Brittney Griner Files For Divorce From Wife Cherelle, Who Publicly Fought For Her Release From Russian Prison, After 8 Years Of Marriage
Brittney Griner has filed for divorce from her wife of 8 years, Cherelle Griner.
The WNBA star filed for divorce in Fulton County, Ga. on July 30, per court records obtained by People. Despite previous reports claiming they had been married since 2019, these documents clarify that the couple wed in June 2018. The papers also state their date of separation as July 24, 2026.
Brittney and Cherelle met while they were students at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. In her petition, the Connecticut Sun star deemed their union “irretrievably broken.” They share a two-year-old son, Bash, and Brittney is seeking joint legal custody, according to reports from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Cherelle was the biggest advocate for her wife a couple years back when she was detained and imprisoned in Russia in February 2022. After vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in her bag, Griner was charged with smuggling “narcotic drugs” into the country–where marijuana is illegal–and received a 9-year sentence.
Four months after she was initially sentenced, much in part due to Cherelle’s constant pleas to Preisdent Biden, Brittney was released from Russian prison in December 2022.
After finally getting to see her wife again, Cherelle spoke to People about their emotional first day together.
“I had thought about that moment a thousand times, and I thought I would be full of tears,” she told the outlet. “But I was overwhelmingly happy. It was the first time I was able to finally exhale, and I’m like, ‘Oh, thank God, this is such a great day.’ “
“I couldn’t stop touching her face,” Cherelle continued to recall from their reunion. “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.”
The attorney went on to describe what it was like when they finally returned to their home:
“The first night, we didn’t sleep at all,” she said with a laugh. “We just talked all night long and all morning. And it was so good to be able to do it without three weeks in between the conversation, because for 10 months we were passing letters. It was great to have that dialogue back and forth.”
Neither party has commented publicly on their divorce since the filing was made public.