Olympic soccer star Trinity Rodman said she was embarrassed to share how she pursued her boyfriend, American tennis player Ben Shelton.
During an appearance on the “Not Gonna Lie” podcast, Rodman recalled the social media message she sent to Shelton that started their love story.
“Everything I do is just embarrassing. I’m really embarrassed,” Rodman, a forward for the Washington Spirit said when asked by Kylie Kelce how she slid in Shelton’s DMs.
“I said ‘You’re sick, fire emoji,’ that’s it … It worked, he responded within 10 minutes, so I win … he matched the cringe situation and then I think a week or two later we met in person.”
Rodman, who said the pair had an instant connection, explained that they met for the first time when Shelton “flew out” to stay at her house.
“I fully committed to this guy that I didn’t even meet yet, for him to stay at my house for the weekend,” she said. “It’s actually crazy, it’s insane, but it worked out.”
Rodman added that she knew he was a “keeper” when he helped her break down boxes.
The couple hard-launched their relationship on social media last March.
The U.S. women’s national team star also explained that she enjoys the term, “WAG” — which means wives and girlfriends of professional athletes.
“For me, I think I like the term personally because like I said before, I feel like 24/7 I’m on in front of cameras … and so I think I use the term WAG for me to simplify what I’m doing,” Rodman, the daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman, said.
“For me, saying WAG, it’s me being like, ‘I’m Ben’s girlfriend.’ But I can understand why [the term] is so hated.
“It’s the best feeling in the world, honestly. I think to know we’re both on the grind, running our bodies to the ground, always exhausted, doing what we love, and then to also be able to be a little like a WAG in a sense, it feels so good for us.”
Rodman and Shelton have publicly supported each other since going public with their relationship.
She spent much of 2025 traveling with Shelton during the tennis season.
