Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy once shared a complex relationship as most married people do. They had their highs and lows, their issues. Jordan mostly liked taking care of those issues personally. He was the kind of man who did not appreciate putting his personal life through media scrutiny.
Advertisement
However, certain events cannot be easily hidden. Especially when you are a celebrity revered worldwide by billions of fans. When Juanita Vanoy, who had found her marriage crumbling, finally filed for Divorce, Jordan’s personal life was suddenly in the spotlight.
His life with Vanoy until then had been mostly private. Though the two had faced several issues, especially because of Jordan’s parents, things had not yet reached the press. But with Vanoy’s divorce filing, things were different. All of a sudden Michael Jordan was the target of some intrusive questions. Questions he did not appreciate.
Michael Jordan shut down questions about his marriage
In 2002, Jordan was still playing for the Washington Wizards. His third stint in the NBA after two retirements likely aided the trouble brewing at home. Juanita, who had been married to Michael Jordan since 1989 had suddenly filed for divorce.
As soon as the reporters got news of it, they scrambled to get to Michael. However, the 6ft 6″ living legend defiantly announced his stand on the matter. He was not going to entertain any such questions and they were not welcome anymore.
In his book Michael Jordan: The life, Roland Lazenby descriptively wrote about the entire situation.
Lazenby: “That January, in the midst of it all, Juanita Jordan filed for divorce in Chicago, and soon a reporter from the Sun-Times showed up in the Wizards’ locker room to question Jordan about the split. Interview sessions with Jordan, dating back to Chicago, had always focused on basketball issues. Now, it was incongruous, painful for some, to witness the confrontation, which came after a win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The reporter asked if his divorce was inevitable. “None of your business,” Jordan shot back.”
Juanita and Jordan’s marriage survived four more years
Juanita’s 2002 attempt at divorce did not go through. Jordan and Vanoy vowed to make their marriage better. However, despite their best effort, they could only make it work until 2006.
That is when the two conclusively separated. The divorce was, at that point in time, one of the costliest settlements in history. Michael Jordan, who is currently estimated to be worth $2.2 billion, paid his ex-wife $168 million. Michael married model Yvette Prieto in 2013 and is still married to her today.
