Megan Rapinoe Opens Up About Brother Michael's Death From Alcoholism

When you’ve spent your entire career chasing excellence on a global stage, the quiet moments at home can feel foreign. That’s what Megan Rapinoe discovered when she returned to her family last year following the death of her older brother Michael, who struggled with alcoholism. On Thursday, June 11, during an episode of her podcast A Touch More, the retired soccer icon opened up about the loss for the first time publicly—and in doing so, revealed something deeply personal about herself.

Speaking with guest Abby Wambach, a fellow former U.S. women’s national team star, Rapinoe didn’t shy away from the harder truths. She acknowledged seeing the same patterns of obsession, compulsion, and addiction in herself and her brother, recognizing that both had been searching for something throughout their lives. What struck her most was realizing how long it had been since she’d simply been home—not for a holiday, not for a wedding, but just to be there. For someone who spent most of her storied career with Seattle Reign FC and the national team before retiring in 2023, that realization hit differently.

Wambach, who played for the U.S. women’s national team from 2003 to 2015, understood the cost intimately. She’d had to miss one of her own brother’s weddings due to soccer commitments, something she identified as one of her bigger regrets. The two athletes acknowledged a painful paradox: soccer gave them so much, but it also took things they could never get back—relationships, presence, time to develop connections with the people closest to them.

This moment of vulnerability is particularly significant because Rapinoe has been open about family struggles before. She’s previously discussed her brother Brian’s battles with drug addiction, which began when he was arrested for methamphetamine possession at age 15 and led to years cycling through the prison system. In her 2020 interview with People, she expressed her belief that Brian needed drug rehab, not federal prison. In her memoir One Life, she wrote with raw honesty:“This is the truth about having a drug user in the family: the feeling of devastation never goes away.”

Now, with Michael’s death, that devastation has deepened. For Rapinoe, a woman who commanded stadiums and stood as a global icon for her sport and activism, the privacy of grief—the longing to have been home more, to have had more time—is something no championship can fix. It’s a reminder that even the most accomplished among us are bound by the same family bonds, the same regrets, and the same human need to simply be present.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline is available at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).