Charles Barkley has always safeguarded his private life. However, it almost spiraled into a scandal in 1993 when the then-Phoenix Suns superstar was linked to pop star Madonna. Rumors swirled about the duo having an affair, but they were never confirmed. However, in a biography titled ‘Barkley,’ author Timothy Bella wrote about an alleged incident that fanned the flames of that rumored affair.
Tony Hamati, owner of Bravo!, a restaurant in Scottsdale that Barkley frequented, told Bella,
“He stuck his head in and said, ‘Tony, this is Madonna.’ She didn’t look like Madonna, but it was actually her.”
Hamati wasn’t the only one who recalled an incident suggesting Barkley and Madonna were an item. In an interview with VladTV, comedian and late-night TV host Arsenio Hall sat courtside at a Suns game against the Los Angeles Lakers with Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna. He said he had no idea it was a “double date-type setup.” He said,
“We went to a Laker game where Charles Barkley was Madonna’s date and I was Rosie’s date.”
While the press had fun with the Barkley and Madonna links, his family life deteriorated. The Suns star gave an interview to address the rumors during the 1993 NBA Finals and said,
“She (Barkley’s mother-in-law) has had a lot of stress from the jokes about me and Madonna, and has been harassed by people calling the house. She’s not doing well right now and that’s a major concern. They should leave my wife and daughter alone.”
Off the court, Barkley had to deal with his mother-in-law’s heart attack due to his alleged actions, and on it, he was facing Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. While his mother-in-law recovered, the Suns lost the NBA Finals 4-2. That was Barkley’s only appearance in the NBA Finals.
During an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show in 2022, Barkley addressed the Madonna links for the first time in almost two decades. He said,
“I have met Madonna one time in my life. We had dinner one time because a friend of mine, Arsenio Hall, said, ‘Hey, Madonna’s in town.'”
The truth about Barkley and Madonna’s alleged affair remains a secret. Perhaps the pop star can one day shed light on how close the two got. Until then, it’s all hearsay.
Charles Barkley remains committed to his wife Maureen
Charles Barkley and his wife, Maureen Blumhardt, managed to weather the Madonna-shaped storm that rocked the relationship in 1993. The couple met in the mid-1980s and got married in 1989. The Hall of Famer rarely talks about his wife. But he did open up about their relationship, during an appearance on the Colin Cowherd Podcast, saying,
“I think the main thing is she doesn’t judge me. She accepts me how I am. She is a great mother. I have learned that I want to be a great father.”
Barkley and Maureen got married in February 1989, and three months later, the couple welcomed their child, daughter Christiana. She is their only child and attended Vilanova University between 2007 and 2011 and worked as a sales assistant at Turner Sports for three years after graduating. In 2017, she graduated from Columbia University with a Masters degree in journalism.
Christiana is married to Ilya Hoffman, the founder of marketing technology company DemandByte, with two children. Barkley’s alleged affair with Madonna almost destroyed his family, but they’ve moved on and are now a happy bunch.
