Ashlyn Harris | World Cup Champion on Life After Soccer!

Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe

PodcastOne

Society & Culture, Tv & Film, Comedy, Talk Radio

4.4 • 21.3K Ratings

🗓️ 19 August 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#868. What happens when you dedicate your entire life to the game you love… and then it’s suddenly gone?

This week, Kaitlyn sits down with 2x World Cup Champion Ashlyn Harris, who opens up about the extreme competitor she’s always been (spoiler: don’t challenge her in beer pong), the brutal toll pro soccer took on her body, and what it really feels like when the dream ends overnight. She shares how she found purpose after retirement, why she walked away from the “traditional” post-athlete path, and what it means to raise her kids with intention. Ashlyn also gets candid about being openly gay in sports, how her journey of identity shaped her, and yes — she spills on her love story with Sophia Bush.

Hit play, because if you think you know Ashlyn Harris… think again. And don’t miss her new podcast, Wide Open, produced by iHeart Women’s Sports!

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EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

(5:57) – The brutal toll pro soccer took on Ashlyn’s body—and what it really feels like when the dream ends overnight.
(21:15) – Her decision to retire: mental, physical, and why the love of the game eventually faded.
(35:03) – Being a gay woman in sports, representation, and the reality of living openly in the locker room.
(44:54) – Her love story with Sophia Bush, how they met, and why Ashlyn calls her “a saint.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of Off the Vine is brought to you by Progressive. Visit progressive.com to see if you could
0:05.0	save on car insurance. Bull and Branch, get 15% off plus free shipping on your first set of sheets at
0:10.4	bull and branch.com slash vine 20. Pretty litter right now save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy
0:17.4	at pretty litter.com slash vine. Wayer get organized, refreshed, and ready for the
0:22.6	season ahead at wayfair.com. That's WafaIr.com. Wayfair, every style, every home.
0:33.4	You're listening to Off the Vine with Caitlin Bristow.
0:37.9	Hey, Vino's real quick, if you are listening right now, which obviously you are or you
0:42.0	wouldn't be hearing this, can you hit the subscribe or follow button on whatever platform
0:45.8	you're on?
0:46.4	Please, that one simple thing helps more than you even realize it allows me to keep growing
0:51.4	on this podcast and making these episodes the best they can possibly be
0:55.4	obviously for you. That's the only favorite I'm going to ever ask, okay? It truly means the world to me. Thank you. Now let's get into it. Welcome to Off the Vine. I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow, and today's guest is a two-time World Cup champion, one of the fiercest goalkeepers in the game, and just a total icon both on and off the field.
0:53.4	Ashlyn Harris is here to talk about life after soft. champion, one of the fiercest goalkeepers in the game, and just a total icon both on and off the
1:12.1	field. Ashlyn Harris is here to talk about life after soccer, how she's building something entirely
1:17.1	her own with her powerful new podcast wide open, what motherhood and identity mean to her now,
1:22.1	and how she's breaking every mold of what it means to be an athlete after the final whistle.
1:26.7	She's real, she's vulnerable, bold, and she's doing it all her way. So let's get into it. I could talk to you for three hours because I have so many questions. And I always hate that it's like, okay, keep it into 45 minutes because I love going back into who people were like in your childhood. And I do want to rewind all the way back there. Like, if you could describe yourself as a
1:45.2	child, what were you like as a child? I actually weirdly just was in my hometown of Satellite Beach
1:51.7	this weekend for my son's third birthday. And I asked my mom these questions. Yeah. I was like,
1:57.2	who was more complicated and nuts as a child? And my mom was like, you were.
2:02.2	Because I had an older brother. Yeah. And he was probably twice the size of me. We're only a year apart. Yeah. And I wanted to do everything with him. But for me to do that, I had to be able to, like, hang and hold my own. Yeah. Yeah. So I was this like bullish little brat that wanted to like take
2:20.9	on everything because my brother played a bunch of sports. So I was like always out for blood and so
	...

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