell people and even documenting it because, yeah, it's, you know, you don't. There's no guarantees and I think you. But I'm so glad that now in the mid to later stages of your pregnancy, we have been able to take some amazing videos we have when. When we use this ultrasound. So we got this high tech, state of the art ultrasound at Angel City not that long ago. And I feel like our athletic trainer and our physios. Our athletic trainer Holly, knows how to use this thing and so she was able to start using it on injuries and just see some of the muscle tearing and see inflammation. Yes, exactly. She saw no inflammation in Claire's hamstring, but so she started using this and it's been so helpful for the players for treatment and for diagnosing injuries or non injuries. And then one of you had the brilliant idea to use it on your belly and that.

[Becca Tilley]

Oh, there she is.

[Ali Riley]

This was when we shrieked. Yeah, you still have a six pack here.

[Becca Tilley]

That was. I don't know how far along it was then, but that was only the second time I'd seen it. So like, for me, that was a shock seeing that because I hadn't seen it since. It was like, not even. It looked like a little Haribo. And then I seen that and I.

[Lilly Singh]

Was like, oh, my God, look at Holly.

[Becca Tilley]

Yeah, Holly was buzzing. But even like just the, like the staff, like just having like the female staff that can kind of relate and like understand and like feel it, like, it's so nice and like being able to share that with them and also our teammates, like, that was really cool, like just seeing everyone's reaction and how excited everyone was because being in football, like you don't get. You don't have many friends that have like had babies. Like, there's not many people that have done it. So for a lot of people, even myself, it was like the first ultrasound they'd ever seen. So, yeah, no, it was definitely like such a nice moment and it's so cool we have that at Angel City. And even like every now and then, Holly will be like, you want to look at the baby? And I'm like, yeah, let's go.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, I'm due, I'm due for a little peek here. That means we need to get into the story of how Ally Riley saved just women's Sports.

[Quan Nguyen]

You know, you texted me that and I didn't remember. Now I'm remembering.

[Becca Tilley]

So how.

[Quan Nguyen]

How do you want to do this? You want me to tell.

[Ali Riley]

Okay, well, I think the best way to segue in here is to talk about first how you started just women's sports. Why and why just women's sports? What was the idea behind this? And how did you realize that you made it? Which I think is kind of funny because that really leads into why you almost didn't make it because things were getting so big that someone wanted to take you off the Internet.

[Lilly Singh]

Yes, yes.

[Quan Nguyen]

Well, I mean, so my story, I think is like, very similar to a lot of folks that work in this space. I played soccer, played in college, played professionally for a little bit, and just saw that people really liked what we were doing. And I always share this. And I was at Stanford during the Luck era, and our football team, very different than today, people liked football and they really rallied for football games. Right after the football team, it was the women's soccer team. People were amped. I feel like your class Ally really got it all going. And by the time I got there, it was like women's soccer was a thing people were excited about. But I just share this, say, like, I just felt like I saw a lot of data points of like people genuinely being into and excited about women's, you know, my experience with women's soccer, but like, more broadly women's sports. When I stopped playing, I started working in tech and like, was just like a total, like just a fan. And I'm say this all the time. I'm a sports fan. You know, I've been a long time Lakers and Dodgers fan. Go Dodgers. But I just like wanted to follow like, you know, there's a lot of former Stanford players playing in the nwsl. Like I had friends that were playing in different leagues and like, it was just very, very hard to follow along. And that just seemed very weird and off. And so, you know, the whole idea was like, let's just cover women's sports. Like it's, you know, like what you see on the Internet, a house of highlights, a bleacher report, but just women's sports. And that's how we got the name early days. It was very confusing for people because they were like, just women. It was like, no, just women's sports. And it was like, women in sports. Just women in sports. No, just women's sports. Like, I like crazy thinking about that. Like, I remember getting a lot of pushback on the name. And I was like, this name could not be more just, like, on the nose. Like, this is what it is. And, yeah, the whole thing started as an Instagram account where I really didn't know much about media or rights or any of this and was basically just like, grabbing highlights and posting them and just, like, using, you know, talk. I might always have, like, the voice. We were using the voice. I didn't have that, like, language yet, but, like, the way we were, like, by we, I mean me, was cap clips was like, just, like, how I would send it to someone in, like, a text. And it just started, like, really growing really quickly. Went from, like, zero to, like, 30, 40, 50,000 followers, like, really quickly. And I didn't. I didn't know anything about social at that point. So, like, for me, that was, like, super validating that there was something here. Until I woke up one day and there was no Instagram account. And then Q, Ally and Haley's relationship.

