Megan Rapinoe Opens Up About Reinventing Herself

Summary

Podcast Summary: Welcome to the Party

Episode: Megan Rapinoe Opens Up About Reinventing Herself

Date: May 12, 2026
Hosts: Abby Wambach, Julie Foudy, Billie Jean King
Guest: Megan Rapinoe

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Overview

This episode brings together soccer icons Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy, joined by the legendary Billie Jean King, to host a candid conversation with Megan Rapinoe, one of the most influential and recognizable athletes of her generation. The discussion centers on Rapinoe's transition from professional soccer, navigating personal and professional reinvention, identity, and her ambitions beyond the game. The episode is rich with insights on athlete retirement, personal growth, and the shifting landscape of women’s sports.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Processing Public and Private Transitions

Timestamps: [45:38] – [48:19]

• Rapinoe talks openly about recent changes in her private life, notably her public breakup with Sue Bird.

• Discusses the complexities of public relationships and setting boundaries between her personal and public persona:

  • "I feel like I've done a lot of work on that over the course of my retirement, just having a better... actually thinking about it intentionally and then deciding what kind of relationship I want to have with being a public person." – Megan Rapinoe [46:00]

• Abby Wambach relates, sharing her own experience navigating a public divorce and the intersection of private pain and community expectations, especially within the queer community.

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2. The Challenge of Reinvention After Retirement

Timestamps: [48:39] – [54:49]

• Rapinoe describes the shock of losing her athletic identity, even after planning ahead for life beyond soccer:

  • "That was all, like, cute to think about until the entire undergirding of your orientation in the world and how you go about life... all of a sudden, like on a Sunday it's one thing, and then on Monday it's just not there." – Megan Rapinoe [49:23 & 00:00 reused for emphasis]

• The first year post-retirement was masked by novelty, but by year two the loss truly set in, resulting in depressive bouts and a lack of daily structure.

• She compared the shifting post-sports mindset to peeling back layers, discovering a harsh inner critic that had previously been masked by the drive and structure of competition.

• Rapinoe shares about cultivating a "softer view" of herself, learning self-kindness, and releasing the feeling she needed to push herself to the extreme in all aspects of life.

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3. Grappling with Grief and Identity Loss

Timestamps: [54:49] – [58:37]

• Abby and Megan discuss the concept of retirement as a death of identity:

  • "Talk about losing the game. Like, that there's like a death. It feels like a death. Like, the identity of soccer player has now died. And that is a hard thing to grieve." – Abby Wambach [54:04]

• Rapinoe details working in therapy to disentangle Megan the person from "Megan Rapinoe" the brand, and learning to separate what to share publicly and what to hold privately.

• She shares how experimenting with different routines, hobbies (like photography, cooking, and walking), and creative expressions helped her gradually fill the void.

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4. Finding New Purpose and Creative Avenues

Timestamps: [56:46] – [67:32]

• Rapinoe is candid about feeling like a beginner again—citing her struggles and discomfort with podcasting and public speaking outside a sports context.
• The importance of creating from one's core:
  • "This is something that came from me. I started. It came from inside of my body, and I wanted this rather than it just being something I could do, rather than it just being an industry or a thing." – Abby Wambach [58:37]
• Rapinoe discusses excitement in women’s sports, emphasizing the "white space" for creative storytelling, content creation, and media ventures led by athletes for athletes.

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5. Connecting Past Success with Future Influence

Timestamps: [67:32] – [74:53]

• Rapinoe outlines her vision for using her expertise, voice, and recognition to elevate women's sports through creative production, photography, and storytelling.

• She shares her excitement about her upcoming World Cup special series on A Touch More, a six-episode podcast launching June 11, 2026.

• The role of athlete-driven media:

  • "We need this podcast. We need my podcast. We need to impress podcast. We need Sam's Pocket. We need, like, we need everybody talking about it." – Megan Rapinoe [58:37]

• Rapinoe confirms her ambition to eventually hold ownership stakes in women's sports franchises, voicing a desire for former players to remain central in shaping the industry’s future.

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6. Reflections on the Next Generation and the USWNT

Timestamps: [74:53] – [79:38]

• The current USWNT is "phenomenal" on the field, but Rapinoe sees room for growth in finding their collective voice and influence off the field.

• She encourages young players to practice media engagement and leadership now rather than waiting for the spotlight:

  • "If you have ambition to be one of the best players on the field, that also comes with the responsibility of having that off of the field." – Megan Rapinoe [78:14]

• Abby and Megan stress the importance of players—not coaches—being the public face and voice of the team, continuing the legacy of advocacy and visibility.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On reinvention: "I can give parts of myself. I don't have to give all of myself." – Megan Rapinoe [46:00]
• On shifting identity: "I started to feel really uncomfortable in my public body... I've done a lot of work to be like, okay, this is Megan, and then this is Megan Rapinoe." – Megan Rapinoe [54:57]
• On the new phase of women's sports: "There's so much that needs to be done. We need this podcast... We need everybody talking about it." – Megan Rapinoe [58:37]
• On women's sports business and ownership: "We did build this thing. We may not have got to the point where it was a billion dollar business because we didn't have that kind of capital. But, like, we're entrepreneurs. We're so smart." – Megan Rapinoe [73:11]
• On USWNT’s media presence: "You got to prepare yourself. You got to pretend it's planning for this. Yeah. You got to practice for sure." – Abby Wambach [79:31]

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Important Timestamps

• Processing Public vs. Private Life: [45:38]–[48:19]
• Retirement Realities & Identity Loss: [48:39]–[53:05]
• On Grief and Finding New Direction: [54:06]–[58:37]
• The Power of Athlete-Driven Media: [58:37]–[67:32]
• Ambitions for Ownership & Influence: [71:15]–[74:53]
• USWNT’s Present & Future: [74:53]–[79:38]

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Tone and Atmosphere

• The episode feels deeply reflective but celebratory; the language is forthright, often raw, and sprinkled with humor and intimate camaraderie between icons.
• The conversation is accessible, not only focusing on elite athlete experience but offering universal lessons about loss, growth, and self-discovery.
• There’s a constant undercurrent of joy for women’s sports—never taking the mission too seriously to stop having fun.

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Conclusion

For listeners new or seasoned to women’s sports, this episode provides an authentic inside look into the post-athletic journey of a global icon. Megan Rapinoe’s candor about grief, struggle, and hopeful reinvention humanizes the mythos of star athletes. Combined with expert hosting by Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy, the show captures the momentum, vulnerability, and community spirit that continues to drive women’s sports forward.

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Don’t miss Megan Rapinoe’s upcoming podcast series “A Touch More” launching June 11, 2026, for more unfiltered storytelling from inside the World Cup.

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For the full episode and more, subscribe to “Welcome to the Party.”

Transcript

[Megan Rapinoe]

That was all, like, cute to think about until the entire undergirding of your orientation in the world and how you go about life all of a sudden, like, on a Sunday, it's one thing, and then on Monday, it's just not there.

[Abby Wambach]

The reason why you were so successful on the soccer field is because you did it your way. She crosses the ball in the air.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. Which is to get the force behind your leg. Yes.

[Abby Wambach]

Is hard kicking behind the standing leg. And all of us were like, what just happened? Like, we were so amazed. And also, Christine was pissed because she was like, just hit it. Just hit it normally with your left leg.

[Julie Foudy]

So real.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I was like, dink that thing right to the back. Post for

[Abby Wambach]

that was the day that I knew Megan Rapinoe was gonna be a star.

[Julie Foudy]

Attention,

[Abby Wambach]

the party is about to comm.

[Julie Foudy]

Welcome to the party. What's up, party people? I'm Julie Foudy.

[Abby Wambach]

And I'm Abby Wambach. Hi, Jules. How are you?

[Julie Foudy]

Hi, Abigail. I'm good. How are you?

[Abby Wambach]

I'm good. Did you have a good weekend?

[Julie Foudy]

I did. You had a great weekend, which we'll get into.

[Abby Wambach]

I did, but just before that. Coming up later, party people, one of the biggest icons in women's sports joins the party. Jules, our buddy, my bestie, Megan Rapinoe is here to talk about life, what's next, and knowing who Pino is. Whatever she's got cooking, we want to get into it. It's definitely not going to be quiet, that's for sure.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, but before we get into that, a little shout out to our party people, which we love. Our. Our little community, which we started is. And we love it. So just a reminder to spread the good word. Tell a friend or 500 about welcome to the Party. You can subscribe to the welcome to the party YouTube channel where you can actually watch us on video. And you can click that little bell icon so you get updates when new episodes go live.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. And if you haven't already, just take a minute. We actually read all of the comments you. You can rate. You leave a comment, subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And also if you. If you don't also already follow us on Instagram or YouTube or wherever you get your socials at. Welcome. Follow us at welcome to the Party show. It's where Billy, Julie and I do bring the party straight to your feed. Um, you can also email us atparty people questionsmail.com and again, Jules, how much do you love our theme music?

