Brittney Griner Files for Divorce from Wife Cherelle, Who Helped Fight for WNBA Star’s Release from Russia

Brittney Griner and wife Cherelle Griner are ending their marriage.

The WNBA star, 35, filed for divorce in Fulton County, Ga. on Thursday, July 30, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.

The couple have been married since June 2018, and have been separated since July 24, 2026, according to the court documents. Previous news reports stated the two have been married since 2019.

Brittney, the petitioner in the divorce, called their union “irretrievably broken.” She and Cherelle, 33, who met when they were students at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, share a two-year-old son, Bash. In the filing, Brittney is seeking joint legal custody.

A representative for the Connecticut Sun star did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was first to report the news.

Cherelle, an attorney, was an advocate for her wife after she was detained and imprisoned in Russia in February 2022 when vape cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in her bag.

Brittney was charged with smuggling “narcotic drugs” into the country, where marijuana is illegal, and received a 9-year sentence six months later.

Four months after she was initially sentenced, the Texas native was released from Russian prison in December 2022.

PEOPLE spoke with Cherelle at the time about getting her wife back.

“I had thought about that moment a thousand times, and I thought I would be full of tears,” Cherelle said. “But I was overwhelmingly happy. It was the first time I was able to finally exhale, and I’m like, ‘Oh, thank God, this is such a great day.’ “