ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge has revealed that she feared getting pregnant would spell the end of her television career in an emotional podcast appearance.
The glamorous TV host, 37, is married to former MLB player Josh Rutledge and they have two children, daughter Reese and son Jack – the former born in 2019.
But what should have been happy news when she first found out she was pregnant was in fact a huge source of concern for Rutledge, who is now revealing for the first time that she feared it could end her entire career.
Appearing on a Mother’s Day special episode of The Pivot podcast, she explained: ‘There was a long time where I thought it wouldn’t be possible to be a mom and also do this.
‘We were married for seven years before we even had kids. We were trying, it wasn’t happening. And so maybe it’s not for me… I’m chasing this career dream, I can’t even visualize how it would be possible to have a child while I was doing what I was doing in 2019 when I got pregnant with Reese.’
And then the pregnancy came, while Rutledge was busy hosting SEC Nation on the SEC Network and traveling around the country to college football games.
Laura Rutledge broke down in tears revealing the moment she thought her career was over
The ESPN sideline reporter gave birth to her first child – a daughter named Reese – in 2019
Even host and former NFL linebacker Channing Crowder began to cry on the podcast episode
‘I’ll never forget finding out that I was pregnant and being so disappointed, which is the worst thing,’ she admits. ‘I was disappointed because I thought this was going to end my career. I’m building all this momentum… I can’t be on TV pregnant.’
She went on to explain that during her pregnancy, she crammed in as many events as she could before what she felt was the inevitable conclusion of her top-level career.
That did not turn out to be the truth, though, with Rutledge’s career in fact going from strength to strength, and she is now widely regarded as one of the most-respected reporters in the industry by fans and sportspeople alike.
As the podcast episode continued, Rutledge broke down in tears as she reminisced on what it feels like to be a mom on Mother’s Day, ‘blessed with the most amazing people’.
‘How could I ever think that career was more important than what this is, and knowing this feeling?’ she added. ‘It is the greatest joy of my life to celebrate Mother’s Day [with my kids] and to hear their little voices.
The TV host is married to former professional baseball player Josh Rutledge (pictured)
Rutledge is pictured left in 2019, shortly before giving birth to her first child Reese
Such was the emotion in the room, even host and former Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder began to cry after hearing Rutledge’s story.
‘I’m mad you made me cry, Laura,’ he joked.
In 2020, between the two births of her children, Rutledge became the host of ESPN’s NFL Live, and five years later she joined Monday Night Football as a full-time sideline reporter.
Rutledge currently lives in Connecticut with her husband Josh – who played for the Rockies and the Red Sox – and their two children.
