Michael Jordan had a complicated relationship with his ex-wife Juanita Vanoy, but, he wasn’t the first Bulls player who Juanita dated.
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Juanita and Jordan met at very early points in their career. Jordan was just starting his career with the Chicago Bulls, and Juanita was a loan officer looking to earn an associate’s degree.
Juanita and Jordan met through a mutual friend who thought the two were perfect together, and they shared their first meeting at Bennigans in Chicago after a Bulls game.
Jordan and Juanita hit it off early, and they closed their relationship with marriage in 1989. Jordan and Juanita would have three kids, Marcus, Jasmine, and Jeffery.
However, the relationship went sour down the road and the two filed for divorce in 2002. They tried to reconcile, but it didn’t work, and in 2006, they made the split official.
The divorce led to a record settlement for any sports figure as Jordan had to pay Juanita $168 million. Why did they divorce? The reasons are unclear, but there are reports that it may have been because of Jordan’s affairs.
He was jealous of Scottie Pippen and Madonna, and he admitted that he paid hush money to Karla Knafel who claimed to have been carrying Jordan’s child. That claim was shut down, but there was enough in the relationship to warrant a divorce. Jordan is now married to Yvette Prieto.
Michael Jordan and wife Juanita Vanoy ended their 17-year marriage in 2006. In the settlement, she won $168 million, the seven-acre estate in Chicago, and custody of their three children. One of the largest settlements in sports history. She was notably missing from #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/tJljXaNe2p
— Twisted History (@twistedhistory) May 28, 2020
Juanita Vanoy dated the person who took credit for Michael Jordan
Before, MJ, Juanita was involved with another Bulls player. She dated Reggie Theus who played for the Bulls from 1978 to 1984. The Bulls teams he was on were incredibly bad, and for that reason, he takes credit for Chicago having Michael Jordan.
“I take a lot of credit for their success,” Theus said once. “Because, if we weren’t so bad, they would have never gotten Michael Jordan.”
The timeline of Juanita and Reggie’s relationship is a little unclear, but the two dated in 1983 for approximately a year. Things cut off, and that’s when Juanita landed Jordan. You can watch this video to see more about Jordan and Juanita’s relationship.
