Chicago Cubs World Series MVP Ben Zobrist filed for legal separation from his wife, Julianna, alleging she was “guilty of inappropriate marital conduct.”
Zobrist filed for legal separation earlier this week in Tennessee just days after he announced he was taking a leave of absence from the team, according to the Tennessean.
According to the filing, Zobrist hoped to enter a “marriage dissolution agreement and permanent parenting plan,” or have a judge order them to be legally separated, “unless they can reconcile,” according to the newspaper.
The couple, who have been married since 2005, share three young children together: Blaise, Kruse, and Zion, according to Julianna’s Instagram.
Meanwhile, Julianna Zobrist filed for divorce in Cook County, Illinois, citing “irreconcilable differences,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Couples choosing to file in separate jurisdictions is not uncommon in cases involving large sums of money. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Zobrist is “due more than $9 million for the remainder of this season in the final year of his four-year contract with the club.”
Before the Cubs, Zobrist spent four months with the Kansas Royals, where he was a big part in securing the World Series win in 2015, according to the Kansas City Star. The next year, he also helped the Cubs win the World Series and was named the 2016 World Series Most Valuable Player.
On May 8, Zobrist took a personal leave from the Cubs. Officials of the team said his timeline “remains indefinite,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. His manager, Joe Maddon, told the publication, “I texted with him the other day, reminded him how much I care about him, and how much we miss him.”
His leave prompted the team to bring back Addison Russell “earlier than planned” following his suspension for domestic violence, the publication added.
The news of the impending divorce has shocked fans, with lots of people taking to social media to offer prayers of support.
Jesse Rogers, who covers the Cubs for ESPN, wrote on Twitter, “Maddon on Zobrist: ‘I feel for him. Having gone through that process myself, it’s no fun. For him to do it under these circumstances, we’re going to respect his privacy. There is no timeline involved. He’ll let us know.'”
Maddon on Zobrist: “I feel for him. Having gone through that process myself, it’s no fun. For him to do it under these circumstances, we’re going to respect his privacy. There is no timeline involved. He’ll let us know.”
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) May 15, 2019
Another person wrote, “Damn sad news about Ben Zobrist and his wife. They were always like the model couple in baseball.”
Damn sad news about Ben Zobrist and his wife. They were always like the model couple in baseball.
— IA-Cub (@IA_Cub) May 15, 2019
In 2017, Julianna Zobrist told NPR how the two managed to make their marriage work amidst their children, sports, and her singing career.
“When Ben was first drafted into the minor leagues … he called me and he said, if I’m going to do this thing, then we’re going to do this together,” she told NPR. “It’s not going to be a me thing. It’s going to be a we thing. And so we decided on that day to never spend any longer than six days apart.
“It’s not a magic number. It’s not like the golden ticket to a perfect marriage,” she continued. “But for us, it was a starting point. It was, all right, we’ve got to draw the line in the sand somewhere, and a week just felt too long. And every single spring, we sit down for about four to eight hours with our teams. … I get one of those massive calendars and we literally go through and write down every city that we’re going to be in. We write in date nights. We write in family date days.”
