Sports phenomenon Breanna Stewart met her wife, Marta Xargay, while doing the thing she loves best: playing basketball.
Stewart, a New York native, was in Russia playing for the team Dynamo Kursk when she met Xargay, who was born in Spain. Both of them joined the squad for the 2018-19 season, but they didn’t immediately hit it off because they already had their own friends on the team.
“She didn’t talk to me,” Stewart joked to People in 2021. “She was in Russia way before me, I came later. I was trying to figure out the team. … But then, as it went on, I [started] building the relationship with all of my teammates. And then having more of an interest in Marta, but still, you know, nervous to do anything.”
Within a year, however, things had changed. When Stewart returned home to the United States in 2019 to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon, she and Xargay kept up a long-distance relationship — and two years later, they tied the knot.
Xargay announced her retirement from pro basketball in 2021, but she’s continued supporting Stewart as she dominates the WNBA, first as a two-time champion with the Seattle Storm and now as a power forward with the New York Liberty.
“You and me,” Xargay wrote via Instagram in January 2023, sharing a sweet snap of her and Stewart. “It’s a forever kind of thing.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at Stewart and Xargay’s complete relationship timeline:
2018
Marta Xargay and Breanna Stewart. Courtesy of Marta Xargay/Instagram
Stewart and Xargay met while playing for the Russian team Dynamo Kursk.
2019
After Stewart — known to fans as Stewie — returned to the United States to recover from an injury, she continued her relationship with Xargay via long distance.
May 2021
Stewart popped the question while the duo were hiking in Phoenix. “Did a thing. Another ring,” Stewart wrote via Instagram at the time. “She said YES.”
July 2021
The couple tied the knot shortly before Stewart traveled to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, which were postponed by one year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. women’s team went on to win gold.
August 2021
Breanna Stewart and Marta Xargay with daughter Ruby Mae Stewart Xargay. Courtesy of Marta Xargay/Instagram
Two days after Stewart returned from Tokyo, she and Xargay welcomed daughter Ruby via surrogate. Stewart then went to the White House for a belated celebration of the Seattle Storm’s 2020 championship win. “A WNBA championship, Olympic gold and a precious Ruby,” President Joe Biden told Stewart during the visit. “It’s a hell of year you’ve had, kid.”
May 2023
Stewart and Xargay announced they’re expecting their second child. “When 3 turns to 4 … Oct. 2023 🍼👶🏻,” Stewart wrote via Instagram, sharing a photo of herself posing with her pregnant wife and Ruby. “Happy Mother’s Day!”
