WWW.PRIDE.COM
Christen Press and Tobin Heath celebrate dog adoption in new PETA campaign (exclusive)
Soccer superstars and gay athlete power couple Christen Press and Tobin Heath have a new member of the family, and they want the whole world to know about it!Press, who currently plays for Angel City Football Club in the NWSL, and Heath, who is retired from professional soccer, have been a couple for nine years. They played together for several years on the USNWT and won back-to-back World Cups with the team in 2015 and 2019.Now, the couple has teamed up with PETA for a new campaign sharing how their adopted dog has improved their lives and encouraging others to adopt pets as well.The soccer players star in a new video where they tell the story of how they adopted their dog, Bobbi. In the video, Heath reveals that Bobbi started as a foster dog for the couple, but they couldn't imagine giving her up and ended up adopting her permanently."She has changed my life," Heath says. "She has given me so much more than we could have ever imagined. It's really cool to have an extra heartbeat in the house."Press spoke with PRIDE about the campaign, their dog, and her and Heath's plans for their family and the future.PRIDE: Where does adopting a foster dog rank on your list of Gayest Accomplishments?Christen Press: [Laugh] I don't know. I think you have to tell me. We were not planning to foster or to adopt. And it all just happened to us in the loveliest of ways. We were very proud DINKs. I think some people think you can still say double income, no kids with a dog, but I don't. The dog is definitely a large-budget item in our lives now. But yeah, we're loving being young dog parents.How has adopting a dog changed your life?A lot of the reason that I wanted to try fostering in the first place was just because Tobin and I are very work-oriented people. And I think being athletes, you don't really know another way other than giving your whole self to your career. And as we enter the last phase of our playing career and, like, start to transition to the next phase, I wanted, honestly, to remind Tobin that there are other things in life other than work that can be quite lovely and nourishing.And I think that without kind of disrupting the cycle that we're in of like work, work, work between playing and running our business, I needed to disrupt that cycle to just remind us both that there are a lot of ways to have a full and lovely life.How did Bobbi go from being a foster to a permanent adoption?I was thinking I'm going to adopt a dog that's not the normal type of dog that Tobin and I have talked about. I'm going to foster a dog that's outside of the norm of what we've talked about that we would have for a dog. Because then it'll be easier to foster, and we'll find a great home, and it'll be so great.And then we'll have reminded ourselves that we care for things and love things and talk about family planning and all that. And then within three days, I said to Tobin, Oh, we have to take Bob, whose name was Bingo. Bingo is her foster name. We have to take her to Puppy Yoga so she gets adopted. And Tobin was like, "My dog is not going to an adoption yoga session." I was like, well, I guess we've changed our tune here!Honestly, I wish Tobin was on the phone because she would tell you like Bob has already changed her life. And she started saying that, like on day four, which I thought was quite comical to be honest. But I think it was just such a big shift for us because our job can be so selfish. It can be like, "I have to eat. I have to sleep. I have to travel. I miss my friend's weddings." Like, just this all-encompassing dedication to your craft.That it's been a really, really big shift for us to say, you know, "We have to come home, take care of the dog. We got to rewrite our schedules. We have to change our lives." And I think we had seen that as like responsibility [and hadn't thought about] like the joy of coming home to your dog. Like leaving the party early and coming home to just be home with your pup.I think we had seen that only as something that we didn't want. And with Bob, we realized it was such an important part of life to be able to choose to make sacrifices to take care of something else. And it's been a really, really beautiful addition to our life and family.What does the next phase include for you?Well, I do know that there will be at some point life after soccer. And I don't know when that is.I think the reason that Tobin and I work really well together is we're similar in that we leave a lot of space for exploration. And so, while we've been playing, we've been running our business. So we already have like next phases layered in, and we're co-CEOs. So there's like a natural step ladder for us. At the same time, Tobin's been doing all sorts of stuff. She's with FIFA at the Men's World Cup as an analyst. She started the World Sevens. And so she's just trying all different things with an open mind and like an eye towards exploration. And whenever my time at Angel City comes to an end, if it's this year or if it's next year, you know, it's not that far away. And I am excited for an opportunity to travel, an opportunity to explore what other career I might have. And to explore the idea of what it would be like to be, you know, family first, either one of us or both of us, if we decided to grow our family any more.You and Tobin have been letting the public into your private lives more recently. Why now?I think as we spend more time in front of the camera on our podcast, the relationship that we have with our community has just grown. And it really is like a two-way relationship that I don't think that most athletes get with their community that we have because of our business. And we have a membership within our business where people interact with our community all the time, right? And so, like, at some point, the lines blur between who's our close friends in real life and who are like these people that we represent and we play for, and they listen to us talk about our problems. And there, it became more intimate, our relationship with the public. And I think that's when we became more comfortable sharing it.I think that for Tobin and I, we've always believed that it can be tricky to have a public relationship because, to be fair, most of what we've seen is that the women's soccer community really, really loves an openly gay couple, right? And I think the gay community is craving representation, and we really need that, right? So, in a way, the reason that we were at first keeping ourselves more private is so that our relationships stayed sacred for us. And it never became like a business. It never became like, "Oh, it makes sense to do this because, like, this is how we make our money." You know? And with our teammates and other public figures, straight and gay, you can see how that is a tricky thing to navigate.Of course, we want to be proud and loud and like represent the queer community, of course. But at the same time, it was important for Tobin and I to be athletes first, individual athletes, and businesswomen. And for us to be a brand that's united has been a slow journey that has become more possible as our relationship has become sturdier over time.Are you proud to be working with PETA on this campaign?To be a part of this campaign with PETA is such an honor. I did a campaign with PETA about 10 years ago, right? My parents adopted a dog. We adopted it with my parents, but you know, my childhood dog and me.And now, 10 years later, it's me and my wife, and our dog inside of our home. And it's like the intimacy is growing. And I am proud of that. And I think it's been really special how we've allowed our relationship with the public and with the community to sort of just slowly and organically blossom and not snowball into something that we weren't ready for. And I'm excited to see what happens next.Why are you encouraging others to adopt pets?I just say from the bottom of my heart, I think that there's so many ways that we can all contribute to the world and make our mark. But adopting a pup is a really beautiful thing. And I can't imagine that a gorgeous, smart, hardworking, adorable, lovable dog like mine could be out there and not have a home. But there's billions of them, right? And I just want to encourage people to take a look because taking from a shelter, from rescue organizations, is really important and it's really fulfilling. And it makes Tobin and I really proud. And we hope that and encourage people to look into it and explore with us as well.
0 Comments 0 Shares 3 Views 0 Reviews