WNBA Star Natasha Cloud Marries In Secret

Last week, the news broke that WNBA player Natasha Cloud and professional softball player Aleshia Ocasio reportedly tied the knot in a secret ceremony – a common theme we have seen throughout these days of COVID and quarantine – last fall.

According to sports reporter Greydy Diaz, Cloud spilled the heartwarming revelation during a “Women’s Basketball” conversation on the social media app Clubhouse. The news also comes just as Cloud announced she re-signed with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics for the 2021 season.

Diaz also reported that Cloud said she was partially motivated to marry out of fear that Donald Trump’s reelection could lead to further assaults on queer rights.

“[Natasha Cloud] revealed she got married in October just in case Donald Trump got re-elected,” Diaz tweeted. “She feared for her rights.”

https://twitter.com/GreydyDiaz/status/1369794355851100162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1369794355851100162%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.out.com%2Fsports%2F2021%2F3%2F11%2Fwnbas-natasha-cloud-softballs-aleshia-ocasio-secretly-got-married

The couple has not yet publicly confirmed their marriage elsewhere, and no details about the wedding have been revealed. However, both Cloud and Ocasio posted lovely photos from a pumpkin patch on October 4. They first announced their engagement in July 2019.

Fans have given the athletes’ an overwhelmingly amount of support and have been picking up clues about their nuptials on their social media accounts, especially after Cloud uploaded a photo of her and Ocasio to Instagram over the holidays with the caption, “The Cloud’s.”

Ocasio’s Instagram account is also now hyphenated as Lele Ocasio-Cloud.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJQISxNHYPk/?utm_source=ig_embed

One fan shared that her recent wedding was also propelled by a fear of losing the right to marry whoever she wants. These experiences reflect how the 2020 appointment of Amy Coney Barrett, which further tilted the Supreme Court into a conservative majority, instilled fear in millions of LGBTQ Americans about losing access to health care, marriage equality, gender-affirming spaces, and a host of other legal protections.

Marriage aside, Cloud experienced the pressures of living in Trump’s America in other ways. The basketball star made headlines last year after announcing that she would sit out the 2020 WNBA season to advocate for social justice and equality, inspired by the international protests surrounding the murders of George Floyd Jr. and Breonna Taylor. The decision was not without its consequences because Cloud was forced to pay back her year’s salary.

Related Article: Governor Jared Polis Is Engaged

Cloud and Ocasio are now in a group of athletes taking to the next level.

National Women’s Soccer League stars Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger just announced the adoption of their first child, WNBA athletes Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner announced their relationship on Valentine’s Day, and WNBA legend Sue Bird and NWSL’s Megan Rapinoe announced their engagement in October.

Photos Courtesy of Social Media