Though Rapinoe was familiar with Seattle Storm point guard and WNBA champion Sue Bird through the Seattle sports scene (Rapinoe plays in nearby Tacoma, WA), they didn't start dating until after they hit it off at a sponsor event at the 2016 Rio Olympics. A little less than two years later, Bird and Rapinoe became the first openly gay couple to appear on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's iconic Body Issue.
Megan has said that she and Bird are "huge fans" of each other, and if you read Bird's viral essay during the 2019 World Cup, "So the President F*cking Hates My Girlfriend," then you know she considers Rapinoe "the world's biggest most kissable goofball queen." As the more conservative of the two, Bird credits her football-playing partner for helping her live openly and unapologetically (and convincing her to pose naked on the cover of a major magazine).