WNBA star Candace Parker comes out and introduces pregnant wife to the world in gorgeous post
Candace Parker and her wife, Anya Petrakova. (Instagram)
WNBA player Candace Parker has come out on Instagram, revealing that she is married and expecting a baby with her wife.
Parker, 35, announced that she has been married to Russian professional basketball player Anya Petrakova for two years, and that the couple are having a baby.
The WNBA star has one child already, 12-year-old Lailaa, who she said is “pumped to be a big sister”.
Writing on Instagram, Parker said: “Two years ago, I got to marry my best friend in front of our close family and friends.
“My heart could have exploded. I cried like a baby… To know me or you is to know our love.
“I am proud of us and what we have built and who we have grown to become both individually and together.”
Posting a carousel of photos, Parker included snaps from her wedding to Petrakova, her wife’s pregnancy, and a shot of the two of them with Lailaa.
She added: “Thank you for always loving Lailaa as your own, being my calm, my support, my voice of reason, my laughs, my cuddles, my dance in the rain, my happy, my home… Thanks for constantly challenging me and telling me when I’m wrong.
“We’ve always dreamed of growing our family… It’s surreal that we now have a baby on the way! Lailaa is pumped to be a big sister!”
Parker is not the only team member of the Chicago Sky who has recently celebrated a same-sex marriage.
Two of her teammates wed in 2018: Courtney Vandersloot and Alexandria Quigley.
Quigley wrote on Instagram at the time: “Happiest day of my life! Married my best friend and had all of our favourite people in one room!”
Vandersloot told the Seattle Times: “I’m lucky enough to play and travel with my wife.
“It’s awesome. We compete. We get at it. We make each other better. I’m hard on her, but that’s how it’s been since the beginning. I credit a lot of my individual success to her.”