[Julie Foudy]

So we. That's. That's our buddy Kate, who y' all should look up. Kate Diaz. D, I, A, Z. She's a rock star. She composed, wrote, created the music for welcome to the Party that we love so much. So thanks, Kate, for doing that. Okay, Abs, how are you?

[Abby Wambach]

Jules, I'm so excited, mostly because, you know, we are going on a road trip, right, party people. We are headed out east for some fun, exciting live events that we're doing. They're coming up pretty soon. We are bringing almost our entire welcome to the Party team.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

So, Jules, you. I'm definitely gonna be booking a home on Airbnb so we can all stay together. This is going to be crazy. We all, you know, we're all a proper adults, but we've not really all been together one time in real life.

[Julie Foudy]

Like, big group. Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Yes. Like, the whole group. So it's really exciting to think about for us just being in one place. It's nice for me because it's, like, forced hangout time, and I'm going to learn what everybody's coffee order is, who keeps the bathroom tidy, you know, all those types of things that you get only when you are together. It's going to be like old school days.

[Julie Foudy]

Who washes their hands after they go to the bathroom?

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

That's a big debate on our pod with our staff. I know. I love that we're taking the party on the road, and I love that we're all going to be in one place so we can be together, because we did debate that we're like hotels. No, we're doing Airbnb. Very excited for that one.

[Abby Wambach]

And the truth is, people on the party people don't know this, but. But we love our team so, so, so much. And I actually seriously, look, looking forward to, like, getting on content meetings. Like, who says that?

[Julie Foudy]

Who looks forward to that?

[Abby Wambach]

I mean, that's how much I love this team. Like, I love getting on calls and talking about women's sports with some of the best people that I know. It's just going to be awesome.

[Julie Foudy]

I know. I know. It is a great team. We love our team. Okay, so let's talk weekend, I guess. What? Party people. Abby got another. Maybe she doesn't have her real graduation yet diploma, but she's got another honorary degree. Is this your second?

[Abby Wambach]

This is my fourth. What?

[Julie Foudy]

You have four honorary degrees?

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. So Barnard, Smith, lmu, and now Duke University. I got the. I got an honorary degree. I'm a doctor. I'm a Doctor of Humane Letters.

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, okay.

[Abby Wambach]

So it's basically humanities. I'm the doctor of. I got an honorary doctorate of humanities.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay.

[Abby Wambach]

And let me tell you, Duke does it right. You know, I've also had like a love hate relationship with the college across the city at unc just because we had such a rivalry with UNC growing up. You know, Jules, my nephew goes to unc. My other. His younger brother is going to Duke in the fall. So it's just. Yeah, it's just been. It was a really sweet weekend to meet the president. President Price to meet their. You know, to get to know Nina, the director.

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, I forgot to tell you. I know Nina. Nina's rad. We'll kind of know her. We've had her on laughter permitted the prior pod. She.

[Abby Wambach]

She mentioned that she's like, julie's the best. And it was just so. You know, I have a thing. I don't know what it is. And I was talking to Glennon about this last night. Like, it's not. It's not like an ego thing. So much so as I love graduations. Like weddings and graduations. If you invite me to one of those, I'm coming.

[Julie Foudy]

There's no dancing at graduations, though. That's the banner. I like dancing.

[Abby Wambach]

Well, the. The. I mean, the Duke University, they had like a 40 person band that was on the stage. Like, beautiful orchestra. Seriously, it was gorgeous. It was gorgeous. It was so great. And the weather was perfect. And I got to see Carla Overbeck. I did not see her. She texted me.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, okay. She's assistant at Duke or associate head coach or something. I don't know what her title is. She's.

[Abby Wambach]

I also got to see Brady, my nephew, play the night before and in the first round of the ncaa. And then I got to go back the next day yesterday and watch the UNC women. Jenny Levy, who is a longtime friend. Incredible. And her daughter Kate. And I've known Kate since she was a baby, so it was really cool to watch. Oh, that's fun.

[Julie Foudy]

Got to see both.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

And you got to see Brady A.

[Abby Wambach]

I mean, he is such an impressive kid and was giving me like, I'm a stats and data person. And so he was like walking me through his whole process. And we had dinner on night and then he came to Duke with me because there's this big honorary degree dinner the night before the graduation for the honorary recipient recipients. And I invited him to come and he was like, yes. I was like, are you sure you want to come to like, a Duke event? He's like, I want to support you. This is. This is incredible. Yeah. Yeah. And so he got to meet, like, the entire board of Duke of Trustees and the AD And Adam Silver is the chairman, who is the commish of. Of the NBA, so he was pretty pumped. He. He had a good night.

[Julie Foudy]

Aw.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, that's.

[Abby Wambach]

How about you? What was your. What was your weekend like?

[Julie Foudy]

God, I can't believe that's your fourth honorary degree. That's amazing.

[Abby Wambach]

My goal is 10, and I do think.

[Julie Foudy]

Of course she has a goal for honorary degrees.

[Abby Wambach]

Yes, It's.

[Julie Foudy]

How about we get the real one? When are you going to get the real one?

[Abby Wambach]

This is what I'm saying. This is the problem with Billy getting it at 82. Like, I feel now like I've got time to bachelor's and the honorary degree. There's just something. I don't know. I. There. I. It does make me feel less bad, less guilty about not having.

[Julie Foudy]

King. King. That Kinger is going to wrap it up. May 18th is her graduation party, people. We all going. Abby and I are crashing that party for sure.

[Abby Wambach]

We're like, guess what came. Guess what came in the mail.

[Julie Foudy]

The big fat heads. I hope Kinger's not watching this. We have these big fat heads we're gonna. We're gonna bring to her graduation.

[Abby Wambach]

We're going. We're going to her graduation, y'. All.

[Julie Foudy]

We're so going.

[Abby Wambach]

And we're gonna film it. And there. There will be content created around it. You know that.

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, I can't wait to see the fat heads. You haven't even sent me a picture.

[Abby Wambach]

I know.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay. My Mother's Day weekend was like a dream weekend. Here's how it started. Saturday morning, two hours of volleyball. Really good volleyball. With Cassidy, of course, Lickman, who's my rock star partner that I play on the beach with. And we played against Renee and Megan, who are really good. We lost our first one, won the next three. Boom. Dream start. Oh, we actually lost our first one. We hadn't played together in a while. We took us a little bit to get going, and then we went to. I did a little clinic for the FIFA LA host committee in la. Really quick. Popped in. It was so cool. We're the Galaxy Play. They had a clinic they were putting on, which was neat.

[Abby Wambach]

Oh, Dignity, health.

[Julie Foudy]

Dignity, health. And then. And then Izzy was in town the whole weekend for Mother's Day, so we went to the Angel City game. That was her first this year because she used to go to every Angel City game with me.

[Abby Wambach]

Oh, nice.

[Julie Foudy]

Now that she's off at college. I was like, oh. And then. And sadly we lost that one again.

[Abby Wambach]

It's not been good. What are we for? Last four in a row.

[Julie Foudy]

Yes. We won the first three, lost the last four. We're gonna turn that around, Abigail. And then Sunday morning, worked out with my BBL group body by Lauren. Easy hike. Early afternoon that I made the kids come on with. Come with me and Ian. And then we all went and watched Annalee play Annalee Waters.

[Abby Wambach]

Remember how we video.

[Julie Foudy]

I know. Remember how we said that at the end of her episode? And y', all, if you haven't seen, Annalee Waters is the number one pickleball player at 19 years old in entire world. And she's won everything. She started. She was. Started being a Pro at 12. If you haven't seen that episode, go see it because she is absolutely adorable. Fruity Judy thinks so as well. My mom was like, oh, my gosh, she's so cute. She watched her on TV yesterday. I talked to mom for Mother's Day, and she's like. I go. I went and saw Annalee play pickleball. She goes, oh, I was watching pickleball today too. And I go, mom, you were watching what I was at.

[Megan Rapinoe]

She's like, oh, that was Anna Lee.

[Julie Foudy]

I was like, yes, that's so good.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

So Annalee won the PPA tournament in San Clemente in my little. My little town I live in. And so it was so fun. So she came and gave me and the family the tickets right before she's about to play.

[Abby Wambach]

She, like, handed them to you?

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, she. I'm like, what are you doing? You gotta get. You gotta get locked in. She's like, I just wanted to say hi. Handed me our little cute VIP passes. And then after she was done and I was screaming for her the whole time, she's like, I heard you yelling. I was like, yes. She. She goes, I want to take a picture. So we got a cute picture with her and her medals on, and I met her dad real quick, so. And then we went out to dinner. It was a dream. Dream. Mother's Day weekend. I love it when all kids are home. It was so fun.

[Abby Wambach]

It's a dream. Yeah, it is a dream. Wow.

[Julie Foudy]

It is. Okay, should we get into our party starter? The highlights.

