Ten costly sports divorces
On Oct. 31, 2011, the world was blindsided by the news that reality TV star Kim Kardashian was divorcing her husband, National Basketball Association star Kris Humphries. The couple had married on Aug. 20, 2011, in a storybook wedding worth $10 million. A mere 72 days later, however, Kardashian had filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
Fortunately, the couple had a prenuptial agreement in place, so each party is likely to walk away with their finances intact.
This puts Humphries in a better situation than many of his fellow divorced sports personalities, many of whom never had such a contract in place prior to exchanging vows. Maybe they believed they truly would live happily ever after with their spouses, or perhaps they never knew they needed one in the first place.
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Either way, they failed to protect themselves, and it cost them dearly.
Some players were involved in unions that only lasted a year, while others ended marriages that had stood for decades. However long they were married, the price of ending the union was huge – sometimes even reaching nine figures.
So, who are some of the athletes whose divorces cost them millions? Check out the list.
The list:
• Jeff Gordon and Brooke Sealey
Gordon's first wife, Brooke Sealey, filed for divorce in 2002, citing "marital misconduct." Although the full details of the settlement were not disclosed, the Associated Press reported that Sealey would receive a guaranteed $15.3 million from the sale of two homes.
• Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy
In 2002, the couple filed for divorce. They reconciled, but in 2006 they filed papers again, and that time it stuck. Juanita Vanoy Jordan was awarded $168 million in the divorce settlement.
• Greg Norman and Laura Andrassy
In 2006, Norman announced that he and Andrassy were divorcing after 25 years of marriage, refusing to give a reason for the dissolution and flatly denying that there had been a third party involved. Whatever the reasons for the split, Andrassy walked away with a settlement of $105 million.
• Lance Armstrong and Kristin Richard
The couple had three children together, but the marriage didn’t last – the couple filed for divorce in 2003. According to Daniel Coyle’s 2005 book "Lance Armstrong's War," Richard received $14 million from the settlement.
[Related: Famous athlete-celebrity marriages – and divorces]
• Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren
In November 2009, allegations emerged that Woods had been unfaithful to his wife. Nordegren filed for divorce almost immediately. The final amount of the divorce settlement was never disclosed, but a source close to Nordegren claimed that the former model walked away with $100 million.
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