Stories surrounding Michael Jordan and his rampant gambling issues were the main focus for the NBA and its fans. At least during the years that the Chicago Bulls legend was playing in the league. As we all know, Jordan is a 6 time NBA champion and is regarded by many to be the GOAT of basketball, the best player in league history.
Although there is no denying that some facets of his game were nearly perfect, that does not mean MJ was perfect and didn’t have his flaws. Jordan married a woman named Yvette Prieto in 2013 but was married once before that to Juanita Vanoy.
Jordan once agreed to participate in an interview with a journalist named Connie Chung. In it, he went into detail discussing his gambling problem and how it affected his marriage with Juanita.
Did gambling cost Michael Jordan his marriage with Juanita Vanoy?
While we have no way of knowing for certain the exact variables that ultimately ended their marriage, it has been widely reported that Michael Jordan’s gambling and commitment issues were the source. Keeping aside the allegations of infidelity, Jordan’s gambling was well-known and even investigated by the league. However, he never considered himself an addict, and since no degenerative behavior was noticed, he was allowed to continue doing so without restrictions.
Although the league and its fans might not have had a problem with Michael Jordan’s gambling, that might not have been the case for Juanita, who had 3 children with the Bulls legend. During his interview with Chung, Michael explained how his gambling problems affected his marriage.
“To solidify my argument, whatever I lost…I’ve always given it back to my wife so whatever check I make, here honey I’m sorry for this embarrassment for losing this amount of money. Here take it. Do what you have to do with it…I didn’t have to do that.”
Chung then asked him if he only returned the money out of a sense of guilt, “I feel guilty that I did it and didn’t tell her that I lost it. That’s what the guilt comes from…I was really embarrassed to tell anybody because I lost.”
Jordan’s marriage ultimately ended in a divorce and he ended up paying an exorbitant settlement of $168 million. That was reported as the most expensive divorce in the entertainment industry at the time. Had his gambling problems not caused marital problems, it is fully possible that the Bulls legend would be significantly richer in present times.