[Abby Wambach]

But before you get into the party starter, I met the CEO of Ally. As we get into this Ally bank party starter, I met the CEO. He's a board of trustees at Duke. And he came in and he buried the lead. He didn't say Hi, I'm the CEO of Ally. He's like, I work with Andrea Bremer. And I was like, okay. So then I like, basically kissed him and gave him the biggest hug. Anyways, continue. Sorry.

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, that's so awesome. All right, so let's get into this party starter. The highlights, shakeups, and headlines. You'll want to celebrate this week in women's sports. This party starter, as the party people all know, is brought to you by Ally the bank that is your Ally.

[Abby Wambach]

Okay, first and foremost, Jules.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

I have to start this off. Did you see the ultra marathoner make ultra history?

[Julie Foudy]

Oh, my gosh.

[Abby Wambach]

Party people.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, have to get her on. Rachel, get to the party, please.

[Abby Wambach]

This is absolutely wild. Rachel and Trickin last week became the first woman ever to win the entire field at the Cocodona 250 Ultramarathon. Rachel, you're just a freaking beast. Who is 34 years old. She beat every single runner, male or female, across a brutal 250 mile course through the Arizona desert and mountains. Okay, Jules, I know she finished this. And get this. 56 hours. She shattered the course record by more than two hours. And then this is the thing that I cannot wrap my mind around. She slept only in tiny, what they call dirt naps. And what that is, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's short bouts of sleep on or next to the trail. Okay. And trekken.

[Julie Foudy]

She took.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah, she took three of them for a total of, get this, 19 minutes of sleep. Over 19 over almost two and a half days of racing. And somehow, I don't know, she still had enough joy left to stop and pet dogs during the race like this. Rachel, we need to have you on. But also, party people. To put this in perspective, the Cocodona 250 is basically running nearly 10 marathons back to back through the Arizona desert and mountains. 10.

[Julie Foudy]

Why runners want to do that. I don't get it. This is insane.

[Abby Wambach]

I think it's. I think what Rachel's doing is proving that women are stronger.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Than men. Period. Um, also, the runners, they get. They get up to five days to finish, and Rachel actually ran the entire thing in just over two days. And then this is also because I'm obsessed with Mount Everest. There is a. The. The climb, the elevation is outrageous. Nearly 39,000ft of elevation gain. Now that's more vertical feet climbing than the height of Mount Everest, y'.

[Megan Rapinoe]

All.

[Abby Wambach]

And. And sadly, it's so brutal, one competitor even lost her life during this, this year's race. Oh, gosh I know. It's just so intense. But she sprinted across the finish line like it was nothing. I don't know if you've seen it. You gotta play this clip. She said her secret food, and I love this, is mashed potatoes because she didn't want to expend any extra energy to chewing. She also snacked on energy gel, sweets, rice, broth along the way. We need to get you on this party, Rachel.

[Julie Foudy]

Get to the party.

[Abby Wambach]

Dying to know what your mindset is and what, why, why and how this happens.

[Julie Foudy]

I did read this Runner's World article about how she totally changed how she consumes fuel during a race like that. So I want to get into that, too.

[Abby Wambach]

That's cool.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. On, like, how she eats and how much she eats and how often she eats. It's. But, oh, my gosh.

[Megan Rapinoe]

That.

[Julie Foudy]

That just, like, goes. Blows my mind.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. Like, folks, start your clock. Like, look at your watch right now. Think about what time it is, and in two days, look back and be like, stop running. Wow. She just stopped. Like, that's. It's incredible. Incredible.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, topic number two. Wnba, as we know, had its opening weekend. So we just wanted to point out a couple highlights. Abs, I know you were busy getting your fourth doctorate, but I was watching the doubleheader on Saturday on abc. It was so entertaining. First they had Dallas Wings. We just had Az Foot on talking about this opening game. They played Indiana Fever for course, Caitlin Clark and that whole crew game was insane. It made history as the first opening game to have both teams score in the 1002. So the Wings ended up winning 107 to 104. But the crazy thing is, is both Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell had two good looks at the end of the game to tie it with long threes. And you. And both, like, just missed. Yeah, like, really close. Paige Beckers went off. She shot. She shot 8 of 10 from the field, dropped in 20 for the wings. And so, yeah, that was. That was a big first win for the Wings, who had the worst record in the WNBA last year. So I think things are going to turn around as we've been talking about, as Abby, you've been talking about a lot.

[Abby Wambach]

Listen, it's the Wings, baby. I'm all on board. I gotta get some. I gotta get some merch.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay. And then the second game of that doubleheader on ABC was that rematch of last season's final. So this one was at Las Vegas. So Phoenix versus the Aces. Remember last season, the final was Vegas versus Phoenix. It was a sweep in the Finals by Las Vegas, of course. So Phoenix had to watch Las Vegas accept their championship rings. Isn't that brutal? The ceremony, the whole ceremony of each player getting. And it was very dramatic and well done. And I was just thinking that is just so brutal as a player when you're not on the receiving end. And very motivating. And so motivating that they crushed the Aces in the opening game in Las Vegas. So, yeah, they won. Let's see, what Was the final? 99 to 66.

[Abby Wambach]

Wow. Okay. Okay, Phoenix.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, I see you. But the Aces rebounded on Sunday, so that. That was on Saturday. On Sunday, easily taking down the Sparks 105 to 78. So, okay, they had two, two games in this opening weekend.

[Abby Wambach]

That would piss me off too. That would piss me off too. Get right in the rings. That would piss me. Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

So Phoenix was ready to go. They were raging as they got into that game. Angel Reese made a statement in her Atlanta Dream debut app scoring 11 points and had 14 rebounds for yet another double double in a dramatic 91 to 90 comeback win over the Minnesota Leaks. And Atlanta rallied from 19 points down. And of course, it was Angel Reese who sealed the win with a game saving block at the buzzer, finishing with three blocks in her first game with the Dream. And Reese has now had 50 double doubles across her first three WNBA seasons.

[Abby Wambach]

Wow, that's a lot.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. Already one of the most dominant rebounders the league has seen early in a career after breaking multiple records previously held by Tina Charles, who just retired. On the other side, Olivia Miles impressed in her first WNBA game for Minnesota, scoring 21 points. Go Olivia. The Dream will take on Dallas on Tuesday night tonight. And finally, we've got to do the UCLA report. Abs. All six Bruins drafted into the WNBA got opening weekend minutes. But Abs, can you guess who had the biggest stat line of the group?

[Abby Wambach]

No, I can't.

[Julie Foudy]

It was Gabriella Hawkins.

[Abby Wambach]

Okay, what was it? What did she get?

[Julie Foudy]

She got the start for the Chicago sky. She finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Right on.

[Abby Wambach]

Make an immediate impact. I love that.

[Julie Foudy]

Way to go, guys. Oh, she got two steals too. And they went over Portland. A few more quick notes. Our girl Lauren Betts scoreless in her debut for the Washington Mystics, but still grabbed five rebounds. Kiki Rice made history playing in the first ever game for the Toronto tempo. Gianna Neepkins hit her first WNBA 3 for the Connecticut son, Char Ledger Walker, who's also with the Sun. And Dougalich. Dougalich is with the Washington Mystics. Also got Solid rotation minutes in their debuts. And perhaps the coolest moment was seeing the video of Lauren Betts and Dougalich and Kiki Rice reunited on the court before the Mystics played Toronto. It was so cute. I don't know if you saw it. They were.

[Abby Wambach]

I did. I saw that.

[Julie Foudy]

Very happy to see each other.

[Abby Wambach]

Awesome that all the. The UCLA players got some minutes. You know, those first games are nerve wracking, like, truly. All right, we're gonna switch gears, folks. We're gonna go into a little Olympic story. Jules, our first guest. Yeah, Our first guest of all time, Allison Felix, is making a comeback to running. One of the greatest Olympians of all time. Just said, you know what? I'm not actually done yet.

[Julie Foudy]

No.

[Abby Wambach]

This seven time Olympic gold medalist, 11 overall, is the most decorated woman in Olympic track and field history. And Jules, if she makes this happen, she'd be 42 years old again, competing against women literally half her age. So she's already training back. Training, studying recovery nutrition, sprint science and everything her body might need to compete again at the highest level. And as we know, Allison didn't just leave the sport. Okay. And become a mom. She changed the game for all mothers in sports. Now this next chapter, Allison is taking on another biggie. Head on. What's possible for women in this next phase of life that resonates, right? And the party people.

[Julie Foudy]

That is what I was like. Yes, yes.

[Abby Wambach]

It just is so incredible what she's doing.

[Julie Foudy]

I do, I do love that she's like, I'm gonna redefine what's possible.

[Abby Wambach]

It's so cool.

[Julie Foudy]

Why not at least give it a try and, and see where I'm at and how I'm doing? I do love that.

[Abby Wambach]

So, yeah, it's very cool.

