"Infatuation at first": Michael Jordan once made honest admission about his first feelings for ex-wife Juanita Vanoy

Michael Jordan met his ex-wife Juanita Vanoy just a year after he was drafted into the NBA. Just a month before MJ played his first playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, he met Vanoy through a mutual friend, in March 1985.

The romantic relationship between them quickly turned serious. In less than two years, Jordan and Vanoy got engaged on New Year's Eve. In 1988, when Michael Jordan was rising as an icon, he appeared for an interview with NBC Chicago.

During the candid conversation, a 25-year-old Michael Jordan also opened up about his romantic relationship with her ex-wife, who was then his fiancee. When the reporter asked the six-time NBA champion if it was "love at first sight" with Vanoy, Jordan said it was "infatuation at first" instead.

"No, no, it was more like infatuation at first sight," Jordan said. "You know she is very attractive girl."

Jordan also revealed that he didn't want to rush into making decisions regarding his love life with Vanoy, based on just her beauty.

"But I didn't want to rush into anything. I have seen attractive women with a lot of area in between their ears. So, I didn't want to chase nothing. I actually wanted to actually understand her to be, what I really want her to be."

A year after the interview, Jordan and Vanoy tied the knot at Little White Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage was very private and the Chicago Bulls legend later told People that it was private because he was afraid that his friends might object during the wedding ceremony. By then, they already had their eldest son Jeffrey.

Michael Jordan's ex-wife Juanita Vanoy once got brutally honest about her divorce from NBA legend

The marriage between Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy faced troubles from early on. Right after their first son was born, sensing that Jordan was not being much involved, Vanoy even contemplated filing for a paternity suit.

One of the problems that was set in their marriage since the beginning was the cultural difference between them. Vanoy was a city girl and the NBA legend had a southern outlook.

The first big blow to the marriage came in 2002 when Jordan decided to play in the NBA again. Shortly after MJ took the court, Vanoy filed for divorce, demanding custody of all their children.

During that time, she also addressed Michael Jordan's absence from family affairs.

"I have no problem saying no," Vanoy said, according to Washington Post. "If someone didn't step up and say no, there would be no time for his family. I know it makes me look like a b***h, but I can't worry about it, because I'm protecting what we have. If that is what I have to be, then I will be a b***h."

However, the couple reconciled things shortly. But the marriage reached its end in 2006 when they filed for divorce. They share two sons, Jeffery and Marcus, and a daughter, Jasmine.