The future of Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s podcast has been clarified following their unexpected breakup.

The renowned sports duo, who had been in a relationship for almost ten years, announced the end of their romance in a surprising joint statement shared on social media last Friday.

Rapinoe, celebrated for her two World Cup victories with the U.S. women’s soccer team, and WNBA star Bird, emphasized that deciding to part ways was far from easy after a decade together.

In a special, brief episode of their podcast, the pair disclosed their plans to gradually wind down the show.

“I hope you all understand how much thought and care we put into this decision,” said Rapinoe, who gained prominence as a key player in the Women’s World Cup tournaments of 2011, 2015, and 2019. “It’s a choice we made together. We’ll still be here for all of you and for each other, but things will look and feel a bit different.”

The fate of Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe’s joint podcast has been revealed after their split

The couple announced on Friday that they are going their separate ways after nearly a decade

“We’re genuinely evolving into something new for ourselves and for you,” Rapinoe continued. “We wanted to express our gratitude for sharing this journey with us and allowing us the space to discover ourselves in a new light through this podcast.”

Bird explained that they plan to release six more limited episodes before closing that chapter of their lives as a ‘farewell to you all and to this space.’

Moving on from their collaboration, Rapinoe is planning to start her own podcast, and Bird is committed to a second season of her own venture, ‘Bird’s Eye View.’

The sporting power couple had been dating for nearly a decade after first meeting backstage at a photoshoot for the 2016 Rio Olympics .

The athletes, both gold medal winners in their respective sports, got engaged in October 2020 but never tied the knot.

Rapinoe, 40, first came out in 2012 ahead of representing the USWNT on the Olympic stage at the London Games.

However, Bird, 45, was not publicly open about her sexuality until they went public with their relationship.

The basketball great previously explained to the Seattle Times: ‘I think a lot of people who were like me at the time felt: “Yes, I was living my life, but I don’t have to come out publicly.” You kinda say, “Well, straight people don’t have to come out.” I understand now that’s not necessarily the right way to look at it.’

The couple had been together for almost 10 years after meeting at the 2016 Rio Olympics 

Despite a lengthy engagement, Bird and Rapinoe never exchanged vows in their relationship

She revealed to the newspaper: ‘Megan and I would have conversations about it, and she opened my eyes to another way of looking at it, which is that in today’s time, in today’s society, it’s still important to kind of say it to make it the norm.’

Despite getting together shortly after the Rio Olympics, where they were both competing for Team USA – Rapinoe in soccer and Bird in basketball – they did not go public with their romance until the following year.

In an interview with People in 2019, Rapinoe gushed over her then-Seattle Storm star girlfriend.

‘We are huge fans of each other. I have become, like, a Seattle Storm number one superfan, of course,’ Rapinoe said.

‘I think it is just the understanding of what we have to go through and the appreciation of, you know, each other’s skills and lives is really special. And in the same sense, we are just normal to each other. Which is really nice. Like, neither of us are like, “Oh wow you are the best person that has ever played basketball.” Which she is!’

Three years later, Rapinoe popped the question in 2020, shortly after Bird won her fourth WNBA championship with the Seattle Storm.

Between the two of them, the duo have a total of six Olympic gold medals – five for Bird and one for Rapinoe. The soccer star also has a bronze from the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Rapinoe previously got engaged to singer Sera Cahoone in 2015 but they ultimately broke up, and she has also dated her fellow soccer star Sarah Walsh.