[Julie Foudy]

All right, last bonus topic for our party. Starter Megan Grant makes history. UCLA softball slugger Megan Grant just launched herself in to the history books, party people. Saturday in the Big Ten softball championship game against Nebraska, Grant crushed her 38th home run of the season, breaking a Division 1 single season record held by Laura Espinosa. And that that record had stood for more than three decades. So the Bruins did fall to Nebraska, but Grant still delivered one of the biggest moments of the season. And remember, she's a two sport athlete at ucla. We've heard Corey Close talk about how impactful she was to the culture of the basketball team because she spent this last year also with the women's basketball program during its national championship run. She appeared in 14 games for them. Remember that, that dance she did with Corey and the team after she scored her first bucket. They loved her.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

And did you know, Abs, that when they won the national title, the basketball team, Megan was already back with the softball team. So she had a game that day. She raced straight from the field, from the softball field to LAX without even showering. And she got to watch the final seconds of the game on her phone outside tsa. Outside tsa. She flew to Phoenix. Then she sprinted to the hotel where the players totally mobbed her. And she got to celebrate with them, which is. Yeah. And Corey, of course, saved part of the championship net so she could have her own net cutting moment later that night.

[Abby Wambach]

So that was, of course, Corey did that. Of course.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. And now she's hoping to bring that, that same natty juju juju to the softball team too. So. So the NCAA revealed the 2026 tournament bracket Sunday. Alabama grabbed the number one overall seed even after losing to Texas in the SEC tournament title game on Saturday. So Megan and the Bruins landed the number eight national seed and will host regionals at Easton Stadium and Westwood for the 12th straight season. Regionals begin May 15th and the College World Series starts May 28th. And as we know, games can be watched all across the ESPN family of networks. And that is a wrap on our party starter. And thanks to Ally for sponsoring the segment. Ally is more than a bank, and their do it right approach helps customers unlock their economic potential and guides their efforts as a leading sponsor in women's sports. And just like us, Ally believes that when women in sports win, we all have a reason to party. ALLY BANK member, FDIC okay, still ahead, party people, Megan Rapinoe joins us to talk about life, identity, business, and what happens when one of the biggest voices in women's sports enters a new chapter. But first up next, my favorite sport in this current period of my life. And if it isn't yours yet, this will close the deal. You got sunshine, you got sand, music blasting, often an ocean nearby. And when you win a national title, you apparently jump into that ocean. How can you not love this sport? Come on, get on that bandwagon. This episode is sponsored by Better Health Help. So, abs, as you know, May is mental health awareness month, which I actually love because it's a built in moment to pause, which, as you know, I am the worst at. And it's a chance to like literally check in with yourself, which is always so healthy.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. And I think a lot of people realize that, that the moment that they're more like in the moment, they're more overwhelmed or anxious or Just stuck than they've been admitting. Right. And I'm guilty of this myself. I'm. As a former professional athlete. Right. Like, sometimes I'm not good at admitting when I'm stuck.

[Julie Foudy]

We know that those feelings are way more common than we think.

[Abby Wambach]

You don't have to handle it all by yourself. Right. And that's why we are such fans of BetterHelp. It's the online therapy, so that you can connect with a licensed therapist from anywhere. It's amazing.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. And it's super simple. You fill out a quick questionnaire. They match it with someone based on your needs. Right. That they put you with someone. And if it's not the right fit, this is what I love. You can switch. It's not like you're stuck with this person. It's like, okay, this didn't work. I'm gonna switch it at any time.

[Abby Wambach]

You know, having a therapist means that there's somebody in your corner that's helping you step back and figure out how you really feel about what you're up against.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. And you don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy. Sign up and get 10 [e-mail] welcome to the party. That's betterhelp.com welcome to the Party. Abs. Any good travel coming up for y'? All?

[Abby Wambach]

A lot. A lot of travel. This summer, we're going to be booking Airbnb with our whole team.

[Julie Foudy]

Even with kids, amazingly, it feels so much more laid back to travel now compared to traveling, I guess. No surprise with the team back in the day, right?

[Abby Wambach]

Being on the road and playing for your country, it's not easy. It's not an easy thing. So when you're jet lagged and you're tired and then you gotta go play, it's intense.

[Julie Foudy]

This year, if you're traveling even for a few days, it could be a chance to earn some extra income. So as we know, when big tournaments or events come to your city, it's such a great opportunity to list your space on Airbnb.

[Abby Wambach]

If you're in a city hosting big events, tournaments, concerts, all that you already know, thousands of fans are about to roll in, Right? And it's the perfect time to put your place to work. Listing your space on airbnb is an easy way to bring in some extra cash while the city's buzzing. Jules.

[Julie Foudy]

And guess what? Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host.

[Abby Wambach]

You guys know how much we love the Peloton Cross Training Tread plus. Powered by Peloton iq. Peloton helps you unlock all the expansive, joyful feeling one gets through movement. Truly, it's not just running. You can literally go from a walk or a run straight into strength training with, like, the swivel screen that, you know, that we all love. It just feels so seamless.

[Julie Foudy]

Love it.

[Abby Wambach]

It's. There's no stopping, no overthinking without losing any momentum. And my goodness, if I lose. Lose momentum, I'm gone.

[Julie Foudy]

And let me tell you, I have to fight the family to get on the pel. The Peloton Cross Training Tread plus, lately, yeah, everyone is on it. They're all doing the swivel, they're doing the cross training. I'm like, listen, yo, this is mine. Get off. It's built around you, too. Your pace, your energy, what you need that day. It's like having a roadmap, which we all want, but without the pressure. So Peloton IQ gives you the level of support you deserve. And let's be clear, us women deserve tools, support, and experiences built for us and around us and, of course, our potential.

[Abby Wambach]

Exactly. So whether you're running or lifting or just trying something new or, Jules, even feeling a little along the way, you're still moving forward. Let yourself run, lift, fail, try and go again. Explore the new peloton cross training tread [e-mail] I have realized lately that half of my stress isn't even from necessarily being busy. It's from trying to remember where I put everything. Like. Like, did I text myself that? First of all, how many times do you.

[Julie Foudy]

Welcome to my world. Okay?

[Abby Wambach]

How many times do you text yourself a screenshot of something that you want to remember, but then you never go back to your own text to yourself. Yes, where is it? Is it in my notes app? Where is it? Where is it? Is it. Is it? Is it? Is it from my brain?

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

What? Email?

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. And then on top of my daily life, life, you know, on top of that life is somehow always hiding in. In your inbox somewhere. You can find it, right? A dinner reservation, a bill, a reminder to the school appointment. I just always feel like I'm. I'm holding so much up that inevitably something is going to drop. And I just feel that low, low level of stress a lot. That's why I'm starting to use Yahoo. Mail Planner. And just stay with me, folks, because this is going to change your life. It brings your tasks and events together in just one place. So you don't miss what actually matters. Planner pulls key details from your email like reservations, school events and bills reminders and turns them into actionable plans, saving you time and effort. I'm all about reducing that mental load. You know that. And a big part of that is being able to see everything all in one place. It's like fresh air after all of this clutter. Learn more about Planner right now. Check it out. And stress way less.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, party people. You know what big homers we have been for UCLA women's basketball? Well, guess what? We have another Bruin bandwagon to get on this time for the UCLA beach volleyball team. They did sweep my Cardinal, my Stanford Cardinal 3 to 0 in Gulf Shores, Alabama a week ago. But yes, UCLA is now the NCAA national champion and be volleyball, their first title since 2019. And remarkably, number 127 ABS for UCLA athletics. And also UCLA didn't just win, they rolled. First set wins on all five courts. Absolute domination from the jump, literally. And we have the NCAA national beach volleyball champions, the UCLA Bruins right here.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Welcome to the party.

[Julie Foudy]

Let's play UCLA women's fish.

[Abby Wambach]

Holy bowl national champions. Good job you guys. Congratulations. Has it sunk in? And whoever wants to answer, go ahead. Has it sunk in yet?

[Julie Foudy]

I think it has. I think we've had a lot of fun celebrating as a team and just reliving those moments and it's just something we'll remember. Remember forever. Aw. Did you guys go jump in the ocean? Because that's like my dream. I want to win a national title in beach volleyball trophy and all it all went in. Oh, seriously? Oh, that's so good. Okay, where's Maggie? Maggie Boyd. Okay, good. Hi Maggie. So you're a senior. You also happen to be named the 2026 Beach Volleyball Player of the Year. Let's first player party people in UCLA history to earn this prestigious honor. And I know you've been playing on the ones team all four years. You are a four time All American as well. You have over 100 wins. But what, what about this season for you, Maggie? Seem different. What would you say was the biggest difference maker for the team? I feel like just this team from

[Abby Wambach]

the start we had a different mind

[Julie Foudy]

mindset that we weren't living in. Like what happened in the past and we were going to make history and only look forward. And I think that really helped us in the end because we just had our eyes on the prize from the beginning of season and it just helped us grow our confidence throughout the year.