[Ali Riley]

So I also didn't know anything about social media except probably, like, you posting things. And if a lot of people liked it, you were, like, stoked. So Haley and I connect, I guess. Did you get my phone number or you emailed me? I think I.

[Lilly Singh]

It was. It was.

[Ali Riley]

Or you DM'd be from your personal account?

[Quan Nguyen]

I DM'd you.

[Riley Tiernan]

I think.

[Quan Nguyen]

Like, I really.

[Lilly Singh]

I'm gonna look for it in those early.

[Ali Riley]

I'm gonna look for it. And, like, we had. We must have crossed paths, although I don't think so. Yeah, I don't know when it would have been, because I came back for my fifth year. But you still weren't at Stanford yet, so. Yeah, so Quan was a senior when you were a freshman.

[Quan Nguyen]

Junior. When I was a freshman.

[Ali Riley]

Junior. Okay. So, yeah, we missed each other by three years, but I. I knew who you were, and I got this message and we got on the phone, I think. But you said that Chelsea had filed a complaint and reported the account. So that's why Just Women Sports was erased from the Internet. And I'm in London playing for Chelsea, and I don't know what this means. I don't know why you can't just post things from other whatever.

[Sarah Gordon]

And.

[Ali Riley]

And you were like. It was just something that was going around. It was a goal. It was some, like, great moment. And I'm just like, I don't know, but I'll ask. Like, I had been injured and had the amazing blessing of working with the social media team at Chelsea, and they were so good to me, and I Loved being involved even when I wasn't on the field. And so I could just ask around and say, do you know what happened? And, like, connected you to someone.

[Quan Nguyen]

And they rescinded. They rescinded the complaint, and we got the help back. I honestly, like, reliving this story is giving me so much anxiety all over again. And, like, I feel like at that point, I had. This account had been growing, but all we had was an Instagram account. And I was, like, running around being like, guys see people care about women's sports. We're gonna do this. We're gonna build this media company. And we had just taken on a small investment from an investor, and then it was like, the next week, the account is gone. And I'm like, I have no idea what this means. I have no idea why it's gone. I have no idea where to go.

[Riley Tiernan]

And.

[Quan Nguyen]

And, like, yeah, you saved just women's sports.

[Lilly Singh]

Like, I mean, I still think I.

[Quan Nguyen]

Was always, like, cautiously optimistic. We were going to, like, figure it out. But, like, you're the one that figured it out.

[Lilly Singh]

This is what I'm talking about.

[Quan Nguyen]

People who are just like, yes. Random girl who, like, I guess we went to the same school. I'll take your call. And, yes, I'll help you out. And like, yeah, you say JW as Duda.

[Ali Riley]

Duda Paval. We're here in San Jose. This is a very special episode of BFFR. We literally just walked off the AT&T blue carpet from the NWSL end of season Awards, like, one hour ago. We're glammed up. We are glammed up. You look stunning, by the way.

[Lilly Singh]

We still got the washes.

[Ali Riley]

Lashes on, lashes on. Thank you so much for joining me and Talking all things 2025, NWSL season and the championship game.

[Lilly Singh]

Thank you, Ali, for having me. Are you kidding me?

[Ali Riley]

Is this real?

