ESPN’s Laura Rutledge proves that a woman can be a mom as well as a pioneer in her career. But it wasn’t her initial plan when she married former MLB player Josh Rutledge. She did quit her job and described herself as “trying to be a baseball wife” but eventually realized she needed to return to what she loved. And now she confesses that her husband played a part in that realization.

“It’s so funny because when we met and when we got married, I was like, ‘I’m gonna be a baseball wife.’ That’s I’m gonna do,” said Rutledge during her Saturday appearance on The Pivot Podcast. “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 gave that job up. And I mean, it was good for a 25-year-old. I was making good money. I was living in San Diego. I was loving it. And all of a sudden, it was kind of all gone. And I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to fully commit to him.’ We got a dog; like, we’re not ready for kids yet.”

“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,” added the ESPN sideline reporter.

In 2011, Laura Rutledge met her husband at a random football tailgate in Alabama. After dating for nearly two years, they were married in December 2013. Shortly after getting married, she gave up a “good job” at Fox Sports San Diego to fully commit to her husband, Josh Rutledge. She took a break but, with her husband’s support, restarted her career “from ground zero” as a “one-woman band” before eventually being hired by ESPN and the SEC Network in 2014.

Her current prominence is a far cry from the restart. Having signed a multi-year contract extension in early 2025, she is the sideline reporter for the Monday Night Football crew, working alongside Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, and Lisa Salters. Laura remains a key part of ESPN’s coverage for the NFL Draft, the CFP, and The Masters. She continues to host NFL Live, the network’s year-round daily NFL news show.

To focus on her expanded NFL responsibilities, she is stepping down from hosting SEC Nation for the 2026 season after hosting since 2017. Besides this, she is even slated to be part of the broadcast team when ESPN hosts Super Bowl LXI in 2027. While pursuing her passion and career, she is also the mother of two children. She has a daughter, Reese, born in October 2019, and a son, Jack, born in May 2023.

Her love for what she does may be the reason for her quick return after giving birth to Reese.

Laura Rutledge never takes a long career gap

ESPN’s Laura Rutledge has frequently described her husband as her “great encourager” and a grounding force who helps her navigate the insecurities of being in the public eye. But the woman is an inspiration to many with ambition. She has been candid about the personal and professional challenges of motherhood.

Initially, she feared that becoming a mother would end the professional momentum she had built at ESPN. For her first pregnancy in 2019, she took a leave from her duties at ESPN and the SEC Network, with reporter Marty Smith filling in for her on SEC Nation. But she returned to work remarkably quickly after her first child, just three weeks post-delivery, and has since seen her career reach new heights.

How she balances her high-pressure career with motherhood, for which Josh publicly expressed his pride. After retiring from MLB following the 2018 season, he transitioned into a second career focused on business and finance, but he remained actively involved in her professional life. After helping her choose an outfit for a broadcast, he jokingly commented on her IG that he “nailed it.”