[Abby Wambach]

Are you guys. So you guys clinch the national title on Court one. Storyboard. Storybook stuff. What was that moment like for you personally? Maggie has been talking about all year how she felt that it was going to kind of come down to our court. We did a lot of visualization as a team, and she always talking about how she kind of saw it as it being us. And so I was like, okay, maybe I don't have nine. Then it kind of started to unfold on the scoreboard, and we kind of started hearing, like, the courts coming down and down. And then I knew we were up 2 0, and I knew the score was 19 19, but everyone else was close, so it was like a race to the finish.

[Julie Foudy]

Hey, Coach. Coach. Jenny, you're first as the head coach at ucla. Congratulations. I know that you and Coach Corey are close, so I want to know, how many discussions did you all have together of, okay, I think we both can win it this year? Did you have those, did you have those conversations? It's funny.

[Abby Wambach]

We actually didn't.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. I've known Corey since I was. Was a junior here, and she was a basically almost like a volunteer coach at ucla.

[Abby Wambach]

So it's been a long time.

[Julie Foudy]

It's really special, though, that we get to celebrate it in the same year, for sure. Oh, I know. We love that.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

I love this, and I love that you all showed up for this. I mean, I was thinking maybe we'd get a couple of you, but you're all here. Congratulations. I hope that the jump in the ocean and doing it with the trophy, that's so badass. Like, I love that so much in my soul. And every single time I, I, I live in Los Angeles beach cities in the South Bay. And so every time I walk by the Manhattan Beach Pier and there's, like, college games going, I'll be looking for your All's team. I'm gonna stop by and watch and congratulate you all in person.

[Julie Foudy]

Big round of applause for you guys.

[Abby Wambach]

Congratulations, y'.

[Julie Foudy]

All.

[Abby Wambach]

Congrats. Freaking awesome.

[Julie Foudy]

Ah, they are the cutest. I wish we had beach volleyball back in our day. Gosh.

[Abby Wambach]

I know. And I just love that we're gonna. I just want to keep doing this. Get as many national champions on the show. Congratulate them. It's just so awesome. But I do have one more volleyball note. Saturday night, Jules. In Frisco, Texas. The Dallas Pulse defeated the Omaha Supernovas three sets to two to win Major League Volleyball. Volleyball's championship match called the Match for a Million. Wonder what that means. Do you wonder what that means?

[Julie Foudy]

I have an inkling.

[Abby Wambach]

In just the league's second season, the MLV handed out the biggest prize in American pro volleyball. And yes, party people, that literally means the players on the winning team split a million dollar bonus. Wow. Let's go. How come we don't know more about this? Like this should be on the front headlines of every newspaper. Incredible. Such a really, really, really cool thing for them. And just stick around, folks. Megan Rapinoe is coming up next.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay, Abby, you've heard me say it before and I'll say it again, but skims really does just keep getting it right with intimates. I've always struggled with bras and underwear. As I've talked about that somehow they just, they don't work, they shift, they dig, they. They're not flattering. And with skims, every day I have this cute comfortable option which actually fits. Hey, how about that? And it looks really good under clothes. It's what I reach for every day, no question. And lately I've been wearing their everyday cot cotton collection. It's weirdly hard to find cotton pieces that still feel supportive and flattering. And that's why I've been obsessed with the everyday cotton ultimate bra. It has that same lift which I need and shape I already loved, but now in this super soft, breathable cotton that just feels better. So for me, it's all about the materials. And Skims knows that having a brand you can trust in that department is huge. Shop everyday cotton and all of my favorite bras and [e-mail] and after you place your order, be sure to let them know we sent you select podcast in the survey and be sure to select our show. Welcome to the party in the drop down menu that follows.

[Abby Wambach]

Today's show is proudly supported by Apple Gift Card, the smart and versatile gift for every graduate in your life.

[Julie Foudy]

Perfect timing for you.

[Abby Wambach]

We have a graduation coming up in our family and it's been making me think a lot about what this moment actually represents. It's not just a milestone. It's this real transition into a new phase of life. That's what I love about Apple Gift Card, Jules. It gives the graduates the power to decide what they need, okay. Whether it's something to help them get set up or tools for learning or even just the way to relax and recharge. I don't think of myself as a great gift giver, but this gift really is the one that people and oftentimes teenage graduates respect the most because this is is giving somebody a gift to their journey. And it says, I trust you to choose what's next. Visit applegiftcard.apple.com to find the perfect graduation gift today. Whenever I really try to go all out planning a dinner party or even like a slightly more involved meal than usual.

[Julie Foudy]

Because you are the cooker in the house, right?

[Abby Wambach]

Yes. I always make it all the way until the end before realizing I'm missing, like, one key ingredient. Right. So, like, you're in the finishing stages of the prepping your, your lime basil chicken, and then you realize you forgot the limes.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. Kind of important.

[Abby Wambach]

Yes. And that is where Shipt has genuinely, like, saved me more than once. Not only do I trust the shoppers with Shipt with those really quick runs, I really trust them to pick up the best limes because, you know, sometimes you just don't know what you're going to get with some of these other places. But with Shipt, they actually do it well. They'll text me when, when they're shopping, check in if something's out, make sure I get exactly what I need. They truly just go above and beyond. So use code podcast to get a year of shipped for only $49, half off of the regular $99 [e-mail] offer. That's S-H IPT.com offer terms apply.

[Julie Foudy]

And now to the partiest part of our party. Today's guest is one of those people who helped reshape an entire sport. And yes, the resume is ridiculous. Two World cup titles, Olympic gold, golden boot, Golden Ball, Ballon d' or winner, Presidential medal of Freedom recipient. One of the most decorated, influential, and recognizable athletes of her generation. But what made Megan Rapinoe different, as we know, is that she never stayed inside the lines of just being a soccer player. She colored outside the lines, and she did it so very well. For years, she was right at the center of some of the biggest moments in sports and culture. Scoring on the world stage, helping lead the equal pay fight, challenging systems, shifting conversations, redefining what a modern athlete could look and sound like. And through all of it, people formed very strong ideas about who Megan Rapinoe was. And now she's in a completely different chapter. She's building businesses, investing in women's sports, and hosting a World cup special series on A touch more starting June 11th this summer.

[Abby Wambach]

So I'm gonna be on that one,

[Julie Foudy]

all of it, and discuss who Megan Rapinoe actually is right now. Pino, you fabulously crazy woman. Welcome to the party.

[Abby Wambach]

Let's go.

[Julie Foudy]

Megan Rapino. The gal is back.

[Abby Wambach]

The gal is back.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Oh, my gosh.

[Abby Wambach]

I need to get one of these.

[Megan Rapinoe]

This is so good. I love that. Wow. What an intro. Thank you, guys. Oh, my gosh.

[Abby Wambach]

Oh, my gosh. Pino. Okay, so you've had kind of a lot going on since you've retired, and honestly, a lot going on just recently. So let's just start right there. How are you doing today?

[Megan Rapinoe]

I'm doing well today. Yeah. I mean, obviously, everything sort of, like, came out publicly, but we were, you know, doing a lot more than that behind the scenes and before that. So I feel like by the time it came out publicly, you know, sue and I had already had a lot of our own time to process and, you know, the people closest to us and all that. And it's. It's part of being a public person. You know, a lot of people have, as you too, well know, parasocial relationships with you. You're in a relationship with fans and people who, you know, listen to your podcast or interact with your work in general. And I. I feel like I've done a lot of work on that over the course of, like, my retirement, just having a better. Just honestly, like, actually thinking about it intentionally and then deciding what kind of relationship and what kind of interaction I want to have with being a public person. Like, there's sort of two ways to go about. You can just be a Herman and not have it at all. It's like, fame is a weird, strange thing. Or it's like, for me, like, I like part of it. I like interacting. I like doing stuff in public. I was a very public person. I played, you know, a professional sport, which is naturally going to put you there. So then it's like, how do I want to interact with it? I can give parts of myself. I don't have to give all of myself. So I feel like I've done a lot of work over the course of the last couple years around that, and I think it made it easier to sort of do both have, like, a very, you know, private, intimate moment and something that was, like, just for us and also be like, hey, we've shared our relationship with you, and. And also feel like it's our responsibility, and we want to tell everybody that, you know, it's ending now, and this is what you can expect from us, and we're not, you know, we're not going away, and everything's gonna be just okay.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah, I'm doing well today. I can really relate to. Because I went through a divorce, and. And I understand the feeling of loss, and I'm In a public relationship and trying to communicate that and also manage that and navigate it privately before you go public with it. I know that it's a lot and I know that the queer community have. You and sue are kind of like the fairy godmothers in a way to so many folks in the queer community.

[Julie Foudy]

Right.

[Abby Wambach]

And so I just wanted to say that I love you and we're here with you and we don't need to keep talking about it. We're going to move on. But I appreciate you just mentioning it because I understand you and, and sue have, have agreed to probably not talk about this a lot publicly because you've done it. You. You said what you said. But I appreciate you saying all of that.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

Jules, you want to start with the first question?