[Lilly Singh]

Is it like a. People are like, you're recording our FaceTime right now.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, Duda. This is coming out in a couple days. This will come out two days after the final. Okay, so we're gonna have to go get into our predictions, but first, talk to me about being a presenter, a content creator, and. And the NWSL final. Like, you are going to be everywhere. And how different is this from, let's say, when we met? Like, the growth of the game and these opportunities to cover women's soccer.

[Lilly Singh]

It is unbelievable, Ali. Like, truly, from where we met, just so people know, we met in Orlando when you were playing for Orlando Pride.

[Ali Riley]

2020.

[Lilly Singh]

2020. Yeah, 2020. And then I left Orlando Pride 2022 February to become a freelancer. But when we met I was running around shooting all the content on social media for, for, for the Linda Pride account. I was editing, I was setting up my tripod, recording a stand up. It's very different and we can see. I was actually just talking to some of the players now. One of the nationwide nominees to see the growth and how insane this week is is just unbelievable. We just got off the carpet for the NWSL Awards. This structure, the live show, can you.

[Ali Riley]

Imagine that on TV? 5:00pm Eastern on ESPN2. The awards show was on TV.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

We couldn't even get our games on TV, let alone an awards show.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah, throwback to the go 90 days. That, that's, that's when I was there. But no, I mean it has been unbelievable and I think it is my favorite week of the year for the NWSL because I get to work with so many different brands, so many different people that we're connected throughout the season. But this week is the week that everyone is here and then we get to celebrate and party a little bit at night but also work a little bit during the day. And now I'm happy that you here again.

[Ali Riley]

I know we're actually in the same hotel.

[Riley Tiernan]

We're just.

[Ali Riley]

Dude is like a few, a few rooms away. The Internet is quite good. I have to give shout out to the AC hotel. Okay. So let's give people a little like BTS on the awards show. So you were there with Nationwide. What were you doing before the show when I saw you in your beautiful blue dress.

[Lilly Singh]

Oh, thank you very much. I was matching with the carpet.

[Ali Riley]

Obviously she was camouflaged. We just see her beautiful face and hair.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah, I had to hold the sign like do that people can see me. Yeah. So it was, I mean it was so much fun. Basically Nationwide, I was interviewing their nominees for the Lauren Holiday Impact Awards. So we just asking some like fun blue carpet questions. And then I saw you with your beautiful dress and Lucas looking sharp.

[Ali Riley]

I have to say a lot of.

[Lilly Singh]

Questions on the carpet.

[Ali Riley]

The, the nominees for the Lauren Holiday Award, all of them were able to give a good chunk change to their organizations that they were supporting. I love how first of all, Lauren Holiday is an angel walking on this earth. I'm not sure how much I've shared about the fact that not only did Lucas and I get married at Drew and Lauren's house, but they offered my parents their guest house to live. So my parents moved in the night before our wedding in January and are there right now. At this very moment, they've lost their car keys, but they are at the guest house. So shout out to Lauren Holiday and investing in this award and the money that goes out and makes a huge difference. Sam Hyatt won, we found out tonight. And she came backstage and got to call her mom. I was doing this thing with AT&T and so she called her mom and just her, like, her family was so proud of her. So happy that she could help and contribute and make an impact on so many people's lives. And that's definitely one of my favorite parts of this week. Like, you're saying, of course, we recognizing the talent in this league, but the players in this league as people really are making a difference and using their platform. So I'm so glad you were part of it. And Lauren was there with her kids and it was really, really special.

[Lilly Singh]

It was so special. It was just so much fun the entire event. I do have a recommendation for next year. We need more time on the carpet because we wanted to walk the carpet. It was such a. Like every. Of course you dress up. You want to take a photo in the carpet. Yeah, I got my photo with Ali before the show. We're not done. Yeah, luckily.

