Brittney Griner makes major personal decision involving wife Cherelle originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Brittney Griner has filed for divorce from her wife, Cherelle Griner, after nearly eight years of marriage. The Connecticut Sun star filed the complaint Thursday in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia, according to court records obtained by People and first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Griner described the marriage as “irretrievably broken” in the filing. The documents state that the couple separated July 24, less than one week before the complaint was submitted. Brittney and Cherelle share a two-year-old son, Bash. Griner is seeking joint legal custody, according to the reports.
Neither Brittney nor Cherelle has publicly commented on the divorce filing.
Brittney Griner seeks joint custody of son
Court documents list Brittney and Cherelle’s wedding date as June 2018, although some previous reports indicated that the couple married in 2019. In addition to seeking joint legal custody, Griner has requested an equitable division of the couple’s marital property. She is also asking to retain her separate, nonmarital property, including assets acquired before the marriage or through inheritance.
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Griner, 35, met Cherelle, 33, while they were students at Baylor University. The two later reconnected and began a relationship before getting married. The couple announced in April 2024 that Cherelle was pregnant. They welcomed Bash later that year.
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Cherelle Griner advocated for Brittney during Russia imprisonment
Cherelle became one of Brittney’s most prominent advocates after the WNBA star was detained in Russia in February 2022. Russian authorities detained Griner after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage. She was later convicted on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in prison.
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Cherelle repeatedly spoke publicly about her wife’s detention and pushed the United States government to secure her release.
Griner spent nearly 10 months in Russian custody before returning to the United States in December 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange involving Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
The couple subsequently spoke about adjusting to life together following the ordeal. Cherelle said seeing her wife return home allowed her to finally “exhale.” Griner spent the 2025 WNBA season with the Atlanta Dream before joining the Connecticut Sun. The veteran center remains active with Connecticut, although she has recently been sidelined by a knee injury. Griner and Cherelle were seen together publicly as recently as January, when they attended the premiere of “The Brittney Griner Story” at the Sundance Film Festival.
Representatives for Griner had not publicly commented on the filing as of Friday afternoon.
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