Brittney Griner has filed for divorce from her wife, Cherelle, after eight years of marriage, and I, for one, am shook.

Per TMZ, the WNBA star filed on July 30, stating their marriage is “irretrievably broken” and that they’d been separated since the 24th. The couple shares a 2-year-old son, Bash, who just celebrated his birthday this month. They married in 2018 and, most notably, stayed together through Griner’s 10 months in a Russian prison before her release in December 2022.

We never know the ins and outs of a marriage, and everyone has the right to walk away from something that isn’t healthy for them. What’s an egregious act to one person isn’t the same for someone else. That said, I won’t speculate about why Brittney didn’t want to remain in the relationship, but I can’t ignore the math.

From separation to filing took less than a week. That could be a rough estimate on the Connecticut Sun star’s part. But if it’s not, it took Griner less than a week to decide she didn’t want to continue the union. That has to feel pretty horrible for Cherelle, for a number of reasons. When you love someone, you want them to fight for what you have. When they don’t, that hurts. And of course, we know Cherelle knows plenty about fighting for the person she loves.

In the face of real adversity during their marriage, she was an admirable advocate for her wife. She made her pleas known when Brittney was detained in Russia in February 2022, after a vape canister with cannabis oil was found in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Brittney was later sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison colony for the offense, which she told officials was an honest mistake from packing hurriedly. Cherelle could have balled up in a corner in devastation, but she persisted even when they went upwards of 100 days without a phone call to one another, connecting instead through letters here and there. She spoke publicly, lovingly, about her wife, and asked for prayers for her. Amid all that, she found the resilience to finish law school as well, staying encouraged and valiant in the fight for her wife’s release.

“I won’t go down until she’s back… every single day matters for me to be sound, for me to be alert, for me to be attentive, to make sure that she comes back,” she told Robin Roberts in May of 2022

And she did come back, freed in December in a prisoner exchange after months of forced labor and living amid poor conditions.

“I was hopeless a lot of days,” Cherelle said following Brittney’s release. “You try and stay grounded, but I’m human. Still, I would never completely give up hope on my wife’s life.”

She was also inspired by BG’s experience to expand her own career plans, saying she wanted to advocate for Americans wrongfully detained in countries around the world.

After the couple reunited, they privately started a family, announcing the news shortly before Cherelle gave birth. She then took on the work of being a mom while Brittney hit the road to play basketball again, including for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. And as a note, once Griner was back from her ordeal in Russia, Cherelle didn’t seek to remain in the public eye. She was by her side, but she let Brittney have the spotlight while she balanced their family with her career.

She did all that. And in less than a week, a divorce was filed.

Whatever the reason for the end of their relationship, Cherelle will have no regrets for fighting for Brittney in the way that she did, not just waiting around for a resolution but actively seeking it, keeping Brittney’s struggles from being forgotten in the news cycle. Her dedication was inspiring to witness.

I wish both Brittney and Cherelle well as they move forward without each other. But I especially think of Cherelle as she navigates a new wave of attention, for yet another unexpected and unfortunate circumstance. The grace and strength she’s shown, even in the most uncertain times, is the same tenacity that will carry her through whatever this next chapter holds.

Author: ESSENCE Editors

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