Brittney Griner has filed for divorce from her wife, Cherelle Griner, ending a marriage that became part of the public record during one of the most closely watched international incidents in recent sports history.
What the filing says
Griner filed in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia in the final days of July 2026, according to NBC Connecticut. The petition describes the marriage as “irretrievably broken,” with “no hope of reconciliation,” and states the couple has been separated since July 24, 2026, according to ABC News.
The filing lists the couple’s marriage date as 2018, though most public reporting, including coverage from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has previously placed their wedding in 2019. The couple shares a son, Bash, born in 2024. Griner is seeking joint legal and physical custody, along with child support and an equitable division of the couple’s marital assets and debts, according to court documents cited by ABC News.
Griner’s attorney told reporters the family hopes “the parties can resolve privately,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s review of the filing.
A marriage that played out in public
The Griners’ relationship became national news in early 2022, when Brittney, a WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist, was detained at a Moscow airport after authorities said they found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. She spent nearly ten months in Russian custody, including a nine-year prison sentence, before being released in December 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Cherelle, an attorney, became a visible public advocate for her wife’s release throughout the ordeal, meeting with U.S. officials and appearing in national media as the case unfolded, before Brittney’s release made headlines around the world. The couple’s reunion, and the year that followed it, was widely covered as one part of a broader story about American detainees abroad, well beyond the world of professional basketball.
That history is part of why the filing has drawn attention beyond typical celebrity-split coverage: the marriage was, for a period, tied to a geopolitical story involving the U.S. State Department and a high-profile prisoner swap. Notably, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that just days before filing, Griner posted an Instagram tribute to Cherelle for her birthday, calling her “the best mother and spouse” — underscoring how recently the relationship still appeared, publicly, to be intact.
What happens next
Divorce proceedings involving custody and asset division in Georgia typically take months to resolve, particularly when both parties request joint custody. Neither Brittney nor Cherelle Griner has issued a personal public statement addressing the filing beyond what’s contained in the court record itself.
