Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Stunned Fans Pray for ‘All-American’ Christian Family: Chicago Cubs’ Ben Zobrist and Wife Julianna File for Divorce

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Share Tweet
By CBN News
Contributor

May 22, 2019
By Steve Warren

Chicago Cubs infielder-outfielder Ben Zobrist and his wife Julianna Zobrist, a Christian music artist, have decided to end their 14-year marriage, according to reports from several news outlets.

The Christian couple, both the children of pastors, have been bold about their faith in Christ over the years, pointing many others to Christianity and talking about how their faith helps them through life’s struggles. But they’ve also been living high pressure lives in the spotlight.

Stunned fans have been posting prayers for the couple on social media, like “Leslie” who wrote on Twitter: “I pray for the Zobrist family during this time.”

I pray for the Zobrist family during this time…divorce is never easy. They always seemed so happy but I guess you never truly knows what goes on behind closed doors ?

— Leslie? (@Lilrich92) May 15, 2019

Having a great day only to find out my favorite celeb couples have filed for divorce after 14yrs of marriage. Prayers to both of them #Zobrist

— JustCallmeMel (@myfav47) May 15, 2019

The Chicago Tribune reports the couple has filed for divorce in separate states. Ben Zobrist, 37, filed last week in Williamson County, TN, where the couple has an offseason home outside of Nashville. Julianna, 34, filed in Cook County, IL, according to the newspaper.

Julianna did not give a reason in her court papers why she’s seeking a divorce. But Ben claimed in his filing that his wife “has been guilty of inappropriate marital conduct which renders further cohabitation impossible,” according to the Tennessean. The newspaper reported the filing says, “Husband is unsure if the marriage can be salvaged.”

Ben and Julianna wed in Iowa City, Iowa in December of 2005 and have a son and two daughters.

The Cubs organization allowed Zobrist an indefinite leave of absence earlier this month. Joe Maddon, the team’s manager, told the Tribune he didn’t know when he would return.

“I couldn’t even begin to surmise that,” Maddon said before Wednesday’s game against the Reds. “I have no idea. I totally respect the man’s privacy. I totally respect the man. I feel for him.”

Ben, Julianna and their children were featured as “The All-American Family” in the cover story of Parade Magazine in 2017.

The couple had expressed their love for each other on social media for the last several years.

They met through Julianna’s sister’s husband, Dan Heefner. Heefner and Zobrist were teammates and roommates at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL, according to the newspaper. But the couple didn’t date until she attended college at Belmont University in Nashville, TN.

Zobrist was instrumental in the Cubs’ winning the World Series in 2016. He was named Most Valuable Player for the series, which saw the Cubs reclaim the World Series Championship title for the first time in 108 years.

As CBN News reported in 2016, Zobrist was happy to return to Chicago with the Commissioner’s Trophy for Cubs fans, but had noted what people really need is Jesus Christ.

“We know that as a Christian athlete, people are watching, and so we want to be the best example that we can be,” he said in a 2013 interview with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, as reported by ChristianExaminer.com. “But at the same time, I want people to know that grace is for everyone. We all need grace. We all need Christ….That is the message the whole way we look at everything in our lives.”

In an interview with CBN.com about her third album “Shatterproof,” which was released in 2016, Julianna spoke of the need for the gospel of Jesus Christ to saturate everything she does.

“We all need a savior. We all need rescuing. There’s not one of us that is exempt from that,” she said. “Once we see that part then we understand the Scripture that says, ‘While you were yet still a sinner, He died for you.’ I want that message. A message that is soaked in truth.”

While the Zobrist’s lives have been filled with successes, they’ve also been tumultuous in some ways. In just a few years’ time starting in 2014, they moved from Tampa to Oakland to Kansas City to Chicago. In that time, Ben won a World Series championship and Julianna recorded a new album while also raising two young children and giving birth to a third.

In a recent interview, CBN asked Julianna how she maintains stability, and she replied, “That’s a great question. If you can figure that out can you just let me know? That would be great. (Laughs) Oh man, it has been a wild, wild ride. It is a story that you cannot write on your own. You can’t make it up. It has just sort of happened.”

“We really felt like we have been standing under the water hose of God’s blessing. It’s really not an issue of balancing to me. When you so highly prioritize your family there really isn’t much of a balancing act to happen because they are going to be your first priority regardless. We do have to be very detailed oriented, very scheduled. We have a weekly family meeting about our schedule for the next week. I know without the shadow of a doubt that when we look back in 20 years I will say that in no way did we sacrifice our family on the altar of careers. That’s not something that we are willing to do. So, we are eyes wide open to that temptation and we do everything that we can to keep priorities where they should be.”

Latest

  • News

    Pro-Life Activist Mark Houck Acquitted of Federal Charges

  • News

    ‘Virtue-Signaling Nonsense’: London School of Economics Cancels Christian Holidays Lent, Easter From Academic Calendar

  • Faith

    Pastor and Three Christians Shot to Death by Suspected Islamic Extremists in Sudan: Report

  • Faith

    ‘God Using Me as a Vessel’: Damar Hamlin Speaks Out in First Video Since Near-Death Experience, Says Lord Will Guide Him to ‘Great Things’

  • News

    ‘Proof That God Is Faithful’: Premature Baby Raises Hand as Father Sings Gospel Song to Him


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Pro-Life Activist Mark Houck Acquitted of Federal Charges
  • ‘Virtue-Signaling Nonsense’: London School of Economics Cancels Christian Holidays Lent, Easter From Academic Calendar
  • Pastor and Three Christians Shot to Death by Suspected Islamic Extremists in Sudan: Report
  • ‘God Using Me as a Vessel’: Damar Hamlin Speaks Out in First Video Since Near-Death Experience, Says Lord Will Guide Him to ‘Great Things’
  • ‘Proof That God Is Faithful’: Premature Baby Raises Hand as Father Sings Gospel Song to Him

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?