Brittney Griner Worried That Wife Cherelle Would Leave Her During Russian Detainment
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Brittney Griner always has her biggest fan by her side.
Over the past few months, the Phoenix Mercury center has opened up about the last few traumatic years of her life, which included detainment in a Russian jail, a prisoner swap, and, thankfully, a reunion with her friends, family and loved ones, including wife Cherelle Griner. But that ending didn't always feel guaranteed.
In her memoir Coming Home, which was released May 7, Brittany shares how scared she was in Russian prison. Her mind raced with fears that she’d never hug her family again, or that Cherelle would leave her.
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“I might never see my parents again, and especially Pops with his health issues,” Brittany wrote in the memoir, per People. “My basketball career would be over. I’d be in my early forties and out of shape, would have to find a new way to provide for my wife. And Relle. She assured me she’d wait, but 10 years was ridiculous.”
Brittney called losing her wife—not receiving a guilty verdict— the “real nightmare," going as far as telling Cherelle she could move on with her life after Brittney was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony (other prisoners told her to expect 10, to allow for paperwork filing and other legal snags).
“I gave her an out,” Brittney told People in May. “But she was basically like, ‘What? Stop it. Don’t you ever say that.’”
ICYMI: In February 2022, the WNBA star made headlines when she was detained in Russia, after authorities found cannabis oil in two of her vape cartridges at an airport near Moscow. She was ultimately released from Russian custody in a December 2022 prisoner swap, per CNN.
"I went through so many emotions being locked up, and just thinking about nine years,” Brittney shared. “We planned on having kids, and doing all these amazing things together, and now I'm thinking, ‘Is that going to happen? How can I ask her to wait?’"
But throughout her detainment, her wife Cherelle had her back, continually calling on the Biden White House to bring her home. The two are currently expecting their first child.
"Can’t believe we’re less than three months away from meeting our favorite human being ??," Cherelle captioned a joint Instagram post.
So, who is Brittney’s wife and how did she help Brittney? Here’s Brittney and Cherelle Griner's relationship timeline.
2016: Brittney and Cherelle begin dating.
Brittney and Cherelle met as undergraduates at Baylor University in Texas, according to Us Weekly. However, they didn’t start dating until after Brittney split from her first wife, Glory Johnson, in 2016.
Brittney paid tribute to her wife on Instagram in June 2020, noting that she will “never forget” the day she met Cherelle at Baylor.
“You tapped me on my shoulder and told me I took your milkshake (still up for debate lol) and I was immediately blown away at your beauty!” she wrote. “You had no idea but I knew you were the one for me baby. You stuck by my side at the lowest and at the highest!”
2018: Brittney and Cherelle get engaged.
Brittney popped the question to Cherelle in August 2018. She shared the exciting news in a since-deleted Instagram post, per The Grio.
“I will never forget the first time I said I love you and I will never forget when you said YES,” Brittney wrote, according to the outlet.
She added: “My best friend, my lover, my partner in life. I love you. I'm so lucky to have you in my life forever. You never gave up on me even when I gave up on myself. You have pull[ed] me from the ashes and held me up when I couldn't stand. You really are my backbone and my spirit that keeps me going. I love you baby."
2019: Brittney and Cherelle get married.
Brittney and Cherelle got married in 2019, according to Us Weekly. So, they’ve been married for about four years.
Before that, Brittney was married to fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson back in 2015. Their wedding was featured in The New York Times "Vows" column, but the romance did not last. Griner filed for an annulment only 28 days after they got married, per USA Today. Johnson had announced she was pregnant via sperm donation the day before.
The annulment was not granted, and the couple remained married until their divorce was finalized in 2016, TMZ reported.
Feb. 2022: Cherelle begins advocating for Brittney’s release.
Cherelle is a former teacher who graduated from the North Carolina Central University of Law in May 2022, per BET. She passed the bar in April 2023, and has put her legal knowledge to good use advocating on Brittney’s behalf.
Cherelle first found out about Brittney's detainment through a February 2022 late-night phone call, per a 2024 New York Times. While Cherelle typically packed the suitcases when Brittney played abroad (She loaded them up with American goodies!), this time, she only organized the big roller bags, leaving Brittney responsible for her carry-ons. In a rush, Brittney didn't unpack them, but just hurriedly shoved in a few more essentials in a dash to make her flight.
When Russian officials found her medical marijuana (which had been prescribed by a physician in Arizona), Brittney began frantically calling and texting her family and Cherelle. But, due to the late hour in the United States, they were all asleep.
“It's just so easy to have a mental lapse,” Brittney reflected during her 20/20 special. “Granted, my mental lapse was on a more grand scale. But it doesn't take away from how that can happen."
The next morning, when Brittney's friends and family awoke, her agent arranged for a Russian lawyer to meet her.
During Brittney's detainment, Cherelle repeatedly posted on Instagram, urging the Biden administration to take action to bring her wife home. She also appeared on Good Morning America in May 2022 to further urge the United States government to take action on getting Brittney home. During the appearance, she also confirmed she spoke to United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the situation.
"You say she's top priority, but I wanna see it, and I feel like to see it would be me seeing BG on U.S. soil," Cherelle reportedly told Blinken, per US Weekly.
But that isn't the only way Cherelle helped her wife, with Brittney telling The New York Times that the thought of reuniting with Cherelle kept her going through her months in prison. In her memoir, Brittney writes that she stuck Cherelle’s picture on the side of a metal dresser beside her bed. “I’d lay there and look at her, talk to her as if she was sitting there,” she wrote, per People. “[That love] got me through.”
Plus, Cherelle, who is a preacher's daughter, kept Brittney's spirits high, writing her wife often-delayed letters instructing her to lean into her faith. The warden let Brittney have a Bible, and she studied it every morning. Her favorite verse: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
When Brittney was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony, her Russian lawyers called Cherelle on FaceTime, holding the phone up to the bars of Brittney's cage. On the call, the two cried together.
Dec. 2022: Brittney is released in a prisoner swap.
On December 8, 2022, Brittney was released in a prisoner swap with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Standing next to President Biden during his announcement of the prisoner swap, Cherelle spoke out about the “darkest moments” of her life, per The New York Times.
"Today my family is whole," she said. "The most important emotion I have right now is sincere gratitude for President Biden and his entire administration. He just mentioned that this work is not easy, and it hasn’t been," she said, adding that she is feeling for the family of Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia.
Two days later on December 10, Cherelle thanked everyone who'd helped bring her wife home.
"Yesterday my heart was made whole thanks to the collective efforts of MANY!" she wrote on IG. "I’m humbled by their hearts. To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some—is humanity in its purest form!"
"As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits—I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!"
They're currently expecting their first child.
The couple just revealed that they’re expecting their first child together.
“Can’t believe we’re less than three months away from meeting our favorite human being ?? #BabyGrinerComingSoon #July2024,” they wrote in an April 2024 joint statement on Instagram. In the photos, Cherelle's bump can be seen next to their hands and ultrasounds of their little bundle of joy.
A friend of Cherelle's also shared BTS pictures from the couple’s baby shower, which featured a three-tiered cake topped with a teddy bear and cookies in the shape of pink onesies and baby bottles.
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