Athletes Who Married Terrible People
As anybody who's over a certain age knows, finding love is never easy. While some people are able to have that love at first sight moment, for many, finding someone to spend the rest of their lives with can be a fraught and long process. After all, as the saying goes, all's fair in love and war. Sometimes, however, that love can turn more into a battlefield than a storybook ending, and people who have thought they've found their happily ever after, in fact, find that they've married the villain of their story. Although some love can definitely inspire love songs and stories, others can show us tales of trials and tribulations, which end up being cautionary anecdotes for all who come across them.
In fact, some relationships have deteriorated so much over time that those involved in the romance end up being thought of as subjectively terrible. What's worse, nobody seems to be immune to this potential sad ending, either. Celebrities to athletes — people who should have it all — are, in actuality, just like us and can make big mistakes when it comes to love. Although professional athletes are incredibly successful in one aspect of their life, they haven't always scored when it comes to their own love lives. Therefore, we're fairly confident in saying that the following professional athletes have married (in our opinions) terrible people. Here's why.
Antonio Cromartie's wife has a criminal past
Former New York Jets star Antonio Cromartie has had an... interesting time when it comes to his romantic life. The current Texas A&M assistant coach is father to 14 children by eight different women (including his wife). He married Terricka Lynne Cason in 2010, and the couple has six children. While they seem to have their hands full now with balancing all of their kids (including chronicling their time handling the brood on a defunct reality show, "The Cromarties"), their life hasn't always been easy, and Cason, in particular, has had what one could call a rough past.
Before making a name for herself, Cason tried to make it as a model, landing one episode of "Wild 'N Out" and three episodes of "Candy Girls," a reality competition show about models trying to get cast in a video shoot. But life wasn't always easy for her. Cason has a history of making bad decisions, including a violent past. The New York Post wrote that, per court records, Cason has "convictions in California for domestic violence, two cases of theft, twice driving without a license, and speeding." After she pleaded no contest to her domestic violence charge, she was on probation, but failed to show at numerous court hearings, leading to multiple warrants out for her arrest. Hopefully, she's turned things around for her kids.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Brent Grimes' wife cost him his job
Former cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Buccaneers, Brent Grimes had what most would call a successful career in the NFL. Although he didn't have a star-turning time in the league, he nevertheless reached the Pro Bowl four times and had a winning season in the NFL Europa league. While his achievements are nothing to sneeze at, his career trajectory took a turn due to the actions of his wife, Miko Grimes. Brent and Miko married in 2010, during his time with the Falcons. Miko didn't appear to cause much controversy in Atlanta, but when Brent moved to Miami, things seemed to change for the worse.
Miko, a former professional basketball player, definitely wasn't afraid to make her opinions known regarding Brent's playing and the decisions of the teams he was on. Her Twitter posts were controversial, to say the least, and attracted the attention of the Dolphins front office. She badmouthed the press and the players, especially the then-Dolphins quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. She also once got arrested before a Bills-Dolphins game, per SBNation. Miko got into a verbal and physical altercation with the police who were performing crowd control before the game started, and subsequently was arrested for her conduct. All of this added up to bad press for the Dolphins, and, when Miko again went after Tannehill on Twitter, Brent was soon cut from the team.
The actions of Ben Zobrist's wife ended his career
In 2019, Ben Zobrist was at the top of his career: He had recently been to three World Series in a row (two for the Kansas City Royals in 2014 and 2015, and one in 2016 with the Chicago Cubs) and won the latter two, even grabbing the World Series MVP award in 2016. However, while his professional life was excelling, his personal life was falling apart. In 2018, Ben began to suspect his wife, Julianna Zobrist, was unhappy. He gave her the space she asked for, and continued playing until spring 2019, when he learned she was having an affair with their pastor.
The ensuing heartbreak left Ben unable to focus on his baseball career, so he asked the Cubs for a leave of absence, which they granted. According to court records, however, Ben's restriction cost him $8 million, per The U.S. Sun. Ben has also alleged that Julianna convinced him to return to baseball in order to maintain the lifestyle she was accustomed to, all while working on their marriage in counseling while simultaneously continuing her affair behind his back. Court records also indicated, per the Chicago Tribune, that both Julianna and her lover got rid of evidence to affect the court ruling in her favor. As of this writing, the two are legally separated, but have not officially divorced. However, Ben's time in the MLB never recovered after he found out about his wife's affair, and he retired in 2019.
