Former England international Anita Asante has confirmed her marriage to BBC reporter and former Wales hockey international Beth Fisher.
Asante, who played for English clubs Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa and won 75 caps for her country across a near-20 year professional career, has been in a relationship with Fisher since the pair were introduced at an event themed around being LGBT+ in sport in 2019.
And the couple tied the knot on Friday night, with Fisher taking to social media to post a photo of the ceremony along with the caption: "Got married at 3, in bed by 10! A perfect start to married life with my perfect person" followed by two heart-related emojis.
Asante quote-tweeted the post with the caption: "2023 starting off the best way possible" followed by the heart-eye emoji.
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Asante and Fisher have both been open about their relationship, using their platforms to raise awareness for the LGBT+ community within sport.
In an interview with SkySports in 2020, Asante opened up on her relationship with Fisher, telling Jon Holmes: "Being gay or lesbian in women's football was taboo for such a long time. There was a period between two generations where this negative bubble sat, and players were distancing themselves from the 'label' and the stereotypes. It was not seen as beneficial to the growth of the game and there were people in positions of power saying, 'don't brandish your sexuality', or things like that.
“It influenced our generation, making players feel they couldn't be fully open with the audience. Now we are starting to see the shift again into this modern period where there's more freedom to express yourself. Megan Rapinoe, Ashlyn Harris and other US players have been at the forefront of that and have shown that who they are as people and their relationships can be a positive way to interact with the sport."
Asante, who retired from football on April 26, 2022 after two seasons with newly-promoted WSL side Villa, was appointed first-team coach at FA Women’s Championship club Bristol City in July that same year.
City are currently second in the league, one point off leaders London City Lionesses but with a game in hand. City host WSL side Manchester City in the FA WSL quarter-finals next Wednesday at Ashton Gate.
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