Celebrity divorces can be incredibly amicable or extremely acrimonious. Michael Strahan has had both kind of experiences. When he was 20, the former New York Giants player married his first wife, Wanda Hutchins. They had two children together, and he later acknowledged getting married and having children at such a young age for teaching him “ultimate responsibility” and making him more mature, according to Parade.
Strahan and Hutchins divorced in 1996 after four years of marriage, but they remain close friends. Unfortunately, after their divorce, he did not enjoy the same civil relationship with his second wife, Jean Muggli. It’s not even close. The pair, characterised as having a “fairytale” relationship by the New York Daily News, married in 1999 and welcomed their twin daughters, Sophia and Isabella, in 2004 before divorcing in 2006.
Continue reading to learn about the complex circumstances of their divorce, including why their divorce battle lasted for years after it was finalised.
Michael Strahan’s First Marrige and Divorce
Strahan married Wanda Hutchins in his first marriage. When Strahan was still in college, the two started dating. Before splitting up, the couple had a son and a daughter.
While divorce is never a pleasant experience for anybody involved, this divorce did not appear to be as contentious as Strahan’s subsequent divorce. Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come for the former Giants legend.
Michael Strahan’s Second Marrige and a Divorce again
Strahan’s second marriage and subsequent divorce were far more tumultuous. He was married to Jean Muggli. They appeared to have a “fairy tale” marriage, according to the New York Daily News. Unfortunately, there was no fairy tale conclusion. Strahan’s ex reported him to the police after he abused her. Strahan categorically refuted this claim, claiming that Muggli took $33 million from their bank account. She later arranged a “revenge yard sale” in order to benefit from and annoy Strahan.
The two also had a nasty custody dispute over their children earlier this year, according to the New York Post. In the divorce settlement, Muggli collected more than $15 million. He also agreed to pay $18,000 in child support each month. After Strahan retired from the NFL, that figure dropped to $13,000 each year.
How does Strahan deal with all of the criticism, particularly his portrayal in the media? He told Harvard Business Review that he doesn’t let it bother him:
“The media is going to sensationalize. But I’ve learned through all my stuff — the good and the bad- — that I don’t have to prove anything, because I know who I am, and I have people, real friends, who know too. So I don’t think or worry about it anymore. It’s just fluff, and they’ll use that newspaper to wrap dead fish the next day, and people will move on to the next story. “
Strahan still appears to be on top of the world, despite his difficulties with his ex. He certainly keeps things in perspective.
Michael Strahan was accused of domestic violence by Jean Muggli
According to Page Six, Michael Strahan and Jean Muggli divorced a year after their twins were born in 2004. She accused the former NFL star of becoming violent twice after he filed for divorce, once after an altercation over money and again when they resided in Germany.
Strahan categorically disputed the allegations. “It’s terrible that not all marriages work out for both sides, but it’s a harsh truth of the times we live in,” he said at the time in a statement to the New York Post. “I would never intentionally or unintentionally damage any of my loved ones, especially my wife. That is not the man I am. I will continue to respect Jean’s privacy and refrain from making a public spectacle of a very private problem.” Muggli later acknowledged to People that her husband did not touch her during the event.
According to The New York Times, their divorce was finalised in July 2006, and Muggli was paid $15.3 million in divorce settlement and $18,000 per month in child support. Strahan subsequently told People, “being divorced is definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through, but it was also a learning process and I learned a lot about myself and a lot about a lot of the people that were there at the time and some aren’t around anymore.”
Michael Strahan claimed that his ex-wife abused their children
According to TMZ, Michael Strahan and Jean Muggli were back in court in January 2020 over child custody after he claimed she was abusing their daughters emotionally and physically. He believed she had been engaging in a “pattern of abusive conduct towards the children for years,” according to sources, and that she had failed to take the girls to “court-ordered therapy sessions” and prevented them from attending “volleyball matches and equestrian events.”
In his case, the “Good Morning America” host wanted the girls to live with him in New York City. Strahan also claimed Muggli withheld the daughters’ passports, preventing them from going on a European vacation with their father, according to Page Six at the time. The legal battle became even more complicated when Muggli claimed in court that her ex-husband had private investigators watching her “round the clock.”
“The notion that she is under surveillance is absurd and could never be proven,” the former NFL star’s lawyer said in response to her accusation. Page Six reported later that year, in November, that the claims were dismissed on October 13, with the ex-couple agreeing to a shared custody arrangement.
Read More
