Brittney Griner files for divorce from wife Cherelle Griner

Brittney Griner filed for divorce from Cherelle Griner in Fulton County, Georgia, and the petition describes the marriage as “irretrievably broken” with “no hope of reconciliation.” Court records also confirm the couple married in June 2018, correcting earlier accounts that had listed 2019.

The filing places one of the WNBA’s most recognizable families back in the public record, this time through a Georgia court rather than the national attention that followed Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia in 2022. Cherelle Griner was widely credited in coverage of that period for helping lead the push for Brittney Griner’s release, making the divorce a deeply personal development for a couple whose private life has long intersected with public advocacy.

The Griners share a young son, Bash, who was described in coverage as 2 years old. Some reports said the couple had been separated since July 24, adding another specific date to a breakup that had already become visible through court paperwork and the scrutiny that follows a high-profile athlete’s family life.

The petition lands four years after Brittney Griner returned to the United States following her detention in Russia. That history made Cherelle Griner a familiar figure to sports fans and viewers beyond basketball, not just as Brittney Griner’s spouse but as a voice in a national campaign for her freedom.

The divorce filing itself is the clearest public document in the case so far. No public statement from Brittney Griner or Cherelle Griner explaining the split was visible in the coverage reflected in the available reports, and the court record does not add a detailed account of what led to the breakup beyond the language that the marriage cannot be repaired.

Brittney Griner, a former Atlanta Dream star and one of the WNBA’s most prominent veterans, now faces a personal transition that has moved from private life into the same public arena that has followed much of her career. The record in Fulton County leaves little ambiguity about the legal step she has taken: the marriage is ending, and the reason stated in court is finality.