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. Well, I, I just, I think about, on top of what you just talked about, you're also going through a lot with the day to day reality. You just, I mean, just three years ago, but in, in Abby and I's terms, that's just.

[Abby Wambach]

It's a baby. You're a baby.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. You're a. This retirement world, which is as we know for athletes and especially someone as iconic as you have been and so integrated in the sport, is super challenging. So I'm, I'm curious what surprised you the most about your day to day reality of life after competition?

[Megan Rapinoe]

Oh, man. I mean, how hard it was. I think that surprised me a little. I've. I not only have I sort of like prided myself on having other interests and genuinely and like having a, a big life outside of soccer, but I also like made a concerted effort to do that during my career. I have, you know, friends outside of soccer and I like things outside of soccer and I'm interested, the, interested in things outside of that. And that was all like cute to think about until the entire undergirding of your orientation in the world and how you go about life. You're. You're North Star, your raison d'. Ach. You're like literal every single day. All of a sudden, like on a Sunday it's one thing, and then on Monday it's just not there. And it's, it's not like I wanted it to still be there, but there was nothing else in its place. And so the first year, I mean, I had my Achilles injury as well. So that actually gave me a. Provided a little structure which I was really thankful for. You know, if there's a silver lining and you know, ending my career with an injury the way I did it was that, you know, three times a week I'm going to physical therapy and I'm, you know, doing these. These things. And the first year is kind of like you're doing stuff and it's kind of exciting because you don't have to, like, run anymore. And you can, you know, do whatever you want, eat whatever you want. And, you know, your schedule is a little bit different. It's nice to have the freedom. And that wore off maybe like six months in. And I was like, oh, this is actually really hard. I don't know what I want to do on Monday morning or Wednesday morning or Friday night or whatever. I had no sense of time and structure and like, seasonality to the week, seasonality to the year. I didn't really understand that. I'm like, wow, people love Memorial Day and like Labor Day. This is like, this is.

[Julie Foudy]

People ride hard for the.

[Megan Rapinoe]

And it's like, yeah, it's the start of summer and the end of summer. So just little things like that. I think year two, it, like, really set in. I think I really struggled, you know, just some, like, depressive bouts and just like, I. I don't know what to do, like, literally in the day to day. And I think it was just a matter of trying new things. Like, do I like to wake up early? Do I want to sleep in more? Do I want to have be really busy? Do I want to be less busy? I think I really pulled back in year two. You know, kind of call it hiding in in plain sight. I was out and I was doing stuff, but not really like me. I was much more inside myself. And I think I was just kind of like, testing the waters. What do I like, I needed some time to, you know, heal. Like an inner voice, an inner critic. That was really critical. I didn't even really realize how critical it was. But in sports, you're just like, you know, nothing's ever good enough.

[Julie Foudy]

Was that. Was that voice new or was that something that had always been there and it just was covered by sports?

[Megan Rapinoe]

I think it was just covered by sports. And I think it was like, when you're great, you know, you can be like, oh, I won that game, or I am fit the way that I want to be, or I'm, like, looking the way that I want, or I'm achieving the way that I want. And that voice in sports makes a little bit more sense, but I think that voice in life is like, oh, like, I would never talk to anyone the way that I talk to my. Myself. So even just recognizing that Voice in an out of sports context, I think was really important. And I think just having a little bit softer view and, like, softer desire in life, like, we're so used to just pushing everything hardcore to the very, very, very tilt. And it's like, I can just walk for 30 minutes and it's fine.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Pushing everything down and pushing everything forward.

[Abby Wambach]

Pushing it down and working as hard as you can. I want to talk a little bit about this grief thing, because I saw Thierry Henry and Tobin Heath in her hall of Fame speech. Talk about losing the game. Like, that there's like a death. It feels like a death. Like, the identity of soccer player has now died. And that is a hard thing to grieve. And I think that what your process was is very similar to mine. My first year. I think it was, like, riding the high of, like, the novelty of retirement. And then that second year sets in and you're like, oh, this is it. This is what it is. And I don't even know what it is. I don't know what I am to know what it is. So did. Is that something that you could relate to? And if so, like, what. What. What do you. What have you done now in year three that has been different to year two to kind of work with agreement? Grief.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I relate to it so much. Abs. I so appreciate that question. I think that's exactly. At year one, there's, like, opportunities and you're doing stuff and people are like, happy retirement. And there's like, you know, streamers, and

[Abby Wambach]

you're not doing sprints. Yay. I'm not doing sprints anymore.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Yeah. And then. Yeah, your two is like, you know, no one's saying that anymore. And, you know, this whole thing is. Is. Is. Is gone. And you're. You're h. I was happy that it was gone. I never. The only time I've ever wanted to step out on the field is Olympic final, Euro final, NWCL championship final. So I'm like, I only want to play in the big games. Like, what are we talking about? Like, I'm not.

[Julie Foudy]

Yep. That's why I got.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Even then. Even then. I'm like, give me the last 25 minutes.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah,

[Megan Rapinoe]

but, yeah, I. I really. I mean, I had. Had. So I remember sitting in therapy so many times and saying, my therapist, like, this is just like, what you do. Like, she's like, you have to try and then see how it feels. Like, try that out. See how it feels. Okay, you're feeling. I. I started to feel really uncomfortable in my, like, public Body. Like, I felt like I was on the inside of Megan Rapinoe, and I've done a lot of work to be like, okay, okay, this is Megan, and then this is Megan Rapinoe. Like, my work is Megan Rapinoe. There's obviously tons of overlap, but I don't have to give, like, every single thing. And I also can, like, give a lot and be really authentic, and that can feel good. I think it just took a lot of time also to live into what kind of flow and schedule and, like, vibe I wanted in my life. Like, do I like doing. I was doing a podcast, obviously. Sue and I were doing a touch more for a long time. I really didn't like it. It was really hard. I haven't been bad at something or new at something in a really long time. I'm, like, learning this new skill. I'm like, okay, do I even like it? And then it's like, okay, giving. Giving it some time. Like, can I find my voice? Can I? I understand that. I think it's sort of the end of year two, you know, you asked what the difference is year two to year three. At the end of year two, I really started to. To feel the things that I was liking. I'm like, you know, I bought a camera and wanted to be, I mean, I think quite literally on this side of the lens. I wanted to see if that was, yeah, something that I liked and that I could find my way into.

[Abby Wambach]

And.

[Megan Rapinoe]

And then I found that it was gifted, giving me this perspective that I could talk about sports in a way that felt good for me and made sense because I was struggling. You know, when you. When you're an athlete, you just. The microphone's in your face. You get to say what you want. People ask you questions or whatever, but, like, you ultimately are saying what you want in the way that you want in a way that makes sense for you. And I feel like I lost that. And first, you know, I was like, that's weird for me to not to feel like I. I couldn't find my voice and didn't have, like, a sense of what it was. Was. So, like, having a camera was different. I could, like, see sports or the world in. In a different way. I love walking. I love cooking. I think I started to really get more, like, tactile with things like, what can I actually, like, do in my day outside of social media, outside of the Megan Rapinoe person that, like, is just for me. And I think for a while, I was like, do I really want, like, is Sports. It. Like. But I love sports so much, but I also don't want to be totally defined by that. And I think I have found my way of, like, I can still be me in sports and, you know, comment on things in the way that I want and have the. Yeah, the commentary and, you know, the. The way that I think about things, but I can just do it in a really creative way. And I think it's. It's a cool time to be in women's sports in general because there's so much white space and so much is needed. So, like, we need this podcast. We need my podcast. We need to impress podcast. We need Sam's Pocket. We need, like, we need everybody talking about it. And so I think I was just able to come back to. To me, but also, like, find a new me. These are the things I like to do. I like to take pictures. I like to cook. I like to be at home. I love to go to games. I love that public part of me. I like having a podcast and then, like, okay, we'll see, like, the rest of it.

[Abby Wambach]

But, okay, I love this. So. I love this so much because I've been retired for ten years now. Ten and a half. And those first couple years were a little hairy. I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I became like an insta mom to three children. I was like, I don't even know what motherhood is. And one of the things that I have just recently learned since starting this show with Julie and Billie Jean King is this is something that came from me. I started. It came from inside of my body, and I wanted this rather than it just being something that I could do, rather than it just being an industry or a thing. And so because of that, this is one of the times since retiring, truly. And Glennon, she's been saying this. She's like, you just feel like, so much more alive and yourself in many ways, because everything else I was doing, I mean, I tried commentating, didn't love it. You know, I love public speaking. I love. I love the podcast. We can do hard things, but. But in many ways, it wasn't coming from me. It was an opportunity. So I think what you're talking about is so similar in that, like, there's the Megan Rapinoe professional out there in the world, and you like some of that.

[Julie Foudy]

That.

[Abby Wambach]

But what you're also saying is, and this is where soccer, like, this is the thing that we got from playing soccer, is it came from us. Like, you had to do all of that. So to me, and. And whatever it is you end up doing, I think that you are headed on the right path. Because you're like, what do I. What does Megan want? Do you have any other ideas?

