Ask any divorce attorney in Pasadena and they'll tell you the celebrity divorce formula usually goes as follows: First, announce the breakup to the press with a request for privacy (naturally, but good luck with that) then formally file for a divorce at a less conspicuous time some time in the near future. And that's exactly the playbook sports icon Deion Sanders borrowed from when he recently split up with his wife of 12 years.
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Deion Sanders announced on December 17th, 2011, that he and wife Pilar Sanders would be ending their marriage. In a press statement, Deion said, "Pilar and I have decided to end our marriage and move on to the next phase of our individual lives with mutual respect. We are friends and our top priority has and will continue to be the well-being of our children.We arrived at this decision prayerfully and carefully in order to be able to pursue what is in both of our best personal interests."
The Sanders and their three children spent their holidays laying low and out of the limelight. Yet even before folks took their holiday decorations down, Deion announced that he had filed for divorce on December 27th. But he actually filed the paperwork on December 21st. Court paperwork obtained by TMZ.com and filed by Sanders in a Texas courthouse says,"The marriage has become insupportable because of discord or conflict" which "prevents any reasonable expectation of reconciliation." According to reports, Deion has reportedly agreed to buy Pilar a $10 million home as part of their prenuptial agreement. He is seeking joint custody.
The marriage of Deion and Pilar is said to have imploded after she discovered he was having an affair with a 19 year old. Pilar's lawyer Larry Friedman said she was blindsided by the divorce filing and that she learned about it while reading online. Friedman told TMZ Pilar was "heartbroken and surprised when [she] read ... that Deion announced his decision, on his own, to end their marriage. Pilar's sole focus and top priority for the last 12.5 years has been her marriage and children. Based on recent discoveries, [Pilar] now realizes that Deion did not view their family the same way."