[Ali Riley]

Luckily we got there super early, but I totally agreed it, like, bottlenecked kind of. So I don't know if they realized so many players were going to come. Like, I think the whole Washington spirit came. They trained early in the morning. Was talking to Croy Bethune. She said they trained hour, hour and a half, and we're, like, out of there. Everyone looked stunning. I mean, the players dressed up so well. Trinity's jersey. Custom jersey corset.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

Oh, my gosh. So they all looked so good. But I was kind of like, wait, do they have to train after this? But they had trained before, and I don't think they expected so many people. So all the players were kind of smushed on the side and only a few at a time would come on and talk to. I was doing the mini mic with Michelle Lozier and then soccer girl probs and the athletic. But it was kind of. You had maybe six players at a time. So all the other players were just there waiting. There wasn't just like a place where you could come and get your picture taken.

[Lilly Singh]

Yeah.

[Ali Riley]

So that definitely under the lights and everything would be same.

[Lilly Singh]

I would say we can write a letter for next year.

[Quan Nguyen]

And. Yeah, along.

[Ali Riley]

Maybe we just. Yeah, we just send the link to. To NWSL for this episode of bffr.

[Lilly Singh]

Jessica.

[Ali Riley]

To Jessica. Yeah, A Lot of our listeners are maybe a little more millennial than Gen Z. And you write about conquering the quarter life crisis, but I think it can apply to a third life crisis as well. What does that phrase mean to you now? I mean, you're planning a wedding and you have this book on a bestseller list. What is the quarter life crisis mean?

[Jessica Kleiman]

I think it's just like a sort of. Of reaching of age that, like, you've been climbing toward. Like, I think, like, when you're a young person, there's so many, like, milestones. Like, there's like, okay, like, preschool to kindergarten, kindergarten to elementary, elementary to middle, middle to high school, then high school too. If you go to trade school, if you go to college, if you go into the workforce, and then after college, post grad, and then you have your postgrad years, then it's all of a sudden, like, you've arrived. And it's like, but you've arrived to what? Like, when I got to that point, I was like, wait, what the fuck? And I don't know what I expected, but it, like, wasn't like, I don't know, like, reality was so, like, grave. It was so, like, grim. It was so, like, intense. It was so isolating. So I feel like it's a very common thing, especially for Gen Z and millennial women. I think we have a lot of a lack of mentorship in the way that, like, we're kind of the first generation that has the level of mobility and access that we do. And, like, for the first time ever, we're, like, living alone, putting off motherhood, putting off marriage.

[Ali Riley]

That's a big one. Yeah.

[Jessica Kleiman]

You know, we're also accessing spaces that we never had access to. We're in positions of power. We're out earning men. Like, all of these things that kind of are unprecedented for young women. And so we can't really look necessarily to our moms and grandmas, maybe more our moms, but, like, the women before us to be like, what? How do we handle this? Because it is so new and that's such a good thing. Like, that's such. Such something to celebrate. But it can be very daunting to be like, this is like, we're the first.

[Ali Riley]

Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

[Riley Tiernan]

It's.

[Ali Riley]

It is so different thinking about how we as women, the. Well, in the world we're in, the society we're in, and just what our values and our principles and our collective voice and how being connected on social media, being, see, having inspiration, like you reading books like yours. And it is I think that's probably why so many people connect to public figures. And when someone is willing to share, like you, what you're going through, how you think about things, because our guides are almost our peers now instead of someone who was in the generation above, it is really different.

[Jessica Kleiman]

It's so different.

[Ali Riley]

I don't think of peace when I think of penalty shootouts. And this is my chance here, okay, to talk to the best of the best about penalty shootouts. What is going through your mind? First of all, do you love them or do you hate them? Like, is this. Like, this is my time to shine? There's no pressure. Like, if I make one save, we could win. Like, the. The kickers, they need to. They need to score their goals. Like, what is going on?

[Casey Murphy]

I think I embrace them. I don't think. Okay, I don't think that I would say, like, I love. Like, this is my time. Like, I definitely. But it's also, like, it's not crippling. It's not like, oh, my gosh, what are we gonna do? Like, yeah, it's a. All right, here we are. Like, we've prepared for this. Like, we've gone through all the training, we've done all the studying. This is part of the game. It's a cruel part of the game. It's a horrible way to lose. It's just like. Yeah, it's just, like, brutal. But I think I embrace them. It's. You know, it. The more that you can be in the moment with it. It's like kind of a blackout moment. It's like. And it's like, you won't get, like, put into a trance a little bit. Like, it ends and you're like. You kind of snap back and like, we good? Did we win?

