{"id":50893,"date":"2026-08-14T04:15:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T04:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/50893\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T04:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T04:15:16","slug":"it-worked-dennis-rodmans-daughter-trinity-rodman-makes-candid-confession-about-how-her-romance-started-with-ben-shelton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/50893\/","title":{"rendered":"“It worked”: Dennis Rodman\u2019s daughter Trinity Rodman makes candid confession about how her romance started with Ben Shelton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""ItBen Shelton and Trinity Rodman. Image via: Getty Images Trinity Rodman did not need an elaborate pickup line to get Ben Shelton\u2019s attention. The Washington Spirit and U.S. women\u2019s national team star made the first move with two words and a fire emoji, and the tennis star responded within minutes. Rodman revealed the story during an appearance on Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce, released Thursday, offering a rare look at how her relationship with Shelton began.The Olympic gold medalist admitted that the opening message was simple, but the result was immediate. Shelton matched her energy, setting the tone for a relationship that has since become one of sports\u2019 most recognizable young romances. Their relationship was made public in March 2025 and has continued to grow alongside demanding careers in soccer and tennis.<\/p>\n

Dennis Rodman\u2019s daughter Trinity Rodman reveals how her romance started with Ben Shelton<\/p>\n

Rodman told Kylie Kelce that she reached out to Shelton on social media after seeing him compete. Her message was blunt: \u201cI said, ‘You’re sick,’\u201d she recalled, before admitting she added a fire emoji.Shelton did not leave her waiting long. Rodman said he responded within an hour, possibly within 10 minutes. \u201cIt worked,\u201d Rodman said. \u201cHe responded within 10 minutes, so I win.\u201d Shelton\u2019s response was just as playful. \u201cYeah, you were sick at the Olympics, too,\u201d he replied, according to Rodman. She later described the exchange as a \u201ccringe situation,\u201d but said Shelton matched her energy.The connection quickly moved beyond direct messages. Rodman said Shelton flew out to spend an entire weekend with her only one or two weeks after their first exchange, despite the pair not having met in person before.\u201cI fully committed to this guy that I didn’t even meet yet for him to stay at my house the entire weekend,\u201d Rodman said, calling the decision \u201cinsane\u201d in hindsight.When Shelton arrived, Rodman said she tried to hide her nerves by pretending to be busy breaking down delivery boxes. Shelton joined her and helped, giving her an early glimpse of what she called his \u201cgreen flags.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trinity Rodman reveals hard part of dating Ben Shelton<\/p>\n

Being in a high-profile sports relationship has brought its own challenges. Rodman acknowledged that millions of people can form opinions about a relationship they only see through social media and public appearances.\u201cBeing in a couple in the public eye is not for the weak,\u201d Rodman said. She described the attention as both a \u201cblessing\u201d and a source of unwanted opinions before offering her solution: \u201cMind ya business.\u201dThat visibility has not stopped the couple from supporting each other. Rodman has regularly attended Shelton\u2019s matches, while Shelton has watched her compete for the Washington Spirit.<\/p>\n

When did Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton start dating?<\/p>\n

Rodman and Shelton publicly confirmed their relationship in March 2025, when Shelton posted an Instagram carousel that included a photo of Rodman kissing his cheek. Rodman responded, \u201cShooters shoot I guess.\u201dTheir relationship has since become a two-sport partnership. Rodman has learned more about tennis through Shelton and his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, while Ben has taken an interest in soccer. Rodman said seeing Shelton at her matches has been \u201cthe best feeling in the world.\u201d\u201cI don’t look at him and I’m like, ‘He’s an athlete,’\u201d Rodman said. \u201cI look at him like, ‘That’s my rock.’\u201d The support has continued in August 2026. After playing for Washington Spirit, Rodman traveled to Montreal to surprise Shelton during the Canadian Open. Shelton, meanwhile, is preparing for an all-American National Bank Open final against Brandon Nakashima after beating Learner Tien 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman. Image via: Getty Images Trinity Rodman did not need an elaborate pickup line…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[419,1392,18985,18986,18987,1393,2401],"class_list":["post-50893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ben-shelton","tag-ben-shelton","tag-dennis-rodman","tag-olympic-gold-medalist","tag-public-relationship-challenges","tag-sports-couples","tag-trinity-rodman","tag-washington-spirit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}