Tyson, second wife divorce
January 13, 2003 Print it
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Mike Tyson and his second wife were granted a divorce Monday, and the former heavyweight champion agreed to pay her $6.5 million from future earnings.
The deal ends a yearlong dispute between Tyson and Monica Turner, who accused the boxer of adultery when she filed for divorce in January 2002.
Tyson was not at the court hearing that completed the divorce, although Turner did attend. She is a pediatric resident at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington.
Tyson must pay Turner a percentage of his future purses on top of an undisclosed sum he already has given her, according to Turner's attorney, Sanford Ain. That figure rises to $9 million if Tyson fails to pay on time.
Turner was awarded the couple's $4.75 million mansion in Farmington, Conn. and the $4 million Potomac house where she lives. Turner also gets custody of their children, Rayna, 6 and Amir, 5. Tyson keeps his home in Las Vegas.
"She is pleased with the settlement, and she's ready to get on with her life," Ain said.
Tyson's attorney, Patrick Dragga, did not immediately return a phone call.
The couple drafted an earlier settlement that called for Tyson to pay Turner $10 million from his June fight with Lennox Lewis and two later matches.
Tyson, however, did not pay $4 million of the first $5 million that was owed by July 31. After Turner tried to enforce the payment schedule in September, Tyson's challenged the agreement, according to the court filings.
Tyson contended the deal was invalid because it was crafted in part by Turner's brother, Maryland Lt. Gov.-elect Michael Steele. Steele is a lawyer but does not have a license to practice law in Maryland.
Steele said his only role was to review the document and make grammatical changes.
Tyson met his second wife while he was serving a rape sentence in an Indiana prison. They were married in April 1997 in Bethesda.
The boxer previously was married for a year to actress Robin Givens. That marriage ended in divorce in 1989.