Gisela Dulko's husband cheated on her
Fans of women's tennis — especially women's doubles — will know the name Gisela Dulko. The Argentine tennis phenom made a name for herself on the doubles court and even won the Australian Open in 2011 alongside Flavia Pennetta. While Dulko's successes on the court ended with her retirement in 2012, according to the Daily Mail, she was still killing it in her personal life — or so she thought. Dulko met former Real Madrid defensive midfielder Fernando Gago at the Madrid Masters tennis event in 2009 and the two tied the knot in 2011. They welcomed three children together and seemed to have an enviable life, moving to Buenos Aires permanently. There, Gago had secured a coaching position at a club in Argentina's top league, though he soon got let go after six subsequent losses. However, that wouldn't be the only thing ending for Gago.
According to reports from Cinthia Fernandez given to the television program "Los Angeles de la Mañana," Dulko returned to her and her family's home in Buenos Aires only to find her husband in bed with one of her good friends. Fernandez alleged that Gago was having an affair with a parent of one of their children's friends at school, and that the families had been close. She also said that Dulko was devastated due to her estranged husband's actions and that he has moved out of the house. As of this writing, the two are separated.
Lorenzen Wright's ex-wife caused his death
In one of the more bizarre situations to have affected the NBA, Lorenzen Wright, a forward and center for 13 years in the NBA, was found shot to death in a field in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2010. The former star had retired just the year prior, and was enjoying his time off when he met his untimely death. Ten days had passed between his disappearance and when his body was found, which caused the investigation to stall. In fact, arrests in the case wouldn't be made until seven years later. Ultimately, Lorenzen's ex-wife, Sherra Wright, and a member of the church she attended, Billy Ray Turner, were convicted of his murder, per USA Today.
Sherra and Lorenzen grew up together and enjoyed a happy marriage with six kids. However, all was not so solid behind the scenes, and alleged infidelity on Lorenzen's part (to which Sherra reportedly reacted violently), eventually caused their marriage to break down. They divorced in 2010, and, although no reason for the murder has officially been released, many believe Lorenzen's failure to provide child support caused Sherra to take the actions she did. She was the beneficiary of Lorenzen's $1 million life insurance policy, and was awarded that money after his death. After a tip from Sherra's cousin, the police were able to arrest her for facilitating Lorenzen's first degree murder. She was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
PJ Washington's relationship is a cautionary tale
PJ Washington seems to have fallen into the trap that many NBA players have when it comes to love — falling for a person who is allegedly with them for all the wrong reasons. At least that's what a lot of people who see the relationship timeline of Washington and Brittany Renner think. Washington is a relative newcomer to the NBA, signing with the Charlotte Hornets in 2019 with a four year, $12 million rookie deal. The power forward would be an eligible catch for anybody, though some fans believe his relationship with Renner wasn't totally on the up and up, partially because she's six years older than him. Renner first met Washington when he was playing for the University of Kentucky.
However, not everything was happy in their relationship, and the two ended up calling it quits, but not before Renner became pregnant with their child. According to Fadeaway World, fans believed Renner trapped Washington, because they allegedly broke up two weeks after she found out she was pregnant and would allegedly receive an extremely generous child support payment. For her part, however, Renner has denied the allegations, and even Washington asked fans to stop lying in a tweet. In fact, she clarified that, if she really wanted to trap a baby daddy, she had plenty of more lucrative options to choose from. Maybe not the best look, but at least she's being honest?
Matt Barnes has a restraining order against his ex
Former pro basketball player Matt Barnes has had a successful professional career: He played in the NBA for 13 years (plus two years in the D-league) and has since become an analyst for ESPN and NBC Sports California. However, his personal life has not mirrored his professional one, and he's had a fairly complicated relationship with his now ex-wife. Barnes and Gloria Govan (of "Basketball Wives LA" fame), met when she was just 12 years old, but reconnected in 2006 and had twin boys in 2008. They eventually tied the knot in 2013, however, their love would not last. Just under two years later, they filed for divorce. Unfortunately, the presence of the children complicated their separation, and they engaged in a fairly significant custody battle.
