W.N.B.A. Star Natasha Cloud Doesn’t Play When It Comes to Love

Modern Love

The New York Times

Love, New York Times, Nytimes, Essay, Loss, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Redemption, Nyt

4.3 • 9K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2025

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Natasha Cloud is a powerhouse. The New York Liberty point guard seems to have it all: a successful W.N.B.A. career, fierce confidence and a loving relationship with her girlfriend and teammate, Isabelle Harrison. On and off the court, Cloud radiates self-assurance and seems to know exactly who she is, but that sense of self was hard-won. In a conversation with “Modern Love” podcast host Anna Martin, Cloud talked about growing up as the only mixed-race child in a white family, and how one conversation with her mother shifted everything she thought she knew about herself. She discussed finding her identity in college, her family’s love and acceptance for the “new Tash,” and why professional pressure led her to publicly identify as bisexual even though she knew the label didn’t feel right.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey everyone, it's Anna. Before we start the show, I want to ask you a question. And please,
0:06.2	don't be offended if it sounds a little direct, okay? Here goes. Are money issues affecting your
0:11.4	relationship? Money can be awkward and sensitive to talk about how much to save, how much to spend,
0:17.7	who makes the decisions about what. But if you're not talking about money,
0:22.1	you can cause even bigger problems. We have an episode coming up soon where I'll be talking to
0:27.2	Ramit Satie. He hosted the Netflix show How to Get Rich. He's written books on personal finance,
0:32.5	and he's especially good at helping couples resolve their differences around money and start to actually enjoy talking
0:39.0	about it. If this sounds like something you want to be a part of, please send us a short voice memo.
0:44.6	Tell us about a moment you and someone you loved had tension around money. It could be your partner,
0:49.1	it could be a family member. Tell us what happened to set it off, what you said to each other, or didn't say,
0:55.0	and how you felt about all of it. We might play your voice on the show and hear Rameet's advice
0:59.9	on what you can do differently. Please email your voice memo to Modern Love Podcast at
1:05.3	NYTimes.com by November 3rd. There's instructions in our show notes. Please check those out.
1:11.3	All right,
1:12.6	here's today's episode.
1:16.3	Love now and all.
1:19.6	Love was stronger than anything.
1:23.4	For the love, love. And I love you more than anything.
1:25.6	There's to love. Love. From the New York Times, I'm Anna Martin. This is Modern Love.
1:32.8	WNBA Finals just ended. And a lot of my friends are really jealous of me because today I'm talking to one of the breakout stars of the 2025 season, Natasha Cloud. Natasha is one of New York Liberty's powerhouses.
1:47.6	She's outspoken. She's got immense amounts of swag. And she's really freaking good at basketball.
1:54.9	When I watch her play, I see someone who is strong and confident, self-assured, but she wasn't always that way. Today, I
	...

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