Congratulations are in order for retired U.S. soccer star Carli Lloyd.
The former USWNT midfielder-turned-Fox Sports analyst is expecting her first child with her husband Brian Hollins in October after a challenging infertility journey, Lloyd, 41, shared Wednesday on social media.
“It has been a rollercoaster of a journey to get to this point,” she wrote, including a photo of an ultrasound image. “We are beyond excited to be parents! I couldn’t have gotten through this without my amazing husband, Brian. He truly kept me going.”
Lloyd went through three rounds of IVF treatment, with the final one taking place at the end of January, she wrote in an article for Women’s Health.
Lloyd found out she was pregnant while in Scottsdale to play in the Waste Management Pro-Am, which took place in February.
“Brian was just waking up as I shared the news,” she wrote. “We hugged and held each other and, for the first time in a long time, felt at peace.”
Lloyd went on to explain that this experience has brought her and Brian closer than she had ever imagined.
“I couldn’t have gotten through it without him. He kept me going. He would say, ‘Just trust. Trust that it’s going to work out,'” she said. “His strength and calmness was something I never realized I needed.”
Lloyd is a two-time FIFA Player of the Year Award winner, two-time World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
“It is still hard to believe I am pregnant,” she said. “It truly is a miracle, and we are so excited to be parents!”
Lloyd, who retired in 2021 after a 22-year playing career, is hoping to play a role in helping other women facing challenges in their pregnancy journey.
“I want to show other women that it’s okay to struggle,” she said. “It’s okay to feel broken and to feel hopeless, but to never give up and to keep going. We don’t know the future chapters of our lives, and it is important to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
“… Since I retired, my heart has come alive. I have felt I can be more like myself. I am not in the pressure cooker anymore. I can let my guard down and be more vulnerable.”
Lloyd played 316 matches with the USWNT and scored 134 goals for the United States, the third most in team history.
