Former England goalkeeper Mary Earps has disclosed to the BBC that she “feels ready and happy to share” that she is in a same-sex relationship.
The 32-year-old athlete has chosen to reveal details about her sexuality ahead of the forthcoming publication of her memoir, where she discusses her “really happy relationship.”
Sources at the BBC indicate that Earps decided to issue a statement affirming her sexuality to ensure the information is shared on her own terms and does not overshadow other significant themes in her book, including her experiences with mental health.
Tina Taylor, Earps’ manager, stated that Earps hopes that being open about her personal life will “inspire people around the world to find the confidence to live authentically.”
Earps, currently playing for Paris Saint-Germain in France, exclusively told the BBC that she has always strived to maintain a separation between her personal and professional lives but felt it would be “inauthentic” not to share details of something she considers “so important to her.”
Her manager informed the BBC that the former Manchester United player wanted to share her story “in her own way.”
“Following the World Cup, the overwhelming outpouring of love and support truly demonstrated to Mary the impact she has had, deeply touching her,” she said.
“By sharing aspects of her life away from football – something she has never previously done – Mary is narrating her story authentically and honestly.”
Compared to men’s football, women’s football has a notably higher representation of openly gay players.
The 2022 men’s World Cup did not feature any openly gay or bisexual players.
Conversely, the 2023 Women’s World Cup included over 40 openly lesbian or bisexual players.
Earps reportedly received encouragement and support from her former Lionesses teammates after recently sharing details of her relationship with them.
In a statement to the BBC, Earps remarked: “I’ve always endeavored to keep my personal life separate from my professional life, but it would have felt inauthentic not to include something so important to me in this book.
“I’m in a really happy relationship. The people closest to me have always known, and I feel ready and happy to share that with everyone else now.”
The goalkeeper, raised in Nottingham, was a crucial member of the Lionesses squad that secured the Women’s Euros in 2022 and served as the team’s vice-captain during the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where England lost to Spain in the final.
She was also honored as the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2023, an experience she described as “incredible.”
In May 2024, she was appointed an MBE by Prince William.
She has frequently spoken publicly about the significance of being a “trailblazer” and role model.
In an interview in August 2024, she stated: “I’m a very ambitious person, a very hard-working person, and I think to try and push boundaries and try and be a pioneer for change, in many ways, is something that I really enjoy doing, and hopefully I can do for the rest of my career.
“As Lionesses, one of the things that really sets us apart from other teams is how strong we are in our values and what we stand for.”
In the era of social media, celebrities often have control over how and when they make their sexuality public – or even if they do so at all.
In decades gone by, pop stars, actors and footballers suffered terrible consequences from press intrusion into their sexuality.
But that kind of intrusion is not something that is just confined to history.
In 2023, when actor Rebel Wilson first shared details of her same-sex relationship, there was a reckoning for the Australian media after it became apparent she had done so because a journalist had planned to reveal details of the relationship in a gossip column.
For most people from the community, “coming out” isn’t something that you only do once – indeed Earps’s statement says she was already open about her sexuality with those closest to her.
So the decision to come out to her fans, particularly the young people who see her as a role model, is something she has clearly thought a lot about.
In her own words, the goalkeeper says it simply would’ve felt “inauthentic” to not go public with something that is “so important” to her.