Stephen Jackson took the hard and winding road to the NBA, and subsequently, its pinnacle. Raised by a single mother in Texas, there were periods of turmoil in his life which bogged him down, posing a threat to his career and wellbeing. That’s where Mike Bibby’s mother, Virginia Bibby, stood by him, helping him weather the momentary, but significant storms.
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The 2003 NBA champion was on Club 520, elaborating on his relationship with the Bibby family, when he recalled the cancelled wedding with Basketball Wives star Imani Showalter, and the tumultuous period around it.
The year was 2005. Jackson called off his wedding from the altar and Mrs. Bibby was there as a pillar of support for the former All-American.
“My fiance at the time wouldn’t sign a prenup and I was hurt at the time. I was crying afterwards, I was hurt cause, you know, all this stuff, my family was there. It was just a lot on me,” he shared.
“Mike’s mom came and wiped snot from my nose and my face with her bare hands. And told me I became a man. That’s when I knew she really loved me,” Jackson recalled.
Virginia played a significant role in shaping Jackson’s career as well. In 1996, he was deemed ineligible for the NCAA due to his low SAT scores. He was all the more heartbroken because that meant he could not join the University of Arizona to team up with his friend Mike.
He found support, and more importantly, a guide in Mrs. Bibby, who ensured Jackson attended the Phoenix Suns tryouts ahead of the 1997 drafts. Jackson, who was largely inactive as a player by then, played in the tryout pickup games where he impressed head coach Danny Ainge.
This led to Jackson getting drafted by the Suns as the 42nd overall pick that year. He went on to play 14 seasons in the NBA, winning a championship with the San Antonio Spurs, and earning acclaim for his hard style of play.
Mrs. Bibby remained a strong source of support for Jackson throughout, including during the wedding fiasco. Unfortunately, she could do little to help the NBA pro recover the money he had splurged on the wedding.
Stephen Jackson lost $400,000 on his wedding
The cancelled wedding became a much-discussed topic in Jackson’s life at the time. He firmly stood by the decision, and have explained on many occasions why the prenuptial agreement was a dealbreaker for him.
“I had been telling her two months before we was going to Texas, ‘Look, I’m telling you now. You need to sign this’…You’re not going to dictate how I take care of my mom and my sister and all that,” he explained in an interview once.
As per Jackson, Showalter promised him that she would sign it. But she stalled it till the wedding day and then refused to put the pen to paper. That’s when the NBA pro decided to do what he thought was best for him and his family.
“So I called it off. You know, I ended up wasting like, close to $400,000 on the wedding. Just wasted,” Stack revealed.
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Jackson married Renata Elizabeth White in 2009. But soon after the wedding, his wife attempted to sue Jackson for violating the terms of their prenuptial agreement. They divorced four years later.
In 2015, during Stack’s final NBA season, he met Tamara. The two tied the knot in 2021. There was no prenuptial agreement this time around.
