Michael Jordan and Ex-Wife Juanita Spotted Together in Nostalgic Photo as Sons Marcus and Jeffrey Reminisce 31YO Event

Jeffrey Jordan clearly takes pride in his legacy. And his siblings share in the sentiment. He rewinded the clock more than three decades back when his parents were the IT Couple of the ’90s. Michael Jordan and Juanita divorced about 13 years after this picture but it’s clearly dear to their children. Jeffrey’s younger brother, Marcus Jordan, was among the many comments hyped for this comeback. The brothers never skip a #MJMondays but this one is a little special.

The eldest of the Jordan kids, Jeffrey Michael Jordan shared a photograph of his parents, Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy together. Judging by the pictorial clues, this appears to be taken at the grand opening of Michael Jordan’s Restaurant on April 28, 1993. Which means they were still married at the time.

Jeffrey captioned it with emojis, prominent among them were the Queen and King emojis. He also added a black heart, which usually complements the ‘black love’ hashtags on social media, and a DNA emoji, taking a little pride in the family legacy. Marcus stayed on theme with a sparkling heart emoji and an extra sparkle.

MJ and Vanoy first met in a restaurant in 1985 shortly after his NBA career began. Jeffrey was born in 1988 and a year later, they married in 1989 in a private ceremony in Las Vegas. They were photographed together at many public events including the restaurant’s opening in 1993.

Michael Jordan’s restaurant was something akin to a sports bar at LaSalle Street in Chicago. It was a major tourist draw displaying a huge collection of MJ memorabilia, from magazine covers to Nike merch. It served a standard sports bar menu. One of the dishes was Juanita’s Mac and Cheese, based on Vanoy’s recipe.

Jordan and his family didn’t have ownership stakes in the restaurant. Another entrepreneur bought the rights to use Jordan’s name and started it but MJ himself frequented this popular watering hole after games before opening his own upscale dining spot. The restaurant shuttered in 1999 upon his second retirement and the memorabilia was auctioned.

The real picture behind the throwback

Behind the scenes, Jordan dealt with more drama both regarding the restaurant and his marriage. He was feuding with the restaurant owners before owning his own restaurant in Chicago and contended he had no obligation to visit the LaSalle spot.

Meanwhile, his marriage with Vanoy had its ups and downs. She filed for divorce at the time Jordan was trying to unretire a second time in 2002. They tried to reconcile before ultimately splitting for good in 2006. To date, the $168 million settlement Vanoy received remains one of the most expensive celebrity divorces in history.

MJ went on to marry Yvette Prieto on April 27, 2013, 20 years after the opening of the Michael Jordan’s Restaurant. Whatever their relationship, their kids Jeffrey, Marcus, and Jasmine clearly only have fond memories of their parents together.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the Reese-Clark rivalry and more, watch this video.