(Twitter/@CanFish16)
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Florida State head football coach Jimbo Fisher and his wife Candi announced they have separated.
The two met 28 years ago in Alabama, Candi’s home state.
Candi is a certifiable football junkie who says she took football as a “required subject” as a high school student in Alabama.
Over Jimbo’s first 5 seasons at FSU, Candi has been a ubiquitous presence at Seminoles games, cheering from the stands and posing for photos with players.
The couple has 2 young sons, Trey and Ethan.
Here’s what you need to know about her:
1. Candi & Jimbo Are Working With Attorneys On a Possible Divorce
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the couple has been meeting with attorneys to “mediate terms of a possible divorce.”
Both Jimbo’s and Candi’s representatives have yet to publicly comment on the situation.
The two met while Jimbo Fisher was at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. As the quarterback in 1987, he was named the Division III National Player of the Year.
Candi is 46-years-old, Jimbo 49.
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2. Candi’s a Lifelong Football Fan
Candi didn’t just become a football fan when she married Jimbo. The Alabama native is a lifelong football fan with an appreciation for the game. She laid out her fandom in a 2013 “Ask Me Anything” forum she conducted on Reddit:
Well I was born in Alabama, so we took football as a required subject in high school. In all seriousness, football is a huge way of life for our family. I’ve always loved the game, and I like knowing the “why” behind something that did or didn’t work. Trey is even developing his own playbook, and Ethan is very interested in the cheerleaders.
3. Her Son, Ethan, Has a Rare, Incurable Blood Disorder Called Fanconi Anemia
Nine-year-old Ethan Fisher, the youngest of Jimbo and Candi’s two sons, was diagnosed in 2010 with Fanconi Anemia, a rare, incurable blood disorder that leads to bone marrow failure and an increased risk of cancer.
The disease impacts about one in 131,000 people, and people with the disease have a life expectancy of just 29, though patients living into their 30s and beyond has become more common.
Ethan Fisher, featured in a 2012 College Game Day profile that you can watch above, is healthy, active and athletic, but an optimistic long-term prognosis will depend on researchers making substantial progress in how to treat FA.
Candi talked about watching Ethan grow up in the 2013 Reddit forum last year.
The biggest struggle for me is seeing Ethan doing so many cool things and seeing how athletic he is, and then I have that feeling in my stomach that reminds me that eventually he won’t be able to do those things. As parents we want so much for our kids and I know it has to be tough for you too. I have to remind myself that each minute we spend with him is so precious and to cherish it all and to try not to focus on the worry. I hope that you find a way to share your daughter’s story. It can be healing for you to have people listen.
4. Candi Runs a Foundation Aimed at Raising Awareness for the Disorder
Candi is the chairwoman of the Kidz1stFund, a foundation the Fishers created to raise awareness of FA and funding to fight the disease.
Here’s how the foundation’s website describes its mission:
Kidz1stFund was created to raise awareness and funds in support of research to fight Fanconi anemia, a rare but serious blood disease that affects thousands of children each year. New treatments are being developed, and breakthroughs are on the horizon, but defeating this illness will require the help of generous souls from every walk of life.
5. She Consulted an FSU Grad on Her Murder-Mystery Novel
Candi put her experience as the mother of a child with FA to work when she consulted FSU graduate Shannon O’Neil on a murder-mystery novel in which the protagonist is the mother of a child with the disease.
USA Today’s Doug Blackburn wrote about the project in May:
O’Neil realized early on that she didn’t know much about FA beyond what the Fishers have shared during their public appearances, so she reached out to Candi Fisher, the wife of FSU’s celebrated football coach, to see if she would be able to review her descriptions of FA.
Candi accepted the offer and doubled down on it. She advised O’Neil, helped her tweak some paragraphs, and then wrote an introduction to “Killer Shine.”
“FA is so complex. Unless you’re on the frontlines of this disease, it’s hard to understand all of the things that come along with this illness,” Candi Fisher said. “Parents of children are very sensitive to make sure it’s described right.”
