Ashlyn Harris opens up on her mental health after backlash to divorce 'storm' with ex Ali Krieger and new romance with Sophia Bush

Ashlyn Harris got candid about 'one of the hardest seasons' of her life amid her highly-publicized divorce from fellow soccer star Ali Krieger. 

The former USWNT player, who has since moved on with new girlfriend Sophia Bush, addressed the cyber-bullying she and her children have faced in the wake of her marriage breakdown. 

'I'm navigating a divorce that's been really hard,' the 38-year-old said at a Women's Health event on Tuesday. 

'I can't control everyone else's reaction. I can't control everyone else's opinions of me. I have to own myself and my body and be present and be human,' she went on. 

The athlete shares custody of her two children Sloane, 3, and Ocean, 2, with Krieger, and said their safety and wellbeing remains her priority.

Ashlyn Harris said her divorce, and new relationship, has led to 'the hardest seasons' of her life

She filed for divorce from fellow soccer star Ali Krieger in 2023 after four years together

'My storm doesn't have to be theirs. It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through — dealing with a divorce with two very young children and not letting them see or feel my storm and rain,' she explained. 

'It's a really big test.' 

She previously called for the 'unbearably painful' comments to stop in an Instagram post last November 2023.

'Several weeks ago, a process that had been ongoing privately for some time became public,' Harris wrote at the time. 

'Ending a relationship after almost 13 years of friendship, teammate-ship, marriage and co-parenting (many of them good years) is a decision that was not made lightly,' she continued. 

'The online hate that has happened since has been one of the most personally devastating experiences of my life. Words matter. The cheering on abuse, the people clamoring to encourage me to commit suicide, and the cruel words spoken about my children, and who I am as a mother? Those words matter.'

'I can't control everyone else's reaction,' she said of the backlash to her Sophia Bush romance

Harris and Krieger share custody of their two young children, Sloane and Ocean 

The former couple met in 2010 as teammates on the USWNT. They got engaged in 2019 and tied the knot in Miami that same year. 

Their split became public in September 2023 when Harris filed for divorce and swiftly moved on with Bush. 

During the panel earlier this week, she credited the One Tree Hill actress for helping manage her mental health struggles. 

'I say this often to Sophia — if I'm walking into a fire, I have to be equipped for that fire. I have to get my fire suit, I've got to get my tools, I gotta get my oxygen mask, I gotta get my water hose,' she said/ 

'I'm f---ing breaking down that door and I'm finding a way [out]. It might not be an easy window — it might be a back door, it might be climbing through a roof. But I'm equipped to handle the process.'