Mary Earps is beginning life as a mother while continuing her football career. The former England goalkeeper has revealed that she and her partner, Kitty Forrest, welcomed a baby boy on 5 November. The announcement marks a personal change for Earps, whose public identity has long been tied to elite football and major international tournaments.
The couple kept the pregnancy private. Earps shared the news on Instagram with a video documenting their journey, introducing their son as “Baby Forrest Earps” while keeping his first name under wraps. That choice gives the family room to share the occasion without making every detail public. For a high-profile athlete, privacy can be a practical boundary as well as a personal preference.
“I can’t quite believe I’m writing this, but yesterday Kitty and I welcomed our beautiful baby boy into the world!” Earps wrote. She said the couple were “absolutely over the moon” and still taking in the experience, adding that they were excited to begin life as a family of three. Her message was celebratory, but also clear about the moment being new and still settling in.
Earps acknowledged the change ahead as she returns to the demands of professional sport while raising a child. “Already a full-time footballer, and now a full-time mum too!” she wrote, saying she looked forward to sharing more about balancing football, motherhood and everything in between. For now, she said, the family was enjoying time together. The baby’s name is still to come.
A new chapter alongside a changing career
Earps announced her relationship with Forrest a year ago. The arrival comes after a career that has included defining moments in recent English women’s football: she was part of the Lionesses squad that won Euro 2022 and reached the World Cup final the following year. She retired from international football last summer, closing one demanding chapter while remaining active at club level.
That distinction matters. International retirement changes the shape of a footballer’s schedule, but it doesn’t make club football a part-time undertaking. Training, travel, recovery and competition still place substantial demands on an athlete’s time and body. Earps hasn’t described how parenthood will affect those routines, so the practical arrangement remains a private matter for now.
At club level, the former Manchester United goalkeeper spent the past two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain before signing for London City Lionesses this summer. The move gives her a new club setting as she enters this next stage of life. Her announcement signals that motherhood will be part of the public story of her playing career, though she hasn’t outlined what balancing the two will look like day to day.
What the announcement leaves open
This is more significant than it looks: Earps has framed motherhood and football as parts of the same life, rather than presenting one as a pause in the other. That’s a meaningful public statement from a prominent player, even though it doesn’t tell us what support or scheduling arrangements the family will rely on. The distinction between visibility and detail is deliberate. She’s shared the milestone while keeping the specifics to herself.
For professional athletes, returning to competition after having a child can involve questions of timing, recovery and support, alongside the ordinary pressures of a team season. Those demands vary from person to person, and Earps hasn’t said how she’ll approach them. (And this is the part most people overlook.) A public announcement can invite speculation about what comes next, but it doesn’t make the family’s private routine public property.
If you're following Earps’ career, the next useful signals will come from what she chooses to share about her return and her role at London City Lionesses. Her post leaves that door open without promising a timetable or a detailed account. And yet, the immediate news is simpler: a new family member, and a moment the couple are taking in together.
Former England teammates Alex Greenwood, Lucy Bronze, Chloe Kelly and Ella Toone were among those who congratulated Earps and Forrest. Their messages place the announcement within a football community that has followed Earps through major career milestones. For the couple, the immediate focus is their newborn; for fans, the next chapter is still taking shape. No timetable.