Ben Shelton called “natural born cheater” by girlfriend Trinity Rodman during playful argument over card game

September 6, 2025

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Trinity Rodman recently called her boyfriend and American tennis sensation Ben Shelton “a natural born cheater,” but in a fun way. Shelton, who retired in his third round match at Flushing Meadows, went live on Instagram with his girlfriend on Friday.

In the clip posted by a fan on X (formerly Twitter), the duo seems to be playing a card game. Rodman seems to have caught Shelton cheating in the game, who defended himself by saying that he forgot to explain some kind of rule. Here’s how the to-and-fro conversation went:

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to explain that rule. So like…,” Shelton said.

“No, no, no, you’re just a natural-born cheater,” Rodman replied.

"I swear I'm not," Shelton continued.

"Because you and my brother do the same thing. You don't explain. You didn't explain it on purpose," Rodman answered back.

"No, no, I completely forgot. So the one thing that you can do is, like, if I put down 5, 6, 7 and you have the 8, you can play the 8 off of it. So you can play off of me. And when you play off of somebody, you can put down just 1, or you can put down 2 or 3 or whatever," Shelton tried explaining the game to his girlfriend.

"I'm confused, then why did you put that down?" Rodman asked.

"Because I'm playing off of you," Shelton answered.

Earlier in March, the couple teased about their relationship after they participated in a TikTok trend using the same song ("ILBB2" by GloRilla ft. Jorjiana). 10 days later, Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman went public with their relationship as the former uploaded a selfie of them in an elevator.

Trinity Rodman shares adorable selfie with Ben Shelton days after his heartbreaking US Open exit

Ben Shelton entered the 2025 US Open with some momentum following his Canadian Open win. He cruised through the first two rounds without dropping a set, defeating Ignacio Buce and Pablo Carreño Busta, to set up the third round clash against Adrian Mannarino.

The duo traded the first four sets before Shelton was forced to retire due to a debilitating left shoulder injury. The match ended at 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in Mannarino's favor.

Days after his US Open exit, Rodman shared an adorable selfie where Shelton can be seen kissing her forehead. She captioned the post with a simple heart emoji.

Ben Shelton will now hope to return to the tour and make a splash in 2026 as he searches for his first Grand Slam title.

About the author

Krutik Jain is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. It was in 2018 when the baseball bug bit Krutik, and already a cricket fan, he credits baseball's rules and Clayton Kershaw's pitching to have hooked him to the game.

A Kershaw and Mookie Betts fan, Krutik rates his favorite team LA Dodgers triumphing over Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series as his best baseball moment so far. His answer to the perennial "one player from the past you could meet" question is Jackie Robinson. Despite never having seen him play, Robinson's impact, legacy and trail-blazing journey have left an indelible impact on Krutik.

A rigorous fact-checker, Krutik likes reporting on the technical aspects of the game as well as off-field elements. When not watching baseball, Krutik is busy playing cricket, staying up to date with the happenings around the world and hiking.

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