Inside Retired MLB Star David Eckstein and Ashley Eckstein’s Florida Home
The story behind retired MLB player David Eckstein meeting his wife, Disney actress Ashley Eckstein, is nothing short of a fairy tale—so it’s fitting that they’re living out their happily ever after in a Florida home base that meets all their design needs.
David, 51, and Ashley, 44, bought the five-bedroom, five-bathroom, 4,200-square-foot Orlando, FL, residence in 2020, the same year it was built. Since then, they’ve adorned the interior of the English cottage-style home in a way that marries their passion for the ballpark and their favorite Disney theme park, Walt Disney World.
David, a two-time World Series Champion and MVP of the 2006 World Series when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, and Ashley, the voice of Ahsoka Tano in all seven seasons of the “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” series, are both Orlando locals who grew up going to the Magic Kingdom, and now consider it “almost a requirement” to live close by.
“When you grow up in Orlando, Disney is a part of you,” David reveals to Realtor.com in the latest Celebrity Sanctuary. “It was always something that was really special because we didn’t have much money and my mom would save up to take us once a year, if not every three years, and it was the most magical place on Earth.”
“It’s all I can remember,” adds Ashley, whose father was a Disney cast member and whose mother was a school teacher who treated the park like a classroom. “I say I was raised by Disney because we were at Walt Disney World at least once a week—Disney is in my DNA, and so that was one thing we bonded over instantly.”
The couple discovered their shared affinity for all things Disney. Both have written books that recount the introduction from different perspectives.
“Just Enough” is David’s memoir of his life and storied sports career, while “Lucky 22” is Ashley’s debut romance novel she co-wrote with romance author Samantha Chase. The latter is a fictionalized narrative about the start of the couple’s relationship.
“How we met and fell in love is a chapter in David’s book and that’s all it deserves to be … but I had a feeling that people were going to want to know more because it’s a very serendipitous story,” shares Ashley. She notes that her romanticized written version is “actually about 90% true.”
The fortuitous chain of events began when Ashley attended a baseball game wearing the jersey number David had been randomly assigned because it happened to be the favorite numeral of the Her Universe founder.
“My boyfriend at the time gave me David’s shirt because that was my favorite number, and so the whole game, I was watching ‘my boy,’” she explains. “I just happened to be looking at the dugout because one of the players scored—there was a bunch of commotion, and since I was in the front row, he happened to look over and we locked eyes.”
Both books, which dropped on Sept. 8, cover this special chapter in the Ecksteins’ lives that eventually led to their tying the knot in 2005 and making several house moves together.
In this installment of Celebrity Sanctuary, the authors detail the novel Disney and baseball-inspired decor at their O-Town domain, particularly the ones reserved for their complementary mudroom and media room sanctuary spaces that they’ve designed to be in a league of their own.
Ashley: What motivated our move back to Orlando was the fact that it is home for both of us. We like to say home is wherever your family is. Luckily for us, our families live in Orlando and we both love Disney, so it works out for us.
What motivated our move to our house now is the fact that it’s very close to Disney. Literally minutes. We’ve also lived in California and we lived very close to Disneyland, so it’s just kind of a life rule.
I do a lot of work with Disney, and the proximity to the parks works well for me because it’s close to my office, as you could say.
The overall interior aesthetic is Disney. When David played baseball, we were always moving. In fact, one year we moved nine times in one year, so we were always living out of a suitcase.
Once David retired, we were able to finally settle down. When we moved into this home in 2020, David told me, “I want this to be our forever home and you can decorate it however you want.”
I said, “Really, however I want?” And he said, “Yes. Just give me a TV wall with several TVs” so he can watch multiple games at once. So I decided to decorate the entire house inspired by “Alice in Wonderland” with a little bit of “Cinderella” and a corner for David.
David: It’s the mudroom. She gave me a little corner. When you walk into the corner, the way they had constructed it, it actually looked like three lockers and so we made it into three lockers.
I played for the University of Florida, so we have one locker with the Gators. We have one locker with the Angels, and we have one locker with the Cardinals. We decorated it off of Disney’s [baseball-themed restaurant], Casey’s Corner, and so we have the big circular emblem of David’s Corner.
Ashley: We replicated one of the signs of Casey’s Corner, but made it David’s Corner. I worked with a friend [whose] job for Disney is to build themed spaces.
I’m also best friends with the official voice of Mickey Mouse for Disney. His name is Brett Iwin, and he’s a Disney fine artist. He’s an incredible artist, and he helped us build the space.
I have a vision and I can tell the story in my mind, but I am not an artist. So I work with my friends to say, “Here’s what I want. Help me bring it to life.”
Now, the joke is that I only gave him a corner. However, in fairness, David didn’t want to showcase any of his baseball memorabilia. It was really sad; we had these World Series-worn jerseys and cleats and all this incredible memorabilia just sitting in bins.
When we bought the house, the mudroom was already built and it already looked like a baseball locker room. I told David, “I don’t care if you don’t want it, this is meant to be a baseball locker room.”
I had a vision of Casey’s Corner, but making it David’s Corner, and I said, “We’re giving you a baseball area.”
He jokes about it now, but if it were up to him, there wouldn’t be any baseball in the house. I love my husband. He is very humble, but I am a proud wife, so I like to show off what he’s accomplished.
David: When we first met, she came over to my apartment and my World Series-winning uniform was on the floor in my closet. When you read my book, you’ll understand that I never thought I was good enough. For me to actually go, “Oh, my gosh, I did something great,” was not in me. Then Ashley’s here, like, “No, you need to display this.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m going to tell you right now, I have gotten a lot of joy in that room now. Being able to walk by, seeing all the stuff, my World Series jerseys, from University of Florida to the Angels to the Gators to the Cardinals, all right there. The game-winning bat that I won World Series MVP with is in there. Some of the awards that I had won. How they created the room, it’s actually really, really nice.
What sanctuary is to me, it’s where I can relax with peace and quiet and just enjoy. I know we’re [talking] about my corner, but I would have to say [my sanctuary is] actually on the couch in front of my three TVs, having the ability to watch multiple games at the same time. That’s what I’ve always loved, and that was my one request of the home, was that I had the ability to sit on a couch that reclines and watch games.
Ashley: We’re very happy with our home and our space, but Walt Disney had a quote, I don’t have it memorized, but he’s basically saying that the Disney parks are always in motion. They’re never finished. That’s the way we look at our home. David’s Corner is always evolving. He actually has all of his first-hit baseballs—grand slam baseball, first home run for every team and for the big leagues—and so we want to hang up all those baseballs.
David: Baseball cards and maybe wallpaper.
Ashley: That’s the next phase for David’s Corner.
What I say about the house is it brings us joy. I’ve never followed any rules when it comes to interior design. In fact, I feel like I’ve broken every interior design rule, and I don’t care because your home is where you spend half your life if not more, and it should bring you joy.
When we walk in our home, it literally makes me smile. I walk past all my “Alice in Wonderland” things or even David’s Corner, and it brings the biggest smile to my face in the midst of daily stresses. The fact that we’ve built a home that brings us joy, we hope that others will do the same.
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