Bryce Harper is one of the most famous athletes in Philadelphia, but his wife, Kayla Harper, has chosen to remain out of the limelight for much of Bryce’s 15-season MLB career.
That is, until Tuesday when the couple appeared on Let’s Be Honest with Kristin Cavallari. In promotion of Bryce’s collaboration with Cavallari’s jewelry and skin care brand, Uncommon James, Kayla and Bryce took to the podcast to discuss their 16-year relationship and what life looks like for a family with a father who’s also a professional athlete.
After meeting at 14 years old, the two started dating when they were 17 before Kayla left to play college soccer at BYU and Ohio State and Bryce left for the minor leagues.
It was their shared experience as athletes that originally drew Bryce to Kayla.
“I think when you’re an athlete or understand the athlete side or want to be great at something, whatever that looks like, it follows you in life as well,” Bryce said.
At 33 years old, they have four kids — Krew (6), Brooklyn (5), Kamryn (2), and Hayes (10 months) —and Kayla “holds down the fort,” as Bryce said.
“I couldn’t imagine being a stay-at-home mom,” Bryce said, “To do that, pretty much a single parent, doing that, I couldn’t imagine. It’s one of the hardest jobs in the world.”
With “lots of help and lots of praying,” Kayla takes on the majority of the parenting responsibilities while Bryce is away, with her parents coming out once every fourth week to help.
But when her husband is around, whether it be a Phillies homestand or an off day, prioritizing family dinners is one of the keys to finding balance in their hectic lives, the couple said.
“When we get home, that’s when we’ll have dinner,” Kayla said. “We’ll sit down, and you talk about your day, and just normal family dinner. It’s always been a big importance to us. Sit down as a family, no phones, you have dinner, you talk.”
For the past few years, Kayla and the kids would try to make as many games as possible, knowing what it means to Bryce to have his kids see him play. But as their kids have gotten older, that’s posed more of a challenge for Kayla, who said this is the first year they haven’t been able to travel much because the kids, mainly Krew as the oldest, have their own commitments with school and practices.
“They’ve got to live, too,” Kayla said. “We sacrifice a lot to be here and support him each year.”
But even when Bryce is home, there’s a learning curve that comes with having to integrate him into the routines Kayla has established with the children.
The beginning of the offseason is the biggest adjustment when Kayla said she has to tell Bryce, “I have the kids going to the bath at a certain time. I don’t know where you fit in yet, you gotta give me a little time to put you back into this routine.”
Bryce’s boredom during this time, he said, is what led to the TikToks he started posting. But even at home, Kayla said he’s always been a fan of baking.
“It’s like in High School Musical when the athlete starts baking and they’re like, ‘What?’” Bryce said.
Sometimes, this boredom manifests as creativity for Bryce, who said he’s always thinking of ideas for bats, sleeves, cleats, and anything else he might sport during the season. He told Cavallari that he’s not pandering to Phillies fans with his gear or reactions — it’s simply how he thinks.
“My mind works so different,” Bryce said. “So when I have ideas, I try to put those ideas through. I’ll think about things and my teammates are like, ‘How did you think about that? We’re a year away.’”
For Kayla, the biggest misconception of her husband has more to do with his demeanor.
“That he’s loud and cocky and obnoxious,” Kayla said. “He’s the exact opposite. Like, it always throws people off. He’s so quiet and he’s more of an observer.”
As for the hardest part about being married to a public-facing figure like Bryce? Kayla got emotional when answering, saying through tears that seeing people attacking his character without knowing him has always posed a challenge for her.
“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,” Kayla said.
Bryce said it doesn’t bother him much, after being in the spotlight for so long and having dealt with the criticism from a young age. But for Kayla, who said she’s lived “a relatively normal life,” it’s taken time to come to terms with not responding to the remarks.
“It’s hard to keep your mouth shut and pretend like it’s not happening,” Kayla said. “But at the end of the day, I know who he is. He’s got his family. It is what it is.”
