Alex Morgan has been quarantining in South Florida with her husband, soccer player Servando Carrasco, their two dogs, and her mother-in-law. She is in the home stretch of her first pregnancy, with her daughter due any day. When I speak to the co-captain of the United States women’s soccer team over the phone, she tells me she is patiently waiting for her daughter to arrive but truly hopes she comes tomorrow. “The silver lining of being quarantined is that I have had time completely to myself to feel ready to bring a human into this world. Our lives are going to revolve around our daughter any day now so I’m just trying to maximize the time I have with my husband now,” she says.
Hublot Friend of the Brand: Soccer World Champion Alex Morgan
Morgan’s day-to-day life in quarantine is surprisingly similar to other Americans who are practicing social distancing to help stop the spread of COVID-19. After getting a healthy nine hours of sleep, Morgan will savor a light breakfast in her backyard before taking a mile-long walk with her husband and dogs. “The dogs can only last for a mile before getting too tired in this heat so I’ll usually go for an extra mile without them,” she adds. As a competitive athlete, maintaining some sort of fitness regime has been crucial for Morgan throughout her pregnancy, and she is lucky enough to be able to continue her workouts from home. “We built an at-home gym in our garage so I’ll go in there and do some strength work and stretching. After that I’ll cool off in the pool.”
Morgan admits that there is a block of time in the afternoon–when it is the hottest–that she uses to organize the house a bit, get ready for her baby, or simply take a nap. While the weather in South Florida can make Morgan’s pregnancy a bit more uncomfortable, she is hesitant to gripe. “We are fortunate that we get to be outside more than most of the country right now and feel comfortable but, comfortable is a loose term because eventually it just gets too hot and humid. You don’t want to complain but it is human nature to find anything to complain about,” she explains.
In order to maintain some sanity, Morgan and her husband try not to consume an overabundance of news or television in general, and instead, have been trying to keep in touch with family and friends. “We use HouseParty to stay in contact with our friends and family, and I have Zoom calls for my media company, and even the lawyers for the lawsuit we have pending with U.S. Soccer. There is still a lot of work throughout the week but it is sporadic.”
Morgan recently posted a stunning photo to Instagram describing how she has always wanted to be pregnant and how the last nine months of her life have exceeded all of her expectations. With only a few more days to go, Morgan tells me that the experience has been a mind-altering journey. “I think that learning to accept my body in every stage of pregnancy surprised me. I felt like I would absolutely love every moment of [being pregnant] and as much as I’ve learned to love it, I think every woman’s pregnancy is different,” she says. “For me, I showed a lot sooner than a lot of women and I felt self-conscious about that initially.” She adds that she constantly worried about gaining weight, exercising too much, or not enough, and eating the right things. “I think that letting go of what other women have done and what they look like, and embracing my own journey was a learning process for me.”
One of the most surprising aspects of pregnancy for Morgan was having to get comfortable with the different ways people compliment pregnant women. “As a woman, you’re not used to being told that you look big or huge. It is a different mindset to be in. Those people aren’t talking about you in a negative way. They’re really complimenting you,” she says.
In the final days of pregnancy, Morgan tells me that she no longer chooses leggings as her go-to outfit, as they barely fit over her belly. Lately, the soccer star has been opting for maternity dresses and oversized cotton dresses, with a bra being optional.
Hublot Friend of the Brand: Soccer World Champion Alex Morgan
While many businesses have suffered since the outbreak of COVID-19, Morgan feels blessed to be able to support her partners like Hublot. Her partnership with the luxury watchmaker has been ongoing for about six months, and though the quarantine has slowed things down, Morgan is eager to do more with them in the future. “The watches Hublot makes are beautiful and something I really enjoy wearing and expressing myself with,” she says. “When my husband and I picked out his Hublot watch six or seven months ago, we didn’t know if we were having a son or daughter and he had it in the back of his mind that he wanted to pass it down to his son. We do want to have more kids way down the line in the future so I hope he gets to do that. I definitely think the watches Hublot makes are ones that are timeless and should be passed down.”
With so much uncertainty in the world, Morgan is certain of two things in particular. “We’ll have to see what sports are able to do in the next few months but I’m looking forward to getting back on the soccer field. Whether that takes 6 weeks or 12 weeks, I’ll have to see how my body responds.” Morgan says she is prepared to slowly get her body back into shape after the birth of her daughter, while following the guidelines of her coaches and trainers, as well as experts who have studied post-pregnancy fitness. Her second certainty? “I can’t wait to introduce our daughter to our family. I hope it is sooner than later.”
