Joe and Renae Ingles // From courtside to courtship and commitment to the clan

09.30.2021 - By Sarah Davidson Play

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I’m amazed every single week at how generous people are with their time in agreeing to jump on the show, but every now and then a guest says yes who I reached out to 1000% expecting a polite no if not total radio silence. And this week, we have two of them who I admire so much not only as separately very impressive individuals but also as a wonderful couple who navigate careers, compromise and continual growth in a way that made me fall a little bit in love with them as you’ll probably hear.

On the one hand, we have an Adelaide boy, Joe, whose big dream was playing basketball for his state but who went on to find himself at the pinnacle of the game playing for Utah Jazz in the NBA and leading the Boomers to our first Olympic medal ever in Tokyo earlier this year. On the other, we have Renae, a superstar netballer tearing up the court for the Melbourne Vixens and Australian Diamonds pulling in a host of accolades along the way before she retired to become a Mum.

You can see why I couldn’t believe they were happy to sit down to share the yay especially as it was their first interview together in two years and Joe’s first since the Olympics and as usual I loved tracing through their ways to yay but most enjoyed the parts we don’t hear about as much. With everything from the REAL story of how they fell in love, the challenge of moving countries with three kids and juggling two big careers, their son’s diagnosis of autism, and the many endearing in-betweens of the Ingles family, I so enjoyed getting to know two hard-working, family-focused humans who are far more normal than their bios might suggest. Their work with charities Kulture City and 4 ASD kids nearly brought me to tears and Renae is just weeks away from running her first marathon to raise funds for the fight for inclusion and acceptance spurred by her son Jacob and his bestie Oliver who face their own fears and challenges everyday. (and I’d love the yayborhood to get behind her - links below). I hope you guys enjoy this delightful duo as much as I did!