Michael Jordan is arguably the greatest player to have stepped on the NBA court. However, off the court, his relationships, particularly with his now ex-wife, Juanita Vanoy, painted a different picture. The two had a love story that seemed to last forever but ended in an expensive divorce settlement after 17 long years. Jordan gained popularity almost immediately after he made his debut in 1984.
Due to this, anything and everything that he did was a headline. Even years after his retirement, this remains the same. It is no surprise that Michael Jordan tried to fix his marriage with Vanoy, but failed miserably at each attempt. Be it by promising to leave his nasty gambling habit or spend more time at home. Furthermore, Jordan has also made questionable comments about her in various settings.
In an exclusive interview, Jordan was asked to describe his wife, and he ended up publicly humiliating Vanoy with one line. The Bulls star said, “Very nice, very demanding. Very caring, good mother. Learning to cook. I love her to death though. I mean she’s got a sense of humor just by hanging around”. It was evident that Juanita Vanoy took offense to the comment about learning to cook.
While she tried to brush it off with laughter and hugging MJ, however, Vanoy’s without having a smile on her face was enough to strike fear in Jordan’s heart. The disappointment and embarrassment that she felt after the publicly humiliating comment was evident. Furthermore, Vanoy filed for divorce in 2002 for the first time and withdrew it within a month. Her turbulent 17-year marriage with Michael Jordan ended in 2006.
Juanita Vanoy left her job as a loan officer at a bank to marry Michael Jordan
Juanita Vanoy and Michael Jordan met each other for the first time in 1986, a year after Jordan started his professional basketball career. He was a man with big dreams to rule the world of basketball, which he undeniably did; however, the cost of this was likely borne by Vanoy. She singlehandedly tried to make their marriage work; from supporting MJ to looking after the house, Vanoy did it all.
Not only this, she likely left her job as a loan officer at a Chicago bank to marry Jordan. She was a well-settled woman with ambitions before meeting Jordan. While her popularity grew after marrying Jordan, Vanoy’s career took a backseat. Notably, she told Chicago Business, “I thought I’d open my own business. But it was important for me to remain in my kids’ lives as much as possible, even through college. And that required a lot of time”.
She was finally able to do so after her divorce from Jordan and as their children have grown up. Vanoy has a luxury resale business known as ‘Juanita World’, which seems to be ever-growing. During her marriage, she gave every ounce of her effort and time to the family, and hearing “Learning to cook” is likely to put anyone off.
Both of them seem to be doing well after their divorce. Vanoy started living for herself and took care of children in the best way possible. On the other hand, Jordan started his family with model Yvette Prieto, whom he met at a club. He likely learned from his costly divorce, so he signed a prenuptial agreement. Their marriage is going well, as the two recently celebrated a decade of togetherness.