MLB Player Divorces Wife Days After Her Brain Surgery

Albert Pujols and his wife of 22 years, Deidre Pujols, have split, he confirmed in a statement on Monday. The news comes just after she underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor last week.

The St. Louis Cardinals player, 42, said he received “a lot of questions over the past few days regarding what’s been going on at home” in a statement released by his agent, Dan Lozano, and obtained by MLB Network insider Mark Feinsand.

“Sadly, after 22 years of marriage, I have made the decision to file for divorce from my wife, Deidre,” he said. “I realize this is not the most opportune time with Opening Day approaching and other family events that have recently taken place,” he continued. “These situations are never easy and isn’t something that just happened overnight.”

The couple has been married since 2002 and shares five children — Sophia, Ezra, Esther Grace, Isabella, and Albert Jr.