According to TMZ, a judge eventually sided with Barnes, granting him sole custody with visitation rights for the children, a fairly rare occurrence. What's even stranger, though, is that Barnes was able to secure a restraining order against Govan for 18 months (this order did not extend to the children). The order was mainly given because Barnes believed his ex could be a "physical danger" to him, seemingly evidenced by an altercation the ex-couple had in front of their children's school. Per TMZ, Govan was arrested for felony child endangerment after she prevented her children and Barnes from leaving the school grounds. Govan is also currently married to Barnes' former Lakers teammate.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Lance Stephenson's ex allegedly lived off his money
Lance Stephenson may not have become a huge NBA star, but he did manage a successful career in the league, playing for a variety of teams since 2010. He's maintained a solid presence on the court and has helped his teams (mainly the Indiana Pacers) head to numerous playoffs. But while he's had a fairly solid career, he hasn't been able to boast the same success with his personal life. Stephenson began dating Feby Torres in 2008, and they had two children together. Their relationship eventually fizzled out and they called it quits in 2015. Although it seemed their breakup wasn't too controversial, they did have their fair share of legal troubles.
Even though they weren't married, Torres still received monthly child support from Stephenson to the tune of $6,000, per Daily News. However, she apparently requested more from him, taking Stephenson to court in an attempt to get him to pay double that amount. The ensuing battle wasn't exactly nice, and Torres admitted she didn't work and needed to go back to school, which required childcare, hence the request for an increased child support payment. Stephenson's lawyer wasn't having it, though, and accused Torres of not using the child support payment for the children, as it was intended, instead using the money to help maintain a luxurious lifestyle. Stephenson reportedly asked Torres to withdraw the request, but the judge ended up siding with her.
Michael Strahan's ex is shady
To say that Michael Strahan's had a successful career would be an understatement. The footballer spent a 15-year long career with the New York Giants before pivoting to "Good Morning America." The sports star, however, hasn't been as lucky in love, having been married and divorced twice. While his first marriage dissolved rather amicably, Strahan's second marriage to Jean Muggli ended in a bitter battle over property, assets, and child custody arrangements. Although Strahan and Muggli did have a prenuptial agreement, that didn't stop her from attempting to steal money from the star, reportedly transferring $3.2 million from their joint account to an account only managed by her, per the New York Post. Additionally, she reportedly held an unauthorized yard sale of a lot of Strahan's belongings in an attempt to enact revenge for his alleged actions.
However, it was the custody battle that really landed Muggli on this list. Muggli and Strahan share twin daughters, and, although their court battle has settled on joint custody, Strahan alleged that his ex was engaging in physical and emotional abuse of their daughters. He claimed that Muggli was not taking their children to their court-appointed therapy sessions and was the reason they weren't attending all of their volleyball and equestrian events, TMZ reported. He also alleged that she had been physically and emotionally abusing them for years, though the details of his allegations remain sealed.
If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.
Brent Barry's wife allegedly cheated with a teammate
Basketball is literally in Brent Barry's blood (his father, Rick Barry, played on the championship-winning Golden State Warriors team in the 1970s), so it's no surprise that he was able to have such a great NBA career himself. The younger Barry managed to spend 14 years in the league and be a part of two championship teams himself, only he played with the San Antonio Spurs. Since retiring, he's maintained a presence with the Spurs, joining their front office. However, that luck in basketball did not extend to his love life, unfortunately. Brent married his high school sweetheart, Erin Barry, in 1998 and the two had two children together. However, Erin would soon be part of a scandal that would tear their family apart.
Pop culture fans might remember that another Spurs player, Tony Parker, had a high-profile relationship with actor Eva Longoria that ended in divorce. What they might not know is that Brent's then-wife, Erin, was involved in that situation. Allegedly, Erin and Parker engaged in a lengthy affair with one another while they were all involved with the Spurs. Per ABC News, Longoria discovered that Parker had been cheating with a mutual friend of theirs, and thus filed for divorce. While Erin was never specifically named (and she has since denied having the affair, per TMZ), Brent nevertheless filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their separation.