Sometimes, people underestimate the kind of support partners provide. For ESPN’s Laura Rutledge, her husband, Josh Rutledge, has been her pillar of strength. She once explored becoming a “baseball wife” after marrying the MLB star in 2013. But within less than a year, it became clear that her talents lay in broadcasting, and with her husband’s support, she returned to it. But it wasn’t easy treading back into that world.

ESPN offered her a modest 12-event deal, and the broadcasters even left her husband perplexed about why they were even paying her for it. But gradually, with persistence, that 12-year event deal blossomed into marquee playoff appearances, hosting SEC Nation and NFL Live. Rutledge now hosts Monday Night Football. But with that busy schedule, parenting for her two children becomes difficult. Luckily, she has got help.

“It’s because of him (Josh) that I could even build what’s been built. And so we talk about that, but it’s tough,” Rutledge said on the Pivot podcast. “It makes me cringe when we’re somewhere, and we’ll be meeting somebody, and they’re like, ‘Well, what do you do?’ And he’s so great about it. He’s like, ‘I stay home.’ Like, I help out, you know, I support.’ And I hate that for him because I’m so proud of him. I want him to feel like people receive him better than that.”

Josh is a former MLB infielder who retired in 2018 and has since transitioned into business and finance. But like many couples, Josh doesn’t treat the whole parenting thing as individual responsibilities, but rather as a partnership. Thus, when Laura is away for an event, handling busy schedules, late-night games, and coverages, he steps into a full-time father role. And to do that, Josh even gave up some of the ventures he undertook after retiring.

“He’s handled it all so well,” Laura praised her husband. “But there are definitely times he’s had some other career opportunities that he’s done, and he does a great job. He manages a Ford dealership that we own, and he does a lot that people don’t realize. But he actually has given those up because he said, ‘I don’t feel like I can support the kids as well as I want to and support you as well as I want to by doing all of this.'”

The couple has two children. Their daughter, Reese, was born in 2019, and their son was born in 2023. Laura was initially nervous about whether she’d be able to balance her career and being a mother. And that’s where Josh chipped in.

“I’ll never forget finding out that I was pregnant and being so disappointed, which is like the worst thing,” Rutledge said. “I thought that this was going to end my career. I’m like, “I’m building all this momentum. I can’t get pregnant. I can’t be on TV, pregnant. There were other examples of women who had done it, but it did not feel like that was my story and my journey.”

During the time of her children’s births, she handled marquee shows flawlessly. It happened because of her husband, whom Laura calls the “great encourager,” who helped navigate those public insecurities and self-doubt. Josh, being a former pro, knew the grueling demands of a pro career and aligned himself with that to support his wife.

Laura Rutledge opens up her husband’s support in her return to broadcasting

Rutledge probably always seemed destined for the broadcasting success she enjoys today. She graduated from Florida with a degree in journalism and won the Red Barber Excellence Award in broadcasting. She also tried her hand at beauty pageants and won the Miss Florida title in 2012. The 37-year-old’s career took off from then on, but when she married Josh in 2013, she decided to quit permanently and become a “baseball wife.”

“It’s so funny because when we met and when we got married, I was like, ‘I’m gonna be a baseball wife” Rutledge said. “And I had a good job at the time. I worked for Fox Sports San Diego, covering the Padres, and they were in the same division as the Rockies. And I’m like, ‘I’m not covering the team that you’re going to be playing. Like, that’s just weird. I want to support you, so I quit that job.

“I did it for probably, I don’t know, let’s call it eight months 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; I just have to do more. I have to, and I love this too much. 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. And maybe it is possible to do both.”

Josh’s support made all the difference and helped lead Rutledge to where she is today. Of course, she worked hard, put in those extra hours, and prepared meticulously, but that extra nudge from her husband was the final relief to pursue what she wanted. As a result, she is a prominent name and signed a multi-year contract extension in 2025 to remain with ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew.