Married US soccer stars Ali Krieger & Ashlyn Harris wants kids but don’t want to put careers on hold

US Women’s soccer stars Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris are opening up about their big wedding, how they keep their love life separate from their professional one, and their plans to start a family as they cover the latest issue of Allure magazine.

A matter of months off the high of their Women’s World Cup win last summer, Ali, 35, and Ashlyn, 34, tied the knot in Miami in December, after a full ten years together as a couple.

Now the pair have told Allure that they talk ‘a lot’ about having kids — but they’re stuck on the unfortunate reality that one of them will have to ‘give in their career,’ which is ‘not fair’ for two people who have worked so hard to get where they are. 

What the future holds: Ali, 35, and Ashlyn, 34, who married in December and have been together for ten years, talked about starting a family

Tough call: Both are at the top of their game professionally, so they are struggling with one having to stop playing to get pregnant

‘We talk about having kids a lot,’ said Ashlyn. ‘The unfortunate part is someone’s going to have to give in their career. Which is not fair’

Ali and Ashlyn posed together for a stunning cover and photoshoot for Allure’s new issue.

The look of love, the couple — who also both play for the Orlando Pride — have been married for over six months and are, unsurprising, discussing growing their family.

But in a power couple in which both partners are so successful in their careers — and their careers depend on their athleticism — there are major obstacles to consider.  

‘We talk about having kids a lot,’ said Ashlyn. ‘The unfortunate part is someone’s going to have to give in their career. Which is not fair. Because we both love our jobs and have waited our whole lives for these moments.’

Ashlyn also pointed out that there is a ‘shelf life’ to playing professional soccer — much the same as their is a shelf life for female fertility. So taking time off to be pregnant and have a baby is shortening an already short period of qualifying time as a pro soccer star. 

‘Just taking a year off…where does that fit in?’ she went on. ‘I can’t even take a weekend off. We’ve talked about surrogates, we’ve talked about adoption, and it’s just really tough because what — are we going to take the child everywhere? I mean, we’ve been home for seven days in the last three months.’ 

They do! The couple tied the knot in Miami in December 

Weighing their options Ashlyn said they have also discussed surrogacy and adoption 

‘We have a lot of moms [on the team],’ Ali added. ‘When we’re traveling, we carry the stroller and the [diaper] bag and then she’s carrying the baby’ 

Career first: They also revealed that they don’t sleep in the same bed while traveling for games because recovery is so important 

Their teammate Alex Morgan, just gave birth to her first baby, a daughter named Charlie Elena Carrasco with her husband Servando Carrasco.

Alex conceived nearly immediately after their World Cup win, and continued to train heavily throughout her pregnancy, with the goal of being back in shape to play in the now-postponed 2020 Olympics.   

‘We have a lot of moms [on the team],’ Ali added. ‘When we’re traveling, we carry the stroller and the [diaper] bag and then she’s carrying the baby, or we’re carrying the baby and she’s getting all the stuff.’  

Toting a baby around on the road might also change their dynamic while traveling for games.

Ashlyn said that she and Ali usually don’t even stay in the same room when they’re on the road, preferring to sleep separately in order to perform better on the field.

It’s been done: Teammate Alex Morgan announced she was expecting after their World Cup win last year, and continued to train well into her pregnancy 

Welcome to the world: She and Servando Carrasco, 31, welcomed daughter Charlie in May

‘If we are in the same room, we’re in separate beds because sleep is a huge part of our recovery,’ she said. ‘I think that’s the hardest part. We don’t get really good time together. We have to make time even though we see each other all the time. It’s tricky.’   

For now, at least, they are moms to two dogs, Storm and Logan, whom they live with in their home in Florida.

In their joint interview, the couple also looked back at their December wedding at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami.

‘Originally, we just wanted to have a private ceremony,’ said Ali. ‘We were like, “Let’s save our money and worry about our future kids’ education.” 

‘And it ended up being like, “Listen, let’s share our love with the world. We can make this [wedding] an event for our community.”  

Practical: Ali said they had originally wanted to have a small ceremony and save the money for the future

‘And it ended up being like, “Listen, let’s share our love with the world. We can make this [wedding] an event for our community,”‘ she said

‘Sometimes I did feel like, “What are we doing?” But no, we’re saving people’s lives [with our visibility], and that’s what matters most,’ she added 

Looks like fun! Ali is seen crowdsurfing in a video from the ceremony ,which was shared online in December

‘Sometimes I did feel like, “What are we doing?” But no, we’re saving people’s lives [with our visibility], and that’s what matters most. We can put our privacy aside for a moment and just be like, “This is worth it.”‘ 

Ashlyn wore a custom Thom Browne black silk faille tuxedo with an organza and beaded overlay in an argyle pattern and Umbro socks pulled high on the big day, while Ali wore a deep-V back and white gown by Pronovias.  

They exchanged rings by Great Heights, selected because they ‘share the same vision and support surrounding equality and LGBTQ marriage rights’. Krieger told People.