One of the WNBA’s most recognizable couples is heading in a different direction after years of marriage and a relationship that survived one of the biggest international sports stories of the decade. The shocking Brittney Griner divorce became public after the basketball star filed paperwork in Georgia to end her marriage to Cherelle Griner.
According to court records, Brittney filed for divorce in Fulton County on Thursday, July 30. The filing lists Brittney as the petitioner and states that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.”
Court documents reportedly show the couple married in June 2018 and separated on July 24, 2026, less than a week before the filing.
Brittney and Cherelle first crossed paths while attending Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Their relationship later became highly public as Cherelle stood at the center of efforts calling for Brittney’s release after the basketball star was detained in Russia in 2022.
Now, their next chapter will also involve parenting. Brittney and Cherelle share a two-year-old son, Bash, and the divorce filing says Brittney is seeking joint legal custody.
The filing marks a major shift for a couple whose marriage drew global attention during Brittney’s detention overseas.
Russian authorities detained Brittney in February 2022 after vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage. She was later charged with smuggling “narcotic drugs” and received a nine-year prison sentence.
Cherelle became one of the most visible advocates pushing for Brittney’s return to the United States, publicly discussing the emotional toll of the detention while urging officials to bring her wife home.
Brittney was released from Russian custody in December 2022 as part of a prisoner exchange.
After her return, Cherelle described the relief of finally seeing her wife again.
“I had thought about that moment a thousand times, and I thought I would be full of tears,” Cherelle said. “But I was overwhelmingly happy. It was the first time I was able to finally exhale, and I’m like, ‘Oh, thank God, this is such a great day.’ “
Nearly four years later, the marriage that endured that chapter is now moving toward divorce.
Neither Brittney nor Cherelle has publicly detailed what led to their separation. For now, the court filing establishes that the pair separated on July 24 and that Brittney is seeking to formally end their marriage while sharing legal custody of Bash.
