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Football legend Mary Earps always kept her personal life on the down low while she was playing for England’s Lioness team. But ahead of her new memoir All In: Football, Life and Learning to be Unapologetically Me, the goalkeeper has chosen to speak her truth: she is delighted to be in a committed relationship with a woman named Kitty. The couple live together in Paris, where Earps plays for Paris Saint Germain. Earps credits her girlfriend for supporting her through the difficult moments in her career, including her decision to retire from international football ahead of the 2025 Euros. “I’ve always tried to keep my personal life separate from my professional one, but it would have felt inauthentic not to include something so important to me in this book,” Earps said in a statement to the BBC. “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 now.” Earps has not publicly labelled her sexual identity. Women’s football has been at the vanguard of normalising queer relationships in sport. There were over 40 lesbian and bisexual players on the pitch during the 2023 Women’s World Cup. British LGBT Awards founder Sarah Garrett hailed Earps for her ”courage” in not hiding her romance with a woman away. “By being open about her relationship, she is not only celebrating who she is, but also showing women and girls everywhere that it’s okay to live authentically.” The goalkeeper has implied her parents had not initially been supportive of her relationship with Kitty, something her girlfriend overheard them discussing. “People make mistakes and hurt you,” Earps told the Guardian, where her memoir is being serialised. “But the strength of relationships comes from navigating those moments. We talked and worked through it.” Earps made the announcement ahead of her memoir’s publication on November 9 in order to not detract from the book’s more serious themes about mental health. In her memoir, Earps also details how she was viciously bullied as a child, and how she struggled with alcohol and food during the covid lockdowns. She also walks readers through her difficult decision to retire from international football after manager Sarina Wiegman planned to replace her with Hannah Hampton as the No 1 goalkeeper for the England women’s team. Earps said she felt let down by manager Sarina Wiegman’s earlier decision to give Hampton a second chance on the squad after she was dropped for her behind-the-scenes antics at the 2022 Euros camps. While Wiegman initially persuaded her to postpone her retirement until after the 2025 Euros, Earps said she realised she had to quit after the England manager let slip she hadn’t actually watched her most recent victory with Paris Saint-German. All In: Football, Life and Learning to be Unapologetically Me is out with Bonnier Books on November 7, pre-order a copy here.