[Ali Riley]

You have looked entranced. When I've watched you in penalty shootouts.

[Casey Murphy]

It's like, as if all the calculations are going on, like. Like remembering everything that you're studying and learning.

[Ali Riley]

But, well, so we saw in the Euros, and obviously it's nothing new, that there will be a. A water bottle or your goalkeeper coach has some kind of signal to remind you kind of when you see who the taker is, what their tendency is, because that is a lot to remember, is there. Is that when you are preparing for the chance of going to a penalty shootout or even a. An NWSL game, if there is a penalty. How much have you memorized the tendencies of the most likely kickers on each team?

[Casey Murphy]

I memorized everything. I think for me, that's what kind of it Was a. It was an exercise in. It was funny. People would look at me sometimes because I'd be like, at the breakfast table. I remember even, like, the morning of, like, the Netherlands game in the Olympics, and I'm like. Like, my eyes are closed.

[Becca Tilley]

I'm thinking.

[Casey Murphy]

Everyone's like, what are you doing? And I was like, oh. In my head, like. And I'm going back through all the videos and the, you know, playing percentages and all of that. And it's just there's in every goalkeeper, like, you have your different styles. I mean, Nick Raimondo has written articles about. He was an incredible goalkeeper when it came to saving penalties. He's written articles about his style and what he sees and what he thinks. You know, even before 2019, the coaches were reaching out to, hey, Brad Gazan. Like, what do you do? Like, they're studying to, like, different. All different techniques of different things to look at. And then it comes down to, like, at the end of the day, I mean, some goalkeepers, it's like, if you've got a shootout, they'll always go the same direction and hope they can always. And that's where it becomes a little bit different. Like, if it's a shootout versus, like, an individual right penalty is. I've had some. That in their brain, they go, okay, I'm going like, 2, 2, 2, 2. 1, 2, 2, 2.

[Ali Riley]

Like, oh, my gosh.

[Casey Murphy]

It's like everybody has their different things, and it's like you study all of them and you play around with it kind of all year, too, to see what works for you, and then it's like whatever you get comfortable with. And for me, it was. I still had, like, you have, like, your little forms and stuff. Obviously, the best kickers in the world, they can. You know, they. They do that too. They study us just as much as we part of the game. It's such a mind game at this point of.

[Jessica Kleiman]

It is.

[Casey Murphy]

He knows that I know that she knows that I'm going here. So do I go where she thinks that she knows I'm gonna go? Or is it like, God, so there's. I mean, it's. You know, then it just comes down to the execution of it. But I always. I. I never wanted to have to have that, like, moment of panic of like, oh, my gosh, where's my. Where's my thing? Like, I need to look at it. Like, I. I forget. So I always would just, like, I try to memorize as all of it. That way I didn't have to. I could kind of, like, lock into the moment, because, like, all jokes aside, like, I did kind of get into a trance, like, in this stuff, and I'm just, like, replaying in my mind all the different things. Like, I didn't want to have to break that, to be going and worrying about, like, wait, what side is the. Is it on a towel? Is it on a bottle? Is it written on my arm? Like, I didn't want to have to. Like, to me, those were all external things that. Yeah. Just rely on yourself with, like, internally, they're, you know, all of the. That's how I like to be able to do it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

[Ali Riley]

But, hey, for you, it worked a lot.

[Sarah Gordon]

Let's.

[Ali Riley]

Let's be honest here. All right, that's it for this week's Best of BFFR episode. Thank you so much for listening and being part of the BFFR community. We love you so much. We appreciate every single one of you for tuning in and supporting the show.

[Casey Murphy]

Thank you.

[Ali Riley]

And just wishing you a great holiday season and an even better new year.