Mel Reid has always known exactly who she is. On the golf course, she is an LPGA Tour winner, a fiery Solheim Cup teammate and a fierce competitor who strives to be the best. Away from the game, she’s a devoted wife and daughter who is the life of the party and the first one to crack a joke using her signature dry English wit. And she’s an outspoken LGBTQ+ advocate who takes a lot of pride in representing her community week in and week out on the LPGA Tour. But now, Mel will start a new chapter, this time as a mom, as she and her wife Carly are expecting their first child later this year.
Funny enough, Mel met Carly on a golf course. The pair were introduced by a mutual friend at the 2018 Ryder Cup, held that year at Le Golf National in France, just a week before Mel was scheduled to move to West Palm Beach, Fla. When the two began dating, times were tough as Mel was frustrated with her game and struggling financially, having come to the United States with little more than her golf clubs and her suitcase, and Carly was going through the process of coming out, emotionally challenging no matter your background. But the pair got through it and now look back on their relationship with fondness, grateful for how much those difficulties strengthened their bond.
“I was struggling in my career a little bit and then (Carly was) struggling with identity and stuff,” Mel recalled. “We were kind of giving each other space but then also being there for each other. It has built this incredible bond between us. I genuinely feel like we have a very healthy relationship. We are genuinely best friends and happen to be together as well. We’ve just been through quite a lot together in the last five years and always come out of it stronger. I think that’s a credit to our relationship.”
The pair got married on April 15, 2022, and just over a year later, they’re having a baby for the very first time. Motherhood can be intimidating, especially as a professional athlete who travels 25+ weeks a year, even more so if you’re the spouse of that athlete. But Mel and Carly are thrilled to be parents and are trying to soak in these last few months of solitude before the baby arrives.