[Julie Foudy]

Wait, I have to add one last thing to that before you up.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Screw.

[Julie Foudy]

Switch gears. Because that kind of blew my mind when you said that. Pino of. Because I. When I. And I covered you for so many years to watch you in front of a microphone, I used to say was a master class.

[Abby Wambach]

True.

[Julie Foudy]

At any event, it'd be a FIFA World cup, and it's packed with all these guys and FIFA reps, and you would be in the middle beautifully slamming FIFA. Right. When they're sitting right in front of you in the in with a. A smile on your face and they would be laughing because they knew you were so fucking right about what you were saying. And so to hear that you didn't have that comfort is really. That, like, blows my mind. Because you were. And it's so interesting to Abby, to your point, because you felt comfortable in that space because it was yours. Right? And now finding that space that is yours, to Abby's point.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Point.

[Julie Foudy]

I think when you do find that, because you will, you're going to be charging because that's how you live. And I love that about you.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

It's such a gift.

[Megan Rapinoe]

It's an interesting thing. And some of it is just frankly getting comfortable with. With who I am. Abs, I think that you've dealt with this too, and, and Julia too. Like, like, Abby, you're an icon, period. Whether you want that or not, it doesn't really matter.

[Abby Wambach]

It's there.

[Megan Rapinoe]

So how do you interact with it? And I, I think that people think of me that way. And I think in so many ways I am. I could just, like, it's awkward and uncomfortable to say, but, like, if you don't own it, then it. It starts to run you. I think that's a little bit of like, oh, like, what is my voice? Or like, am I comfortable? I feel weird in public or, you know, I don't know what to say. But when things come. Abby, for what you're saying, like, from you, like, I want to do photography and I want to write about it on my sub stack and I want to talk in a certain way on my podcast. And I'm really excited for this special series to come out. It's the first time I'm doing like one on one interviews, and I'm like, oh, that's. That's the person that's in front of the mic. And that mechanism was. Was current athlete mechanism. And I was really good at it and I loved it, but it wasn't like the essence of what it was. I like talking about things that I care about. So now I have to find another mechanism to do that. And it just. It just takes time. You have to let go of one rope before you can grab another one. And that in between time, that is the hardest part because you're just like, I am literally in the wind. And it's actually worse that I'm me because I have any and every opportunity that I want. Like, it's not. And when people are just like, you know, it's like when people about gay weddings are like, you can do anything. And I'm like, that makes it harder. We don't need to reinvent the wheel all the time. Like, give me some sort of playbook. But I think it's that, like, you're letting go of one thing and then you gotta find in yourself like that thing that gets you up in the morning and that. That excites you. And then you can. I feel like now I'm finally getting back to that. Like, yeah, I can be in a room on a microphone or talking to people, and I'm like, oh, I know my shit. Like, that's my shit. And so I can bring that out.

[Abby Wambach]

And I. I've had to go through such a process over the last 10 years, what I call recovering from professional sport, because to me, there was an extraordinary amount of. Of pressure and it was hard and there was a lot of suffering and I had a lot to heal from in order to be able to step back into women's sports in the way that I have over the last six months healed so that I know I'm not going to fall victim to some of the things that I did before. Right. And so I wonder if there's like a. A world, a dream world that you're living into right now or you just like one day to timing it.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Oh, no, definitely def. A little bit of both. But I'm definitely getting into the dream world, sort of like building phase of things. I. I think the last couple years I've been. And God bless all the people that I work with, because they're like, are you ever coming back? And I'm like, yeah, I'm coming back, I promise. But I. I really, I really want to build all of the things around, especially soccer, that I already saw like 10 years ago that needed to happen. And so much of it's already Happening, like, investment, obviously, is one of them. That's not, you know, unless I, like, win the lottery, that's not going to be my bag. But, like, the creative storytelling. And I think so much of why people resonated with all of us really, is because, like, the way that we played told a story that they resonated with, that they loved and that they could connect with, like, on. On many different levels. And sports just has that ability. And there's just so much that needs to be done. We talked earlier about, like, the podcast, but also, like, if I, you know, shoot the NWSL on my camera and, like, write a little story about it just from that perspective, that helps support. Support the entire creative storytelling ecosystem around women's sports. I think that's still the biggest white space when you think about, you know, a Euros or a World Cup. I mean, I think in the US we're so much further than anywhere else in the world in terms of the business of sports and of women's sports. But all of that storytelling, like, there's so much storytelling around men's sports that's just, like, in the air that I know. I know so much about so many male sports stars, just because it's, like, on TV and your algorithm and all the things. And so my focus is really, like, how do I take my expertise in the space, My creativity, which has always been there. It was on the field, off the field, and now a lot of it's obviously off of the field. And then my credentialization, because everywhere I go in the soccer world, like, people know me. So we can get in. We can get in the door. And then whether that's at FIFA or at, you know, UEFA or with broadcast partners, and then it's like narrating the story that we all already know. We know why we love soccer, we know why we love women's sports. And it's then like, telling the story to bring more people in so that the game can grow, because that's really the next phase. Like, it's media deals and it's media and it's content and it's reaching people where they are and telling them the story that. That draws them in and gets them ultimately to buy into the whole universe that is women's sports. So I think that, for me is like, that's a podcast. That's my subset. That's, you know, taking pictures, that's having a production company and. And telling the stories from my perspective, from our perspective, as opposed to having people tell our stories for us.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. You're going to be hosting, too. This. This special series on a Touch More I saw for six episodes, right. Starting June 11th month with the 2026 World Cup. So this is. This is crazy because this is your first World cup since retiring. Men's or women's?

[Megan Rapinoe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

So what. What will you be doing? What, like, what kind of stories are you telling?

[Megan Rapinoe]

I am telling stories of people's feelings, interactions, memories, like, world around the World Cup. I want to know, like, what. What is your first memory of the World Cup? Why does the World cup matter to you? So if I'm talking to a politician who is a politician in a host city, why does the World cup matter to you? How are you leveraging the World cup for yourself? I feel like that perspective comes from Men's World cup was a huge event for women's soccer and for Women's World cup because people got excited. We were always the year after. It was something that we could leverage as a springboard to talk about that. So if you're the head coach of national team, like, how are you using Men's World cup to do that? If you're in fashion or you have another podcast or you're just like a fan. Like, there's no other global event like the Men's World cup in particular. And I think Women's World cup is. Is, you know, barreling towards that status. But I want to know why the World cup matters to you, like, whatever realm you're in or whatever kind of, like, industry you're in.

[Abby Wambach]

I think that that's such an exciting thing because the reason why you were so successful on the soccer field is because you did it your way. I will never forget this. It was 2005. Christine Lilly was the captain. We were training at the Home Depot center, former Home Depot center, now the Dignity Health Center. And Megan comes down the side of the field and does and crosses the ball behind her standing leg. Do you remember this?

[Megan Rapinoe]

I do, actually.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah.

[Abby Wambach]

She's like 19 years old or something. Super young. She's still playing at the University of Portland. And she. She crosses the ball in the air.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. Which is to get the force behind your leg.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Yes.

[Abby Wambach]

Is hard kicking behind the standing leg. And all of us were like, what just happened? Like, we were so amazed. And also, Christine was pissed because she was like, just hit it. Just hit it normally with your left leg.

[Julie Foudy]

So real.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I know. She's like, yeah. I was just looking at him. I was like, I dinked that thing right to the back post.

[Abby Wambach]

And that was the day that I knew that. That was the day that I knew Megan Rapinoe was gonna be a star. I did. I do remember that, because Lil was like, what the are you doing? And Pino was like, it was a perfect cross. I know what I'm doing. She was 19, and Lil was, like, 35, you know, and I was like, oh, this kid has something different. And I feel like the way that you. You were on the field, the person that you are, you.

[Julie Foudy]

You.

[Abby Wambach]

You were true to yourself as a soccer player. And so you have to have the equal and the same amount of intensity of staying true to yourself off the field. And if you do that, you're gonna find absolute success no matter where you go. I'm. I'm certain of it. Even if you're not certain of it. I'm certain of it. And I would love to know if you have dreams of being in team ownership one day of women's sports assets and teams.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I do. Yeah, definitely. I mean, listen, it just. It does chat my ass that, like, we've been here forever, and then all of a sudden, you know, you just. No. No shade to, like, you know, a down, puffy vest. But I'm just like, really? You guys are here now? Like, I could have bought a whole team for $2 million of six years ago. This is crazy. But also, like, we need them. We need all of those. Like, I don't have that kind of capital, so. So I do have aspiration to do that. I also want to be able to have maximum freedom to, you know, storytelling, to commentate and to talk about the game in the way that I want. But yes, I. I definitely want to be a part of this generation that, you know, really, like, help build the game. You know, I think this. This. I think there's a pretty clear delineation from, like, the. The end of my generation, like, before all of you guys, everything. We, like, built the game. And then now this generation is, like, they're taking it, you know, to a whole other level, and it's, like, incredible to watch. And I do think it's really powerful and really important to have those. Have our voices in the room, in media, at the table. There's so much industry knowledge and just know how that we can bring. And I definitely have aspiration to. To do that and to have that and to be just a big stakeholder in lots of different ways in this next phase of women's sports. Like, we did build this thing. Like, we may not have got to the point where it was a billion Dollar business because we didn't have that kind of capital. But, like, we're entrepreneurs. We're so smart. Our, like, understanding of the landscape and the game and all that, we did that while being suppressed. And so I just am like, wow.

