Ali Krieger says she ‘never felt more happy and free’ after divorce from Ashlyn Harris

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Ali Krieger has opened up about finding her own happiness, months after her now ex-wife, Ashlyn Harris, filed for divorce.

The former soccer star, 39, reflected on the last year of her life during an interview withE! News on 16 January, while on the red carpet at the Law & Order: SVU 25th Anniversary Celebration. Her comments came after court documents retrieved from Seminole County Clerk’s website showed that Harris had filed for divorce from Krieger in September 2023, after four years of marriage.

Speaking to E! News, Krieger expressed that she’s not only in a good place, but she’s also excited about the new opportunities that lie ahead for her in the coming months.

“I have never felt happier and more free, so I feel excited for the future,” she explained. “I’m excited for a new chapter.”

The former USWNt star specified that she’s looking forward to having some time with her two adopted children – Slone, two, and Ocean, one – who she shares with Ashlyn.

“I’m excited to discover new passions,” she said. “I’m excited to spend more time with my kids first and foremost and to be able to go visit family and friends whenever I want.”

She also opened up about her upcoming plans with her children, such as organising playdates for them with other families. She further detailed that she wants to “meet up at the playground and go to brunches and do birthday parties”.

When asked how co-parenting was going with her ex, Krieger kept it simple, responding: “So far, so good.”

In October 2023, it was first reported that Harris had filed for divorce from Krieger. According to court documents shared at the time, the co-parents were required to decide on a parenting plan for their two children.

Weeks later, multiple outlets reported that Harris was dating Sophia Bush, who’d recently filed for divorce from her husband, Grant Hughes, after only 13 months of marriage. While the One Tree Hill star announced her split from Hughes in August 2023, documents obtained by E! News cited 27 June 2023 as the exact day of separation. Hughes listed “irreconcilable differences” as the cause for their divorce and requested that no spousal support be granted for either party.

Last year, Bush and Harris were rumoured to have begun the budding romance after being acquainted various times in the past. On 10 October, the pair were spotted together once again, celebrating with Merritt Mathias and Kari Fleischauer in Selenia Iacchelli’s Instagram Story. At the time, a source claimed to Page Six that Bush and Harris were “definitely a couple” in a “very new” relationship.

The apparent romance then sparked rumours that Harris had cheated on her ex-wife, which were allegations that the former goalkeeper went on to address. In a post shared to her Instagram in November, Harris shut down the cheating rumours and revealed how the constant “online hate” has negatively impacted her mental health.

“Several weeks ago, a process that had been ongoing privately for some time became public,” she wrote. “Ending a relationship after almost 13 years of friendship, teammate-ship, marriage and co-parenting (many of them good years) is a decision that was not made lightly.”

“We agreed to centre our children, continue therapy, separate, and to move forward with our lives. Two happy families are always better than one unhappy one. This process is never easy, but we were making our way through,” she continued.

She explained that she and her ex were advised by their agents and representation to keep news of their split private until after Krieger finished her NWSL season in 2023. However, the 38-year-old athlete revealed that “a leak (a betrayal of our deepest confidence) made that impossible”.

In the Instagram post, Harris also addressed why she and Krieger decided to split, writing: “People have run with a narrative that’s unbearably painful. Not all marriages last forever. Ours did not. For many reasons.”

The former soccer pro specified that while the “false narratives” surrounding her marriage may be “juicier or make a better headline”, the rumours that she cheated on Krieger were “simply not true”.

“Let me be clear: I did not step out on my marriage. I was always faithful in my marriage, if not always totally happy. Like in many partnerships, there was work and therapy and processing done. None of this happened on a whim,” Harris said.