Elena Delle Donne is gay and engaged.
The reigning WNBA MVP, who’s also representing Team USA at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, reveals such in Vogue magazine’s August issue, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Reporters in Rio on Wednesday asked Delle Donne about the article, and she acknowledged her sexual orientation while also stating the article wasn’t meant to be a coming out announcement. Her fiancée simply is a big part of her life and it didn’t make sense to leave her out of the article, according to the Chicago Sky star.
“As the future keeps moving on, I don’t plan on having our relationship out in the public and all this media on it,” Delle Donne said, per the Chicago Tribune. “But obviously there’s excitement right now because people see it for the first time.”
Delle Donna has been engaged to her fiancée, Amanda Clifton, since June 2, according to the Vogue article.
“I decided I’m not at all going to hide anything,” Delle Donne said Wednesday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “The biggest thing is respecting Amanda’s privacy as well. She’s not on the stage, she doesn’t need to be interviewed and I don’t want her to have to feel that way.”
Delle Donne, who turns 27 next month, was taken second overall in the 2013 WNBA Draft behind former Baylor standout and current Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
