Glory Johnson reportedly seeking spousal support from Brittney Griner
Glory Johnson is pregnant, claims she is unable to work and is facing the annulment of her marriage. So now she reportedly wants Brittney Griner to pay her $20,000 per month -- even though their marriage, if the annulment goes through, will have lasted less than a month.
ESPN reported on Tuesday that Johnson filed papers June 29 in Maricopa County (Ariz.) court asking for $20,000 per month in spousal support, plus a $10,000 advancement toward attorney fees, from Griner. It is the latest development in the bizarre relationship between the WNBA stars.
The couple was married on May 8, little more than two weeks after both players were arrested following an April 22 domestic-violence incident in their Arizona home. On June 4, Johnson announced she would miss the upcoming season for the Tulsa Shock because she is pregnant with twins.
The following day, Griner filed a petition to have the marriage annulled.
In that time, a series of claims have been made by both sides, including Griner's assertion in the initial petition that she was "pressured into marriage under duress by Johnson's threatening statements." Griner also claimed in the petition she was unaware of the in vitro procedure Johnson underwent to get pregnant -- a claim Johnson denies.
Griner, according to the ESPN report, has asserted that due to the brief period of marriage, neither side would be in need of or entitled to spousal support, though she, too, requested her attorney fees be paid by Johnson.
In her June 29 filing, ESPN reported that Johnson claimed her finances are nearly expired due to wedding expenses, moving/furniture costs and the IVF procedures. She also claims, according to the report, that because of her reduced salary from being unable to play due to the pregnancy, combined with an inability to earn a supplemental income in another profession because hers is a "high-risk multiple pregnancy," she is entitled to the spousal support -- as well as the continued car payments made by Griner for the Mercedes she bought Johnson as a gift.
The WNBA suspended both players seven games following the domestic assault incident. Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, has served hers while Johnson will serve hers upon her return to action following her children's birth. Griner agreed to counseling to avoid charges; Johnson's case is still working its way through the courts.
