Getty Ben and Juliana Zobrist pictured together in the midst of the Cubs' celebrations upon winning the 2016 World Series.
Julianna Zobrist is the wife of Chicago Cubs second baseman, Ben Zobrist. On May 15, it was widely reported that Ben had filed for divorce from Julianna, 34, his wife of 15 years. The couple married in 2005 in Julianna’s home town of Iowa City, Iowa. They have three children together.
Julianna is a celebrity in her own right thanks to her Christian singing career, as well as being an author, motivational speaker and chef. Her 2016 album, “Shatterproof,” was a modest hit.
At the time news broke of the divorce, Ben Zobrist, who turns 38 on May 26, was listed as being on leave from the Cubs. In 2016, Ben was the World Series MVP in the Cubs’ first victorious season in 108 years. He has been an All-Star on three separate occasions.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Ben Zobrist Is Accusing Julianna Zobrist of ‘Inappropriate Marital Conduct’
GettyJulianna Zobrist speaks onstage during Tan France hosts the 2019 Audie Awards at Gustavino’s on March 4, 2019 in New York City.
Online records show that Julianna Zobrist filed for divorce in Cook County on May 14. In the lead up to the announcement, Julianna deleted her Twitter page and removed several photos showing her with her husband. On the same day as Julianna’s filing, Ben Zobrist filed separation papers in Tennessee, where the couple lives for part of the year, according to the Tennessean.
The newspaper says that Ben Zobrist’s filing sees him accuse his wife of being “guilty of inappropriate marital conduct which render further cohabitation impossible.” Ben Zobrist adds that he is unsure if the marriage can be salvaged, according to the Tennessean.
Tennesee state law defines inappropriate marital conduct as “inappropriate marital conduct means a spouse has caused pain, anguish or distress to the other party and rendered continued cohabitation improper, unendurable, intolerable, or unacceptable.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that Julianna has hired lawyer Karen Krehbiel, of the firm Berger Schatz. In 2014, Krehbiel represented billionaire Kenneth Griffin in his divorce from then-wife Anne Dias Griffin. The Tribune reported in October 2015 that Kenneth Griffin settled the divorce after a 14-month long dispute. No attorney is listed for Ben Zobrist.
2. Julianna Previously Said That She & Her Husband Had a Rule to Never Spend More Than 6 Days Apart
In an October 2018 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Julianna said that she and her husband had a rule where they never spend more than six days apart, no matter what they’re schedules are. Julianna said that the pair sat down prior to the start of each baseball season to discuss their plans.
Julianna added, “There’s a lot of mutual respect. The mutual understanding of what the other person wants.” The couple met in the early 2000s across Instant Messenger. Julianna told the Tampa Bay Times in 2014, “It wasn’t flirting and physical attraction that made me decide to date him. Of course we were attracted to each other but it was more than that. It was a lot of prayer and heavy leaning on my heart. I loved the way that he was so thoughtful. Our conversations were always purposeful. I felt safe with him. It was that way from the beginning. Of course, because we were long distance, our first real date was totally awkward. We had to learn how to actually be in the same place.”
3. Ben Zobrist Reported Late for Spring Training for ‘Personal Reasons’
Ben Zobrist embracing his wife in 2005 while he played for the Kansas City Royals.
At the beginning of May, Ben Zobrist was left off of the Cubs roster for “personal reasons.” During Spring training, Ben was absent from the team for similar reasons. On the day that news broke of the Zobrist’s divorce, Cubs manager Joe Maddon told the Tribune that he had been in contact with Ben during what Maddon referred to as a “family matter.” Prior to his absence, Ben hit .241 with 10 RBIs in 26 games.
The year before joining the Cubs, Ben, a native of Eureka, Illinois, won the 2015 World Series with the Kansas City Royals. Ben began his career in Tampa Bay in 2006. His four-year deal with the Cubs expires at the end of 2019. When asked when Ben may return to the fold, Maddon told reporters on May 15, “I would absolutely consider it ‘indefinite’ right now. I texted with him the other day and reminded him how much I care about him, how much we miss him.”
4. Julianna’s 2018 Book ‘Pull it Off’ Dealt With Combatting Negative Thinking
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Julianna’s 2018 book, “Pull it Off,” dealt with combatting negative emotions. During an interview with Megyn Kelly “Today,” Julianna discussed the book saying, “When you’re faced with fear or insecurity, that is your moment for exercising your courage. The more that you exercise your courage, the more that you see your fear and you name it, you see your insecurity and you face it dead on, then you can actually utilize that courage and become confident and step out in the world.”
Julianna went on to tell Kelly about an incident when their eldest child was a newborn and Julianna and her husband were checking into a hotel late at night following one of his games. A woman in an elevator told her son that he should be in bed. Julianna said, “I’m like, ‘You’re probably right, I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m a first-time mom and thank you for the gratuitous guilt trip. She was ‘shoulding’ on me, and I was ‘shoulding’ on myself.” Speaking about that incident in a separate interview with the Tennessean, Julianna said, “I’m already super insecure, because I’m a first-time mom and I don’t know what I’m doing. I went home that night to my husband and told him, and I started crying.”
5. Julianna Sang ‘God Bless America’ Prior to Game 4 of the 2016 World Series
Julianna has performed on multiple occasions at Wrigley Field. Most notably, Julianna sang “God Bless America” prior to Game 4 of the World Series in 2016, a game that the Cubs went on to lose.
Julianna’s music career began in earnest at the age of seven when she began studying piano and receiving vocal lessons. Julianna received her first keyboard, microphone and laptop from Ben on their wedding day in 2005. She would release her first single, “Say It Now,” in April 2012.
Julianna told Fashionista in a September 2018 interview that her family divides their time between Chicago and Nashville.
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