As exciting as Allen Iverson’s NBA career was, his personal life as been nothing short of troubling. “The Answer” recently opened up on what he considered to be the lowest point of his life, with his relationship being the focal point of it. Today, he and Tawanna Turner can call each other their partner. But at one point, it was a huge mess.
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Iverson and Turner didn’t get together after the NBA legend tasted stardom in the league in the late 1990s. They were high-school sweethearts who got married in 2001, when Al was a part of the Philadelphia 76ers squad, taking the sport by storm.
On paper, it seemed like a perfect match. They had five beautiful children, together, with their youngest, Dream, being born in 2008. However, that was also the year Turner and Iverson split with their divorce being finalized in 2013. It also coincided with his official retirement from basketball, and as far as he’s concerned, it was rock bottom.
“When I’m sitting there in that courtroom, I used to watch Sixers vs. Sixers in a scrimmage, or Georgetown vs. Georgetown. Them tears started to hit the [divorce] papers when I looked down and see ‘Iverson vs. Iverson,” the 11-time NBA All-Star recently told ESPN.
Iverson had to work on himself, his alcohol addiction, and change his lifestyle comprehensively for Turner to give him a second chance. As of 2025, they’re in a relationship again, but admittedly, Iverson had to do a lot of begging and pleading for this to work.
About Tawanna Turner
Turner has largely been known in the NBA community for being Iverson’s ex-wife, having shared the spotlight with him since they were both 16-year-old teenagers in Hampton, Virginia. She was largely devoted to her family, and built a life with Al, until in 2013, she decided to leave him.
Turner explained that Iverson’s financial difficulties and his behavior (possibly a result of his alcohol addiction) made the marriage unworkable. But in a way, it was a blessing in disguise for Iverson, who then, realized it was time for a change.
Not a lot is known about what Turner does — if she does anything for a living at all that is — but she has a reported net worth of $500,000.
Turner back in Iverson’s life
Following their divorce, Iverson had to pay a lumpsum alimony amount of $3 million, as per sources, but what followed was much worse. The wealth he accumulated from his time as an NBA player and Reebok ambassador almost went down the drain when he admitted to spending about $200 million on his lifestyle habits in the years to come.
It took time for Iverson to see light, and because he did, he got a chance to get his family back and redeem himself.
“I had to convince her that basically this wasn’t the same old me,” Iverson said to Stephen A. Smith. “I expressed to her what she means to me in my life and how pivotal that she is in my growth and my maturation and where I want to go in life. I don’t feel like I’m the same Allen Iverson without her, you know what I mean? She is my life.”
Iverson and Turner haven’t re-married yet. They’ve only started dating once more. Whether they will or not remains unknown, but it’s nice to see one of NBA’s most loved icons finding happiness once again in his life following what was a very dark period.
