Ashlyn Harris is no longer measuring her life by trophies, and the shift has changed everything. The two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion says retirement has forced her to confront the cost of chasing greatness and to focus on purpose instead.
In a conversation with Yahoo’s Unapologetically series, Harris said the hardest battles were often away from the field. She also said the life she has built with partner Sophia Bush now feels like “home.”
The hidden side of success
Harris said people often see only the highlight reel when they look at sports. She argued that the sacrifices behind elite competition are rarely shown, even though they shape the lives of athletes at every level.
That theme sits at the center of Gamechangers: The Ashlyn Harris Story, which is streaming on Roku. The documentary follows her path from a difficult childhood to the top of women’s soccer and into retirement.
Harris retired in 2022 and said she has been doing “a lot of healing” since then. She said soccer gave her an escape from a chaotic home life, but also took away a childhood she never fully got to live.
Looking back without hiding parts of the story
The documentary revisits painful parts of her early life, including her parents’ fights, financial problems, and substance abuse. Harris said revisiting those details on camera was not the hardest part because she sees them as her truth.
She said becoming a mother has changed how she views her parents’ struggles, because parenting is difficult and she now understands that they did the best they could with what they had.
Harris said the film became a kind of love letter to herself. She added that hard experiences did not harden her, but made her softer and more aware of the need for community and grace.
Life after the jersey
One of Harris’s biggest challenges has been figuring out who she is outside of soccer. She said sports have a shelf life, and stepping away meant learning how to move through a world no longer shaped by competition, rosters, or championships.
She described retirement as a rebirth and said she is “almost reintroducing” herself to herself. Without the constant pressure of elite sport, she said she is now trying to be present, peaceful, and focused on family and joy.
Even in retirement, Harris keeps a disciplined routine. She still works out four or five times a week, eats very healthy, drinks a lot of water, and prepares every meal herself.
Sophia Bush, family, and the choice to start over
Harris said Sophia Bush is part of the film because she wanted to be open about the happiest season of her life. She said that when people find peace, love, safety, and ease, they want to share that feeling.
She also said the relationship carries a message for others: if something built over time no longer feels safe or happy, it is possible to leave and choose joy. Harris said that idea marks a difference from her parents’ generation, which often stayed in unhappy homes.
At the same time, she said what is theirs remains private, and the point was not exposure for its own sake. The goal was to show that starting over later in life is still possible.
Money, purpose, and what comes next
Harris said growing up with financial stress left her with a scarcity mindset that still shapes her choices today. She favors thrifted clothes, avoids flashy logos, and wants to give her children a better experience than she had.
Now, she said she is chasing purpose rather than success. Her focus is on being present for her children, Sloane and Ocean, and on learning who they are as they change from one season to the next.
Harris also said she plans to keep working in sports and entertainment, including producing and moving into scripted projects when the time is right. For now, though, her immediate world is much smaller and more personal: she is chasing her 3- and 5-year-old around.
