Michael Jordan is one of the most popular people on the planet. MJ gained popularity due to his unquestionable brilliance on the basketball court. He made his way to 6 NBA Finals, winning all of them. MJ is a 6x NBA Champion, 6x Finals MVP, and 5x NBA MVP, with countless achievements to his name. However, he did not do it alone. Throughout his NBA career, he had his wife, Juanita Vanoy, beside him.
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The couple met in 1984, married in 1989, and had three beautiful children together. While Jordan was taking care of business on the basketball court, Vanoy was at home taking care of the kids.
In 2006, the couple had an ugly divorce, which cost the Bulls legend $168 Million. However, before their divorce, there were a lot of interesting stories about their married life.
Juanita Vanoy was rumored to be a ‘groupie’ when she met Michael Jordan
In the 1980s, there were no smartphones or multimedia devices like we have today. Most of the information that came was through sources, and a lot of the times, it was hard to distinguish rumors from actual facts.
One such rumor was what Juanita Vanoy did before she met Michael Jordan. The couple met in 1984 through a common friend. When they met, Vanoy was an executive secretary for the American Bar Association. However, rumors dictated otherwise. In 1992, Vanoy was asked about the same in an interview.
The reporter asked Juanita about the rumors that she was a groupie and MJ was going to run over her with a car. The former Mrs. Jordan took the question very calmly and answered,
“Oh right, I’ve heard that one too! Well, we met… We have a mutual friend that introduced us, and I have a girlfriend that I went to a basketball game with, along with these other guys. Afterward, we all went to dinner. The guy introduced us to Michael at the dinner that night and then I saw him after that. That’s how we really met!”
The 1960s and 70s were a wild time, so a groupie rumor was something the public thought had a high likeliness. However, Vanoy cleared it all very smoothly and dismissed any groupie thoughts the public had.
How was MJ’s married life with Vanoy?
Due to his high demanding job, MJ barely had any time during the season to spend with his family. However, that doesn’t mean they didn’t love and care for one another. According to what MJ said, Vanoy was an extremely possessive wife, and did not like the attention Michael got from female fans.
Jordan called her a ‘bulldog’ and said that she’d not let a lot of female fans try and steal MJ’s attention when he was out with her.
