As the wife of a nine-time MLB All-Star, Kayla Harper is used to watching her husband, Bryce Harper, shine in the limelight — and handle the criticisms that come with being a high-profile professional athlete.
“It’s not even when people say he sucks, because obviously he doesn’t suck,” Kayla, 33, told host Kristin Cavallari during a Tuesday, September 1, appearance on the “Let’s Be Honest” podcast alongside her husband, 33, whom she’s been with since high school. “I think it’s more when they attack his character and I’m like, ‘That is not him at all.’”
Kayla teared up as she defended her husband, who has found himself mixed up in controversies throughout his career.
She continued, “Why do I get emotional? But yeah, I think that’s hard — when you hear so many people’s opinions about your husband and that’s not the person that he is, or the dad that he is, or the friend that he is, or even the baseball player that he is.”
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m crying,” she added. “This is so embarrassing. This is why I don’t do this stuff.”
Most recently, Bryce came under fire for making a video on Cameo that, one fan alleges, FanDuel Sportsbook used to feed the fan’s gambling addiction. Bryce denied knowing that’s how the video would be used and said he never consented to doing anything other than read a “holiday video for Terry” from “Bryttanni from FanDuel.”
Kayla added that Bryce’s opinionated nature has made him an easier target for the media.
“I feel like he’s always had a really tough go at media ever since he was younger. I mean, so many opinions,” she said. “I lived a relatively normal life, so seeing that person you care the most about getting torn apart by everybody who doesn’t know him…That’s hard to sit back and not say anything.”
Bryce and Kayla reportedly began their relationship in 2010. The two married in 2016, and Kayla’s comments to The Knot at the time were similar to what she said this week.
“He’s this big, professional baseball player and you would never know it off the field because he treats everyone with respect and is genuine,” she said. “He’s selfless, the most selfless guy ever… I think that’s what always attracted me to him. And he’s goofy and funny—he loves to play pranks on me, and as much as I get annoyed by it, I secretly love it—he’s just the best. I love him.”
