Brittney Griner, a leading figure in women’s basketball, and her partner Cherelle Griner appear to be heading toward a dissolution of their eight-year marriage.
The move by Brittney Griner to initiate divorce proceedings, initially reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, took many fans and social media users by surprise.
Their relationship endured intense international scrutiny in 2022, when Cherelle Griner, an attorney, vigorously pressed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to help secure Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison.
Griner was detained by Russian authorities after a trip to the country, where she was playing professionally at the time. The 6-foot-9 center faced charges of smuggling “narcotic drugs” after a vape pen containing hash oil was found in her luggage, according to People Magazine in 2022.
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Griner initially received a nine-year sentence in a Russian penal camp for the offense. She spent ten months behind bars before the Biden administration engaged in a prisoner swap with Russia, exchanging Griner for arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was in U.S. custody at the time.
The images of Cherelle and Brittney Griner embracing when the WNBA star finally returned from Russia stirred strong emotions in many who had awaited her homecoming. That moment of reunion likely amplified the surprise some felt upon learning of their divorce four years later.
“After I held you down while you were in a damn Russian prison?????” Instagram user @audaciouslex wrote. “Oh hell nah!”
In a divorce petition filed Thursday, Brittney Griner stated that her marriage with Cherelle Griner is “irretrievably broken,” per TMZ. The Connecticut Sun forward also asked a judge to grant joint legal custody of their son, Bash, who was born in 2024.
The Griners met while they were both students at Baylor University, where Brittney Griner played college basketball before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft.
That long journey as a couple now appears to be over for good.
“I couldn’t stop touching her face,” Cherelle Griner said when Brittney Griner returned from Russia in 2022. “I was like, ‘Is this really you?’ It did not feel real. It was chilling — and warm. I was just holding on tight. I couldn’t let her go.”
