Abby Wambach Spends World Cup Games ‘Trying to Explain’ What’s Happening to Wife Glennon Doyle (Exclusive)

Abby Wambach may be a World Cup champion, but she’s still explaining how soccer works to her wife.

While speaking with PEOPLE at the premiere of We Are Ayenda, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and former USWNT star, 43, says that she still has trouble getting her spouse, author Glennon Doyle, to understand the ins and outs of the game.

Doyle, 47, has previously posted several hilarious tweets on X, previously called Twitter, about how she doesn’t understand the game and often has to write down questions to ask her wife later. 

She reiterated her confusion while watching the U.S. Women’s National Team’s game against Portugal on Tuesday morning, writing that she couldn’t understand why Rose Lavelle got a yellow card. “i still cannot believe that judge punished rose. ROSE. does she hate joy and love and perfection,” she said.

Abby Wambach photographed during the second half of the women’s soccer match against China at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 13, 2015.

Christian Petersen/Getty

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Wambach tells PEOPLE she’s tried several approaches to trying to explain the game to Doyle, including using “metaphor and analogy” which she said her writer wife is the “queen” at, but nothing has hit the back of the net so far.

“I’m trying to think of weird metaphors and analogies to explain certain circumstances,” Wambach says. “And I do my best but she [has gone] up to me every time [asking questions]… since the World Cup started.” 

She also notes her wife’s habit of calling official soccer plays whatever she wants on social media.

USA line up (L-R) Emily Fox, Lynn Williams,Alex Morgan, Alyssa Naeher, Julie Ertz, Andi Sullivan, Naomi Girma, Alex Morgan, Lindsey Horan, Crystal Alyssia Soubrier Dunn, Rosemary Lavelle during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Group E match between Portugal and USA.

Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty

“You know, she’s calling indirect free kicks passive aggressive, and direct free kicks a little bit more direct,” Wambach says, adding, “It’s hilarious to me.” 

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“And it’s 100% true. This is not made up folks. I am half the time watching the game and the other half the time trying to explain why the thing that just happened happened.” 

This was on full display Tuesday morning, when Doyle shared a post which appeared to show Wambach talking animatedly at the TV screen during the USWNT’s latest game in the World Cup. “i dont know yall i think she’s speaking in tongues now @AbbyWambach,” Doyle wrote. 

Despite having a tough time figuring out the calls and plays, Wambach tells PEOPLE that Doyle is still “the best.”

“I love her.”

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The pair had a whirlwind love story, tying the knot two months after Wambach announced that she and ex-wife Sarah Huffman were splitting, and three months after Doyle announced her divorce from husband Craig Melton. Since then, the pair have co-parented Doyle’s three children — Chase, Tish and Amma.

After retiring from being a professional athlete, Wambach has continued her efforts to advocate for equal rights. She recently showed her support for women’s Afghanistan national soccer team at a panel for the We Are Ayenda documentary — which is centered around the team’s escape from Afghanistan after the country’s fall to the Taliban. 

We Are Ayenda premieres on Amazon Prime on Aug. 2.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education