Sports stars are high profile members of society who in addition to facing the pressures of their chosen profession deal with reporters, paparazzi and home life. Like the rest of us divorce is a part of life and they are not spared its pain – emotionally or financially. Here’s a look at some of the most expensive divorces in sports history.
1. Kobe and Vanessa Bryant – The pair tied the knot back in 2001 and now the Black Mamba will be losing half of his $150 million fortune. Vanessa has also asked for spousal support, which Kobe has agreed to. Not too shabby for a high school dropout, not too shabby at all (pssst…Vanessa, call me).
Settlement: $75 million
2. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren – Everyone remembers the drama surrounding the world wide guessing game of “guess the IHOP waitress Tiger screwed” back in 2009. It seemed Tiger slept with enough women to field a baseball team – with three bullpen pitchers included – Elin was not amused. They divorced after six years of marriage.
Settlement: $100 million
3. Greg Norman and Laura Andrassy – They married in 1981 and 25 years later were divorced. Norman went on to marry tennis star Christine Evert in 2007 and divorced 18 months later. For the hat trick, Norman married yet again in 2010 to interior designer Kirsten Kutner, my guess is she’ll design one hell of a settlement property.
Settlement: $103 million
4. Frank and Jamie McCourt – They filed for divorce one week shy of their 30th anniversary when Frank fired Jamie from her position as Dodgers CEO and she went all “Gimme half of the billion dollar baseball team” on him. Now Frank is trying to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers. Poor shmuck. He’ll see her again…in hell.
Settlement: $130 million
5. Michael and Jaunita Jordan – The two married during Jordan’s second season with the Bulls in a small Las Vegas wedding. 17 years, three children, and a Wilt Chamberlain worthy list of groupies later they divorced. Mike has got six championship rings but couldn’t keep the one that mattered.
Settlement: $168 million
6. Roman and Irina Abramovich – Roman owns Chelsea F.C. (That’s real football wink wink) He married Irina a few months prior to being sent to prison for a shady business deal. The couple married in Russia before he acquired the majority of his wealth. They were married for 16 years.
Settlement: $300 million
7. Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone – Bernie is the owner of Formula 1 in Europe. In 2008 the lovebirds flew the coop and filed for divorce after 24 years of marriage. They didn’t see eye-to-eye. She’s a six-foot tall former Armani model. He’s five-foot-four. They have two daughters.
Settlement: $1.2 billion
8. Jeff and Brooke Gordon – Jeff is a NASCAR legend but his marriage’s finish line arrived after seven years. Brooke did not receive alimony in the settlement. The judgment came down; take your millions and go! – Dictated but not read.
Settlement: $15.3 million
9. Nick and Gill Faldo – The second marriage for the golf star “banana balled” into the expensive marriage hall of shame in 1995 after Nick thought it was a good idea to start giving a “hole-in-one” action to a 20-year-old golf student. Gill took a nine iron to his bank account.
Settlement: $11.8 million
10. Lance and Kristin Armstrong – I bet the Plano native wanted to get on his bike and “hi yo silver” after his ex-wife left with enough money to buy a small European country. They married in 1998 and had three children. They divorced at the end of 2003.
Settlement: $14 million