Ashlyn Harris Speaks Out About Sophia Bush's Healing Love: "She Makes Me Feel Like the Best Mother"

Ashlyn Harris is giving a candid and intimate look at her life with actress Sophia Bush — and the healing nature of love in the wake of heartbreak.
On the latest episode of the Second Wind Podcast, the 39-year-old former U.S. Women’s National Team star reflected on how Bush, 42, has supported her through an emotionally challenging chapter following her 2023 divorce from fellow soccer player Ali Krieger. The former couple share two young children: daughter Sloane, 4, and son Ocean, 2.
Mostly what I love about her is she lets me feel like the way only I thought that we read books about," said Harris of Bush, whom she started dating back in October of 2023. "She puts up a mirror and has me feeling that I'm the best human being, I'm the best mother, and just what I have needed and continue to need so that I may heal so much pain and trauma and loss from my life.
Harris has spoken openly about the pressure she is under as a parent and how Bush is now a pillar of reassurance in her life. "I think as a mother, I think we can all just sit here and say, we always think that we're failing… I made a vow that my children wouldn't feel the same type of pain that I felt as a child, and I put a lot of pressure on myself," she said. "And she's just like, 'You are the best mom.' I just have never seen somebody move and behave the way you do."
For Harris, the connection with Bush arrived amid profound personal vulnerability — but also a time of surprising emotional rebirth. "She entered my world when I was an open wound," Harris said. "She's so giving and such a lovely person that even in the most difficult time in her life, she wants to help me heal, which is something I'll never forget."
Bush, who ended her divorce from businessman Grant Hughes in August 2023 after barely more than a year of marriage, was also in the process of emotional recovery. Their common experiences of loss and change seem to have strengthened their relationship.
Harris spoke about wanting to be there for Bush in the same way of transformation. "I hope to be that same version for her," she said. "I think it's impossible for us to work so much on ourselves and heal all of the trauma and pain we've experienced, but when you meet the right person, they won't weaponize that against you. They meet you."
Their romance — conceived in suffering but based on empathy, encouragement, and mutual respect — is a witness to the strength of emotional maturity and meeting the right person at the right moment.
For Harris, who has been under the spotlight for years as a tenacious athlete and activist, this union is a new beginning—a chapter not based on triumph on the field, but on love, family, and healing on a personal level.