brittney griner divorcing wife cherelle after she fought for her release from russian jail
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wnba star brittney griner has filed for divorce from wife cherelle griner, four years after she helped fight for her spouse’s release from a russian prison.
the connecticut sun centre proceeded with the divorce filing on thursday in the superior court of fulton county, georgia, according to court documents obtained by the atlanta journal-constitution.
griner, 35, listed july 24, 2026 as their date of separation, noting the marriage “is irretrievably broken” with “no hope of reconciliation,” the petition stated.
the couple married in june 2018, after meeting when they were students at baylor university in waco, tex.
the two-time olympic gold medallist is requesting joint physical custody of their two-year-old son, bash, and is seeking an “equitable division” of all marital debts and assets, “both real and personal, tangible and intangible,” according to the court records.
“this is a matter we hope the parties can resolve privately,” griner’s lawyer said in a statement to the publication. “there is no further comment at this time.”
brittney griner #15 of team united states takes a selfie with her wife, cherelle griner, after team united states’ victory against team france during the women’s gold medal game at the olympic games paris 2024 at bercy arena on august 11, 2024 in paris, france. (elsa/getty images)
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griner’s drug charges in russia
the divorce comes four years after griner was detained at a moscow airport in february 2022 after russian officials found vape cartridges that contained hashish oil in carry-on luggage.
the basketball star was charged with smuggling “narcotic drugs” into the country, where marijuana is illegal, and received a nine-year sentence in august 2022.
four months later, she was released by russia as part of a prisoner swap.
griner previously played for a russian professional team during the wnba’s offseason since 2015, but she vowed never to play overseas again.
cherelle griner, the wife of brittney griner, speaks during a rally to support the release of detained american professional athlete brittney griner at footprint center on july 06, 2022 in phoenix, arizona. (christian petersen/getty images)
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getty images
lawyer-wife fought for her release
cherelle, 33, a lawyer, fought for brittney during her entire 10 months in russia.
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“i won’t go down until she’s back … every single day matters for me to be sound, for me to be alert, for me to be attentive, to make sure that she comes back,” cherelle said in a may 2022 interview with good morning america.
in griner’s first instagram post after returning to the united states following the prisoner exchange, she thanked her wife and the countless others who advocated for her release.
“it feels so good to be home!” she wrote in the dec. 16, 2022 post.
“the last 10 months have been a battle at every turn,” she continued. “i dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”
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