Rebecca Lowe lives two lives. In one, she’s an unstoppable NBC sportscaster, covering Premier League soccer (er, “football”) all over the world. In the other, she’s a Northern California mom with a penchant for afternoon tea.
“We moved here from the UK—after a short stint in Connecticut—when my husband [Paul Buckle] got hired as the head coach of the Sacramento Republic,” says Lowe, who lives in El Dorado Hills. “We feel like we’ve found a hidden gem.”
That’s high praise from someone who travels the world in the limelight. Her sports-television career started in 2002 when she won the BBC Talent Search for a football reporter. She later moved to ESPN UK, where in 2012 she became the first woman to host the FA Cup Final, a six-hour live broadcast from Wembley Stadium. She joined NBC Sports in 2013, covering the Olympic Games in 2014 and 2016 before taking her place as host of NBC’s Premier League coverage.
She’s on the road several weeks a year, so when she’s home, her passions are her family, getting out into the El Dorado Hills countryside and baking.
“I absolutely love baking. My secret desire is to one day open a tea shop here,” Lowe says. “I’d love to spread the word across California on how to make a good English cup of tea.”
To say she and her family have also fallen in love with life here would be an understatement—they all became American citizens last year.
Still, they do enjoy a taste of home now and then by cheering on the Sacramento Republic. As someone with deep roots in professional “football,” Rebecca has high hopes for the team’s future.
“I hope and pray one day Major League Soccer can find its way to Sacramento,” she says. “It’s a city, a football club and a fan base that absolutely deserves it.”
