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Months Before Marrying Juanita Vanoy, Michael Jordan Revealed His Distrust for Women

Nickeem Khan
Published

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan’s expertise in the game of basketball is near second-to-none. He reached heights that only a handful of players have the luxury of sharing. He may have seemed perfect on the court, but there were other aspects of life he didn’t have the utmost confidence in. In 1989, Jordan revealed he didn’t have any trust in women. However, shortly after, he went back on his word, marrying Juanita Vanoy.

One thing MJ knew he could trust was himself. He put countless hours in the gym to hone his basketball skills. Due to the amount of repetitions, he knew he could trust the hours of practice to perform on the biggest stages. He couldn’t say the same thing about his love life.

Romance is far different than basketball. There is no telling how another person feels, thinks, or could act. He didn’t have the same confidence in pursuing a love interest that he did when it came to performing a fadeaway jumper.

In a 1989 edition of GQ Magazine, he touched briefly on his viewpoints on women. In 1987, Jordan and his long-time girlfriend, Juanita Vanoy, got engaged. It seemed like things were all working out for MJ in the romance department till they called off the engagement a few months before they were supposed to get married.

As a result, MJ’s trust in women was at an all-time low during the interview, which took place 2 days after he was supposed to be married to Vanoy. “Right now,” he’d said, “I don’t trust no one except my mother.”

It didn’t take long for Jordan to backtrack on his words. In a matter of a few months, his words no longer held any weight. Jordan would go on to reconcile with Juanita Vanoy, and they got married shortly after. She became the mother of three of his children – Jeffery, Marcus, and Jasmine.

The development came as a shock to many, considering Jordan’s comments. Until he had met Juanita, MJ didn’t have the smoothest sailing when it came to dating. He believed he would remain a bachelor for the rest of his life.

Jordan didn’t strike well with the ladies

It is hard to believe that arguably the greatest basketball player of all time had struggles with his romantic life. Nonetheless, that seems to have been the story of MJ’s life. Starting from his high school years, Jordan struggled to get dates with girls at his school.

I always thought I would be a bachelor,” Jordan revealed. “I couldn’t get a date.”

Jordan didn’t do well in serious settings. He tends to lean into clowning around and picking at people in an attempt to break the ice. It didn’t land him too far. That wasn’t until he met Juanita, whom he married in 1989 until 2006.

The legendary Bulls player found a new soul mate in Yvette Prieto. The two have been married since 2013 and continue to have a blossoming relationship.

About the author

Nickeem Khan

Nickeem Khan

Nickeem Khan is a Senior NBA Writer for The SportsRush from Toronto, Canada. He graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Media. Nickeem has over five years of experience in the sports media industry with hands-on experience as a journalist among other roles, including media accreditation for the CEBL, NBA G-League's Raptors 905, and CBC's coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

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