Congratulations are in ođ ērder for retired U.S. soccer star Carlđ§¸i Lloyd.
The forđmer USWNT midfielder-turned-Fox Sports analyst is expecting her first child with her husband Brian Hollins in OctoberđĻ after a challenging infertility journey, Wednesday on social media.
âIt has been a rollercoaster of a journey to get to this point,â 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 ofāˇ´ IVF treatment, with the final one takinęŠĩg place at the end of January, she wrote in an.
Lloyd found out she was pregnant while âąin Scđ˛ottsdale 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 expâlain that this experience has brought her and Brian closer than she had ever imagined.
“I couldnât have gotten through it without him. He kept me going. He would say, ‘Just trust. Trust that itâs 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 OāļŖlympic 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 đĻplaying career, is hoping to play a role in helping other women fađcing challenges in their pregnancy journey.
“I want to show other women that itâs okay to struggle,” she said. “Itâs okay to feel broken and to feel hopeless, but to never give up and to keep going. We donât 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.”
Lloyđd played 316 matches with the USWNT and scored 134 goals for the United States, the third most in team history.