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<\/p>\nLast season, ESPN\u2019s Laura Rutledge expanded her NFL footprint by joining the Monday Night Games\u2019 broadcast team as a sideline reporter. But getting to this position wasn\u2019t easy, especially as she tried to balance her broadcasting career with the decision to become a mom. She is now a successful working mom, but she still goes through a daily internal conflict.<\/p>\n
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A day before 2026 Mother\u2019s Day, Laura Rutledge opened up about her struggles with working mom guilt during her appearance on The Pivot Podcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my case, every single day I\u2019m like a ball of guilt; I really am,\u201d said Laura. \u201cLike, I just sit there and beat myself up all day, and I think it\u2019s funny because kids a lot of times, especially at my kids\u2019 age, I don\u2019t know, don\u2019t understand time. I tell myself that a lot, like they don\u2019t know that you\u2019ve been gone a week if you spend an hour with them on the floor, playing Legos or doing whatever it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s always this feeling (guilt) with me, and I\u2019ll even say it to my mom because she\u2019ll try to make me feel better about it,\u201d added the ESPN reporter. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018I feel I\u2019m the sketchy member of the pack.\u2019 Like we\u2019re a wolf pack, but I\u2019m the one who always has to go off. And then I come back. I always come back, but they always have to wonder, like, is she going to be there? Or is she going to be home? They\u2019ve adjusted so well to it that it almost breaks my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laura Rutledge has two children with her husband, Josh Rutledge: a daughter, Reese, and a son, Jack. During her first pregnancy, she took leave from her duties at ESPN and the SEC Network. However, she returned to work just three weeks after delivery.<\/p>\n
She thought motherhood would slow down or entirely ruin the momentum of her high-profile career, but after giving birth, she realized it had completely transformed her perspective on ambition. \u201cI was afraid being a mom would hold me back, and then it became my greatest strength,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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Credits: Instagram<\/p>\n
However, her children\u2019s sacrifice for her career, which she had fought so hard to build, always makes her feel guilty.\u00a0 Yet, she realized that the idea of a perfect work-life balance never exists, and that helped her find joy through the guilt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish, I\u2019m like, \u2018Y\u2019all are too well adjusted. You don\u2019t need me.\u2019 As a mom, I think it\u2019s specifically to being a mom where you almost want your kids to need you in that way and you need them in that way,\u201d said Laura. \u201cYou know, I miss them so much anytime I\u2019m away from them. But I also think, and this has really helped me, clinging to this idea that this is an example for them where they can grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n
While balancing her broadcasting career alongside motherhood, Laura Rutledge set an example for her children that they can do both and be the best versions of themselves. When she first joined, ESPN utilized her across a wide range of sports. In 2023, after her second child, she took over as host of ESPN\u2019s daily flagship pro football show while continuing her CFB duties.<\/p>\n