Michael Strahan is the first to admit his 2006 split from wife Jean Muggli wasn’t easy. “When you get divorced, people get upset, angry and say crazy things.” he shared in 2014. “You have to take it.”
But the NFL star-turned-talk show host is seemingly done taking it. In shocking new court papers, Michael, 48, claims that his ex has been engaging in a pattern of abusive conduct towards their twin daughters, Sophia and Isabella, 15, and now he’s demanding primary custody of the girls. “I just have to do what I have to do for my kids,” the Good Morning America star (who is also father to two children from an earlier relationship) has previously said. “I have to let them know that they are a priority.”
The Battle’s On
He alleges Sophia and Isabella aren’t priorities to Jean, 54.
Legal documents claim that she’s the reason the twins have regularly missed their volleyball matches and equestrian events in North Carolina, where they reside with their mother. Worse, the star reportedly has proof of physical and emotional abuse. Now Michael, who has visitation rights, wants the girls to come and live with him in NYC, and for Jean to be held in civil and criminal contempt. “Given that the children are 15 years old, their wishes will have great impact with the court,” surmises Manhattan-based custody attorney Dror Bikel, the author of The 1% Divorce. “If they tell the court about real abuse, their mother may be in serious trouble.”