(Larry Brown Sports) Ben Zobrist took a leave of absence from the Chicago Cubs roughly two years ago as he was going through a divorce with his wife Julianna. That split is still playing out, and to say it has gotten ugly would be an understatement.
According to court documents that were obtained by Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune, Julianna says her estranged husband was “guilty of failing to preserve marital assets” when he took his leave of absence and forfeited nearly $8 million. She is seeking an even split of the couple’s marital assets plus an additional $4 million, which is the amount she says she would have been entitled to if Ben didn’t take time off from playing.
Ben Zobrist called the claim “utterly absurd” and said through his legal team that his and Julianna’s marriage fell apart after Julianna had an affair with the couple’s former marriage counselor and pastor, Byron Yawn. Ben is suing Yawn for $6 million in a separate case for intentional infliction of emotional distress and defrauding the Zobrists’ charity.