Last season, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge expanded her NFL footprint by joining the Monday Night Games’ broadcast team as a sideline reporter. But getting to this position wasn’t easy, especially as she tried to balance her broadcasting career with the decision to become a mom. She is now a successful working mom, but she still goes through a daily internal conflict.

A day before 2026 Mother’s Day, Laura Rutledge opened up about her struggles with working mom guilt during her appearance on The Pivot Podcast.

“In my case, every single day I’m like a ball of guilt; I really am,” said Laura. “Like, I just sit there and beat myself up all day, and I think it’s funny because kids a lot of times, especially at my kids’ age, I don’t know, don’t understand time. I tell myself that a lot, like they don’t know that you’ve been gone a week if you spend an hour with them on the floor, playing Legos or doing whatever it is.”

“But there’s always this feeling (guilt) with me, and I’ll even say it to my mom because she’ll try to make me feel better about it,” added the ESPN reporter. “I’m like, ‘I feel I’m the sketchy member of the pack.’ Like we’re a wolf pack, but I’m the one who always has to go off. And then I come back. I always come back, but they always have to wonder, like, is she going to be there? Or is she going to be home? They’ve adjusted so well to it that it almost breaks my heart.”

Laura Rutledge has two children with her husband, Josh Rutledge: a daughter, Reese, and a son, Jack. During her first pregnancy, she took leave from her duties at ESPN and the SEC Network. However, she returned to work just three weeks after delivery.

She thought motherhood would slow down or entirely ruin the momentum of her high-profile career, but after giving birth, she realized it had completely transformed her perspective on ambition. “I was afraid being a mom would hold me back, and then it became my greatest strength,” she said.

However, her children’s sacrifice for her career, which she had fought so hard to build, always makes her feel guilty.  Yet, she realized that the idea of a perfect work-life balance never exists, and that helped her find joy through the guilt.

“I wish, I’m like, ‘Y’all are too well adjusted. You don’t need me.’ As a mom, I think it’s specifically to being a mom where you almost want your kids to need you in that way and you need them in that way,” said Laura. “You know, I miss them so much anytime I’m away from them. But I also think, and this has really helped me, clinging to this idea that this is an example for them where they can grow up.”

While balancing her broadcasting career alongside motherhood, Laura Rutledge set an example for her children that they can do both and be the best versions of themselves. When she first joined, ESPN utilized her across a wide range of sports. In 2023, after her second child, she took over as host of ESPN’s daily flagship pro football show while continuing her CFB duties.

But she never stays away from work too long because her children give her the strength and perspective to fuel her through moments of doubt. Along with them, her husband is a constant support for her success.

Laura Rutledge’s husband is a source of support

Former MLB player Josh Rutledge is the anchor that allows Laura to survive the intense demands of her career and family. After their marriage, Laura Rutledge briefly quit her broadcasting job to travel with her husband during his baseball career. However, he quickly realized it wasn’t what she was meant to do and forced her to return to work.

“I did it for probably, I don’t know, let’s call it eight months [quit job] or so maybe less, and he was like, ‘You need to go back to work.’ Because I was driving him crazy, and I was driving myself crazy because I realized I’m not like that; I just have to do more. I have to, and I love this too much,” said Laura. “And it was interesting because as much as I loved him and I wanted to be there for him, he realized, like, she needs to do what she loves too.”

After her marriage in 2013, she gave up her job at Fox Sports San Diego to focus on her family and Josh. But with Josh’s support, she joined ESPN in 2014. Since then, she has never looked back.