Sue Bird and fiancee Megan Rapinoe get 100% real on adjusting to life post retirement, "We had it so easy as an athlete"

Featuring on the recent episode of CBS Mornings, WNBA legend Sue Bird and her fiancée, former soccer star Megan Rapinoe, spoke about life after retiring from being professional athletes. When asked about their post-retirement challenges, Rapinoe was the first to chime in and mentioned the effort required to make their own schedule.

"Just learning how to do our own schedule like normal people, it's really hard, we had it so easy as an athlete, everything was done for you," Rapinoe said. "I think just adjusting to not having that north star, that kind of makes all the decisions sort of clear. Just adjusting to be a normal person."

Bird agreed with her fiancée and also highlighted that while retirement has been a relief for their bodies, it has been a challenge mentally.

"I agree, it's more mental," Bird said. "The physical part is great, I'm like, 'Oh my god, I don't have to be in pain all the time, it's amazing.' So that part was easy for me."

"I think, to Megan's point, just adjusting to not being an athlete anymore, and there's an identity piece to that that you have to sift through. So something in the mental aspect of things."

Watch the segment at 2:00 here:

After playing 19 years in the WNBA and earning a joint-record four championships, Sue Bird retired from the league in 2022. The 13-time WNBA All-Star joined the Seattle Storm's ownership group in 2024 after staying with the franchise throughout her illustrious career.

Meanwhile, Megan Rapinoe retired from professional soccer the following year after the 2023 NWSL season. She retired as a two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and also earned various other team and individual accomplishments.

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe relaunched their podcast after retirement

In early 2024, Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe relaunched their podcast 'A Touch More' that they initially started as an Instagram Live series during the COVID pandemic. In partnership with Vox Media, the sports and pop-culture podcast airs weekly episodes across various platforms.

"Producing the show during the pandemic sparked our larger interest in production, which eventually led to us launching our company, A Touch More, so this show holds a special place in our hearts," Bird and Rapinoe said in a statement.

Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe first met at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where they represented Team USA in basketball and soccer, respectively. The couple started dating in 2017 and got engaged after three years of being together.