Dansby Swanson and Mallory Pugh’s Relationship: All About the Athletes’ Romance

Dansby and Mallory Swanson’s romance is winning in the Windy City.

The Major League Baseball shortstop and U.S. women’s soccer forward went on a blind date in 2017 and wed in 2022. That same year, Dansby joined Mallory (née Pugh) in Chicago when he left the Atlanta Braves for the Chicago Cubs.

In 2023, Dansby spoke to Stadium about how “awesome” it felt to no longer be in a long-distance relationship with Mallory.

“I love everything about her,” he said. “She brings so much good out in me. She just brings such a level of comfort being around her.”

Dansby and Mallory are currently expecting their first child. They announced the happy news on Instagram in May 2025.

From their first interaction to tying the knot, here’s everything to know about the sports couple Dansby and Mallory Swanson.

Mallory got a call-up to the USWNT at 17 years old

Mallory has many accomplishments, including receiving a call-up to the United States Women’s National team at 17 years old. Her career was hot out of the gates. In 2016, she earned her first appearance on the senior national team and scored her first goal against the Republic of Ireland. That same year, she became the youngest player to score a goal in the Olympics at 18. She then went on to win her first World Cup with the USWNT at 21.

“My experience is like a veteran,” she told Fox Sports in 2022, “but I’m young.”

The following year, Mallory joined the Red Stars squad after signing with Sky Blue FC that same year. In the span of three years as a Red Star, she became what soccer star Megan Rapinoe called a “bonafide superstar.” Her 2022 performance — where she scored 11 of the team’s 34 regular-season goals and earned six assists — with the squad earned her a slot on the 2023 World Cup roster. 

However, her plans to join the USWNT at the World Cup came to a halt when an injury put her out indefinitely. In April 2023, during a match against Ireland, Mallory was carted off the field in the first half with a torn patella tendon in her left knee.

Mallory made a full recovery in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Team USA won gold.

Dansby was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015

In 2015, Dansby was the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Later that year, Dansby was traded to the Atlanta Braves — his hometown team that he grew up rooting for since he was a baby. In August 2016, he made his MLB debut, proving his spot as the team’s shortstop.

In 2021, Dansby headed to his first-ever World Series, leading the Braves to a World Series title against the Houston Astros. Dansby hit an epic game-tying home run during the seventh inning of the fourth game, which the Braves later went on to win 3-2. The series went to six games, where Dansby hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to stretch the team’s lead to 6-0. The cherry on top? The last ground ball of the game landed in the hometown hero’s glove.

“Destiny, I guess,” Dansby said, adding, “I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it — I’m an Atlanta lifer. I live and die in the city of Atlanta. And there’s no place that deserves it more than the city of Atlanta.”

Prior to Dansby heading to the World Series, Mallory congratulated her then-boyfriend after the Braves won the National League title with a photoshopped photo of the two on her Instagram page, as she was absent from the game. She captioned the post, “World Series bound!!!! thanks to @emilysonnett photoshopping skills I was able to be there to celebrate!”

But she ensured she was present for the World Series title game, posting a celebratory photo of the two posing with the Commissioner’s Trophy to her Instagram, captioning the dugout snap, “God is good! No words can express how proud I am #worldserieschamps.”

Mallory and Dansby started dating in 2017

Mallory and Dansby couldn’t have added themselves to the list of the most athletic sports couples without their close friend setting them up in 2017. When Dansby’s former teammate at the Atlanta Braves, Jace Peterson, urged him to meet his sister-in-law, Mallory, Dansby took him up on it —  and the rest was history.

Though they started dating in 2017, the couple waited a year before making themselves Instagram official in December 2018 with a photo of the pair dressed to the nines. Mallory captioned the photo with a simple black heart. A couple of weeks later, Dansby shared a photo on his Instagram of the two spending the holidays together as they posed in front of a Christmas tree.

Dansby proposed to Mallory in 2021

Four years into their relationship, Dansby got down on one knee at the front stoop of their home and proposed to Mallory. “Mr. and Mrs. Swanson coming soon 💍,” he wrote on Dec. 2, 2021, announcing the news on his Instagram page.

The soccer star also shared sweet shots of herself and her future groom, showing off her diamond sparkler in its own photo, simply captioning the post, “Forever with you ♥️.”

They wed during an “enchanted forest” ceremony in December 2022

The couple were engaged for a year before tying the knot at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga., on Dec. 10, 2022.

“To get married in front of our family and friends is so special,” the couple told PEOPLE exclusively. “It means that we are becoming one and get to impact God’s kingdom together.”

Mallory walked down the aisle in a custom Anne Barge gown and gifted each of her bridesmaids Air Force Ones. Following the newlyweds’ nuptials, Mallory and Dansby changed into custom Nikes for dancing at their reception made by the Shoe Surgeon.

She announced the news with a carousel of photos from their big day, writing, “My love… Matthew 19:6.” Matthew 19:6 is a Bible verse that reads, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

A month into their newlywed life, Dansby shared a series of snaps of the couple kissing and holding up their wedding rings from their reception photobooth, captioning the post with a lyric from the Jason Aldean song of the same name, “You make it easy 🎶.”

Dansby was excited to join his wife in Chicago

On Dec. 17, 2022, Dansby declared he was taking his craft to the Windy City with a 7-year, $177 million deal, which meant he was joining his wife in Chicago.

During a press conference announcing his move to the Cubs franchise, he shared what it truly meant to be in the same city for the first time in their relationship. “It means the world for me to be able to be here with her. Obviously, we just got married, and the last four years doing distance was D.C. first [for her], then it was Jersey for a little bit, and then it was Chicago.”

He continued, “It was tough at times not being in the same city and able to enjoy life together as a married couple. Being able to serve our purpose together in God’s kingdom means a lot to each of us, and to be able to do that in the same city is pretty amazing.”

He recalled this moment as “such a blessing” when chatting with Stadium, adding, “We’re kind of used to that [being apart], but we also would like a little bit of a change and be around each other more. We just feel like God has so much in store for us in Chicago and in our marriage. Really just putting that at the forefront of everything we do.”

Dansby is a soccer fan because of her

If it wasn’t for Mallory, Dansby would have never dipped his toes into the soccer game. During a dugout interview from spring training, Dansby shared with the Chicago Cubs how he “intently” watches each of her games, whether it’s in person or through the television.

He added that while he is not a talker when it comes to watching her play, when good things happen, it’s hard not to let the emotions rise. Though he cannot always attend her games, he likes to learn from her skills in the sport so that when she wants to indulge in a post-game chat with him, he knows what he is talking about.

“I try to stay locked in and focused, and I’ve learned a lot and I’ve become a big soccer fan,” he told the reporter.

Dansby supported Mallory through an injury in 2023

In April 2023, Mallory suffered a season-ending injury when she tore her patella tendon in a USWNT game against Ireland. She underwent emergency surgery, and Dansby decided to pull out of his Chicago Cubs game early to be with his wife.

“I’m glad that we can be here together. I couldn’t imagine being apart right now,” Dansby told MLB.com.

He continued, “She’s all right. Everybody knows it’s a pretty tough and heartbreaking situation. I’m heartbroken for her, just a lot of tears and sadness. Two things can be true at the same time: We can be sad and upset, but we can also understand God’s bigger picture and plans. We’ll get through it together.”

They are currently expecting their first child

In May 2025, Mallory and Dansby revealed that they are expecting their first child together.

“Our greatest blessing,” the mom-to-be wrote on Instagram alongside several images of the couple holding up sonogram photos.