Trinity Rodman and American tennis star Ben Shelton went Instagram official in April.
The USWNT star is in Paris to watch her man in action against Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open.
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Rodman made an appearance on the ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast last year to open up about her rocky relationship with her dad Dennis — an NBA and Chicago Bulls legend.
The elder Rodman won five NBA championships during his career, three alongside basketball great, Michael Jordan.
However, ‘The Worm’s’ career was largely overshadowed by off-field drama, including his highly-publicized relationship with Madonna, near suicide attempt, and penchant for parties and gambling that saw him leave the Bulls midseason to let loose in Las Vegas.
Rodman’s daughter finally opened up about her relationship with her enigmatic and eccentric father, admitting he’s rarely been there for her during her life.
“He’s not a dad,” the 22-year-old Olympic gold medalist told Alex Cooper. “Maybe by blood, but nothing else.”
“We tried to live with him,” she explained.
“But he’s having parties 24/7, bringing random b****** in. He loves the spotlight, he loves the cameras, he loves bringing his children on stage and being like, ‘oh these are my kids.'”
Dennis married Trinity’s mother Michelle Moyer in 2003. Moyer filed for a divorce in 2004 and, after numerous attempts to make the relationship work, the two finally parted ways in 2012 by dissolving their marriage.
The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year has been open about his struggles with alcohol abuse during his life. The rebounding phenom has entered numerous rehab programs to address his challenges which often came at the expense of being an available parent.
“We never want to make him look bad and that is at the cost of holding in a lot,” Trinity went on. “…I guess it’s just the anger that I haven’t been able to let out is like difficult for me.”
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Trinity later revealed she’s ‘lost hope’ in ever getting him back as a father.
“I lost hope in ever getting him back, she said. “I answer the phone [when he calls] now for my conscience to be like, he needed to hear my voice before anything happens. Like that’s why I answer the phone, not for me…
Trinity is one of the most decorated soccer players in the US.
She became the youngest draftee in NWSL history when she made her debut for the Washington Spirit in 2021, winning the NWSL Championship and earning NWSL Rookie of the Year and NWSL Best XI honors in her first season.
The forward, who scored eight goals and six assists last season, also scored three goals during the 2024 Olympics, where the United States won gold.
Sadly, Dennis has been noticeably absent from Trinity’s games for most of her career, albeit for one NWSL quarterfinal in 2021.
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However, he didn’t tell Trinity he was planning to attend the game which threw her for a loop when he randomly showed up.
“He showed up to my game, I was like so mad,” Trinity, who hadn’t seen her dad in months at the time, reflected.
“‘My mom had no idea until he was like, there. And I think she got a call or something. But they were in a suite, field side. And again, going in my rookie year, going into a quarterfinal, I’m already s****** my pants as it is. I’m stressed, like, ‘Oh my gosh, we have to win.”
“We go, I’m playing… and I hear it. And his voice to me is like (makes high-pitched ringing noise) so I hear him go, ‘Let’s go Rodman, let’s go Trinity.'”
“And I’m like, ”oh my f****** gosh.’ Like, there’s no way this is happening right now.’
Trinity revealed that she was crying at halftime but managed to compose herself to finish the match.
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“The whistle blew and I was so mad. I was like ”You took this happy moment from me. You f***** with my head again,”’ she told Cooper. “And he did it so many times. I think he knows what he does.”
She then revealed that he wanted to reconnect with her in Washington.
“He was like, ”I want to see you soon, I’m in DC,”” she said. “I was like, ‘OK.’ And after that, radio silence. I didn’t seem him again until like, this year. I didn’t talk to him or see him until, I think, right after the World Cup.
“Stupid me for thinking that was going to be some new spark,” she said. “That was me every single time. He would come around, I would be like ”OK, here it is again. We’re going to start something. He’s going to be around.’ Boom, months and months and months. This time it was years. And I was just like, ‘OK, cool.'”
She also explained that she doesn’t have his number, and that despite his attempts to reach out, she’s in no hurry to see him.
“He had called me, even these past couple of weeks, he has been trying to call me,” she said. “And it was a Texas number. Didn’t know he lived in Texas. So that’s news to me.”
