This March, GQ presents our Modern Lovers issue, an exploration of the many forms and facets of love today. For the three print covers of this special project, we turned to three couples who are setting exciting examples for what love can look like in 2021 (and beyond).
Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird
Between the championships and Olympic medals they’ve won on the field/court and the boundaries they’ve broken off them, Rapinoe and Bird are a power couple unlike any the sports world has ever seen. For their GQ cover story, the two share the story of their relationship, from their (endearingly) awkward first meeting in Rio to Rapinoe’s proposal in Antigua last fall. They talk about how they’ve helped each other out as athletes, their involvement in Black Lives Matter activism, and how they hope to set an example for future generations by “merely existing together—by being gay and joyfully in love in public,” as writer Emma Carmichael puts it (something you’ll witness firsthand by watching Rapinoe and Bird’s episode of GQ’s Couples Quiz).
Naomi Osaka and Cordae
Few knew that tennis prodigy Naomi Osaka, now the highest-paid female athlete in the world, was dating Grammy-nominated rapper Cordae until he showed up at the 2020 U.S. Open. There he was, roaring on the sidelines of his first tennis match ever. For their GQ cover story, the couple talk about trying to find time to be together despite living hectic, globetrotting lives—particularly in a moment of pandemic traveling and quarantine bubbles. Osaka also reflects on Kobe Bryant’s mentorship and her new Louis Vuitton partnership. In a wide-ranging conversation with GQ’s Mark Anthony Green, the couple show off what it looks like to be young, deeply in love, and figuring it out.
Come back Wednesday to read the story.
Russell Wilson and Ciara
Nobody’s relationship is perfect, but this one comes close. Two insanely successful careers, beautiful homes, beautiful children, powerful platforms—Wilson and Ciara seem to have it all going for them. There’s a lot of gratitude, a lot of fun, and a lot of what Wilson calls “the discipline of marriage.” From morning prayer to planning family vacations, that “discipline” is what got the two to where they are today. In other words, what looks flawless isn’t necessarily effortless, as GQ’s Zach Baron shows with this glimpse inside a union of two.
Come back Thursday to read the story.