[Julie Foudy]

Against the very person you're suing with them.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. I mean, that's a crazy thing.

[Megan Rapinoe]

And, like, having the wherewithal, I feel like, to, like, understand the larger landscape. And, like, we were, like, building brands and identities and narratives before that was, like, even people talked about that before there was, you know, consulting agencies talked about, like, all of us did that. The women's national team has been doing that the whole time.

[Julie Foudy]

I know. That's the thing that blew my mind with your Jen is like, all the things we complained about that, like, why. Why aren't they making merch for us? Why aren't they doing this? You guys were like, f you, we'll do it ourselves. We'll create the business. Yeah, you had to. But we never thought that way. We were like, just like, well, let's just keep complaining about it and talking about it, and maybe someone will build it. You're like, no, we'll build it on our backs.

[Megan Rapinoe]

No, that.

[Julie Foudy]

That's the amazing thing.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I'm not gonna let you get away with that because there's. Every generation has the things that they can do and the. The. The height of the ceiling that you can push in the time that you, like, hey, first of all, you have to play and win World Cups and win everything, which everybody on the national team did every single cycle that we had. And it's like, we were able to do what we did because it was already so much better. There was, like, a contract in place, There was more money in place. There was camp structure in place. There was all of that. So you did everything you possibly could, and we did everything we possibly could.

[Julie Foudy]

I just love the way you guys thought. I'm, like, so entrepreneurial, so business savvy, so brand savvy. Like, to your point on all those things, what do you think of this current iteration of the Women's national team? Because what's crazy to me is you. I feel like you just retired. And yet it is a completely different team under Emma Hay Pace.

[Abby Wambach]

It's great.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I mean, a. Just on the field, they're phenomenal.

[Abby Wambach]

Like, what?

[Megan Rapinoe]

What? Like, there's so much better, so much younger than we were. They're obviously just, like, in better training environments. I think where I see them still, you know, growing or young or lacking. It's Just, they are young. They're, you know, 17, 18, 19, 19. Like, we all, like, had high school and then, like, went to college, and that's such a formative experience and maybe played in the league a couple of years. So I, I think they're still finding their voice and their, you know, sort of place in the game. I feel like they're stepping into their own thing. They don't have to fight the same battles. They don't. They don't get to or have to have equal pay as this, like, moniker that. That they can. You know, it was hard, but it was also really, really special for us and uniting for us to do that. Yeah. And it gave us motivating as well. Motivating. Yeah. So the kids are totally fine. They're amazing on the field. They've obviously been successful already, and I think they're finding their way into what it means to use your voice, what specific issues they're going to be fighting for. We don't really. No, probably it'll be, you know, a bigger piece of the next media contract or whatever that may be. But also, they're playing in an area where the game is growing so much, and they're. They're a huge part of making it super entertaining every single weekend.

[Abby Wambach]

And I think, too, Megs, like you and Alex, took on such a powerful, vocal, visible role. Right. And I think that what will define this team as who's going to step into that role next, right? Who's got the chops, who's got the. Not just the. It's not about talent, but who's got the personality, who wants to grab onto the role of player, who's going to say the thing and, And. And, you know, I'm trying to be really patient with this team around who's going to speak up social justice stuff, because that's what women's sports is, and that's what our team has been so much about. And just because we secured equal pay doesn't mean we can go silent about all the other things that we need to always keep fighting for. And so I'm interested to learn which player is going to step up to the plate, because every single generation, the team has to redefine itself. And those players find their. Their way and they find their voices, and of course, they're talented, and of course they're great. But I want the. The most famous person not to be Emma Hayes. Right. On the team. I want them. It to be players player centric.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I think my. My biggest piece of totally unsolicited advice for them would be like, Emma is the biggest star right now and she's a huge personality and I love that. And like, like, you don't want her to be less. I don't think that we, we ever want that. But my piece of advice to the players would be to start stepping into it now. It's what, Monday, May 11, World cup is next year.

[Abby Wambach]

Yep.

[Megan Rapinoe]

So if you don't have experience in media and taking that kind of pressure and heat and whatever, when you score two goals in the first game and one goal in the second game and you have an assistant, this now every single person is going to want to talk to you. Every single media outlet, every single day. Social media is going to be crazy. You're going to be like, oh, are they the best player of the tournament? Can they lead the team? Are they going to be a star? Are they this? And then if anything else pops off. So I'm like, if you have ambition, which I think all of these players do, and they say that if you have ambition to be one of the best players on the field, that also comes with the responsibility of having that off of the field. So whether it's a social justice issue or, or not, but like, exactly. Just getting comfortable with yourself, understanding that you have two parts to your job. The first part is on the field always. And the second part is like, when you show up to the World cup and this is the first time that you've put yourself in the mixer, in a mix zone at a press conference, just like, like day before, you know, game media, like, get yourself comfortable doing that because if you pop off in game one and two, now that's all anybody wants to talk about. And that's all anybody wants to talk to.

[Abby Wambach]

Yeah. And you got to prepare yourself. You got to pretend it's planning for this. Yeah. You got to practice for sure.

[Julie Foudy]

The good news is these young kids have spent a lot of time natively on social media and doing that kind of stuff. And so I do, I do hope that we're gonna hear more from them. For sure. Yeah. On all those different fronts. As a reminder, party people, Megan will be hosting a World cup special series on A Touch More that will consist, as we said, of six episodes starting June 11. It's gonna be available wherever you get your podcasts, Apple Spot, Spotify as well. So make sure you check that out.

[Abby Wambach]

I can't.

[Julie Foudy]

Can't. I cannot wait to watch you soar in this next phase, Pino, because you will indeed. And thank you so much for just taking the time to. To share all that with us, because I know it's not been an easy stretch.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Oh, of course. Yeah. I mean, you got to go through it. Like Abby said, the retirement is a death of some of. Of some kind. And then it's like you have your whole rest of your life. And after that, now I'm like, oh, I'm. I'm young. I'm a. I'm a young, retired person now instead of an old athlete retiring young.

[Julie Foudy]

But you're like, wait, we're late to the workforce. Really?

[Megan Rapinoe]

I know. Yeah. I don't know how to do a spreadsheet, but I. Yeah.

[Julie Foudy]

Like, I don't know what that means. What are y' all talking about?

[Abby Wambach]

I do think that a lot of our maturity, like, we. We matured differently. You know, like, parts of ourselves got really mature, and then other parts are super underdeveloped. Like, I didn't know how to keep a calendar. That. That was a struggle. I did not understand how to be a person like an adult and to make an actual schedule for myself and to keep a to do list and to. I didn't get it. So if you're not there yet, Pinot. It took me about year three to really four to get that down.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Yeah, I feel that, too. And it's nice, like, talking to other athletes. It's like, oh, yeah, that's normal. I felt that, like, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you feel crazy lazy or like, do I even know how to be a human in the world? Am I gonna be okay? But it's like, yeah, you're gonna be fine. You just figure it out. And we're a little late.

[Julie Foudy]

Late to the party.

[Abby Wambach]

Totally.

[Julie Foudy]

Well, you're at the party, babe. You're there.

[Megan Rapinoe]

The party.

[Julie Foudy]

Okay. Party pose. Speaking of, on three, do you have

[Abby Wambach]

your favorite party pose?

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah. Favorite party pose on three. Are you ready? One, two.

[Abby Wambach]

Cheer.

[Julie Foudy]

Me, too.

[Abby Wambach]

Oh, my God.

[Julie Foudy]

Me too.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Mini One.

[Julie Foudy]

Yeah, Yeah. I was trying to keep.

[Abby Wambach]

I was trying to get my hands in.

[Megan Rapinoe]

I know. I kind of keep it in frame.

[Abby Wambach]

Like, it's too amazing. And then one last thing we do, Pino, is we do our USA cheer as we go out.

[Megan Rapinoe]

Oh, my God.

[Abby Wambach]

I love it. I know. So pause in. Everybody put your paws in. And it's going to be USA on three. Ready? One, two, three. Welcome to the Party is an independent production brought to you by Treat Media. Treat Media makes art for humans who want to stay human. Initial Digital is our production partner, and you can also watch our full conversations on the welcome to the party YouTube channel and follow us at. Welcome to the Party show on Instagram and TikTok. Thanks for listening.