Ireland captain Katie McCabe has seemingly confirmed her split from team-mate Ruesha Littlejohn ahead of the start of the Women's World Cup.
The 27-year-old Dublin native is preparing to lead the Republic of Ireland team into this year's Women's World Cup which begins with an opening match against Australia on Thursday. In an article in the Players Tribune, while recalling her reaction to being named Ireland captain in 2017, McCabe referred to Littlejohn in the past tense as ‘my partner at the time’ indicating that they are no longer together, reports the Irish Mirror.
In the article, McCabe describes how she was taken under her wing by Ireland legend Emma Byrne when she signed for Arsenal at the tail-end of 2015. After a little over a year with the North London side, then Ireland manager Colin Bell called Katie to inform her that he was appointing the Arsenal star as captain.
"Then a bit more than a year later, in July 2017, things got even more insane," wrote McCabe.
Read more: Ireland v Australia: Where to watch the Girls in Green's opening Women's World Cup game in Dublin
"I was on a trip to Coney Island, Northern Ireland, with Ruesha, my partner at the time, and her family. At some point I checked my phone, and I saw that I had a missed call from Colin Bell, the Ireland coach...
"I said, “Alright, what is it?” He said, “Would you like to be the next captain of Ireland?”
"I said, “Are you messing?” Hahahahahaha. “Are you joking?” Me? Colin was like, “Well, would ya?”
"I was like, “But why? How?” Colin said, “I’ll explain it if you just say yes.”
"Of course I said yes. But I couldn’t believe it. I got off the phone and just went, Did … did that just happen? You know that feeling, right?"
"When I told Ruesha, she was like … WHAT? " The pair began dating around 2016 and went public with their relationship in 2019.
Together, both McCabe and Littlejohn have fronted campaigns designed to help young people struggling with their sexuality. In early 2022, McCabe spoke to RSVP about what their relationship looked like up to that point:
"It's funny because I've got some teammates who are with people that are not in the football world and they love it. But me and Ruesha obviously both play professional football with Arsenal and Aston Villa and we both represent the Republic of Ireland, and having that is great."
She added: "If I come home after a tough day at training, or if maybe a game doesn't go our way, she understands to let the dust settle a little bit. I think we've got a really good balance of that, we know when to switch off from the football talk.
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Sign up for the Dublin Live newsletter to get the latest headlines straight to your inbox.
