Chicago Bulls Legend Michael Jordan dominated the basketball court during the 15 seasons he played for the NBA. While much is known about His Airness’ moves on the court, some may not be aware of what kind of man the legend was before his arrival in the world of basketball.

What kind of struggles did he go through? Especially romantic ones. The 6x NBA champion revealed that he often fooled around during his high-school days in his 2014 autobiography.

Michael Jordan accumulated a vast following, earned the respect of both fans and analysts alike, and became one of the, if not the greatest player of all time. So how did someone who has accumulated a net worth of $2 billion struggle with the romantic side of life growing up?

Michael Jordan had trouble finding love in high school

‘Michael Jordan: The Life’ is a biography authored by Roland Lazenby. It includes some of his most memorable moments along with Jordan’s background, personal relationships, etc. An excerpt from the book details Jordan’s life while he attended the Emsley A. Lane High School. While Jordan was described to be an ‘ongoing jokester’, he still struggled internally with various doubts, as so many teenagers do.

via Imago

Even though he would later go on to describe the people in his school as a “family,” Jordan would still sometimes get the sense that when people were smiling or joking with him, they were indirectly making fun of him. This made Jordan feel that he was a hopeless cause when it came to social matters. A problem like that made getting into romantic relationships quite difficult.

“I couldn’t get a date… I kidded around too much,” said Jordan. “I always used to play around with women. I was a clown.” This made the future NBA star feel that he would be a bachelor forever.

Jordan’s ‘clown’ act was merely a thing he adopted in order to break the ice with serious people. It didn’t do him any favors in high school relationships, though. While the 6x NBA champion was convinced that he would be a bachelor for life, fate had fortunately written something else for him.

Michael Jordan’s luck with women eventually turned around

Almost immediately after college, MJ met Juanita Vanoy, a loan officer. They dated and got married a few years later in Las Vegas. Through the course of their 17-year marriage, the couple would go on to raise three 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, two of whom tried to follow in their father’s footsteps.

After spending almost two decades together, Jordan and Juanita divorced in 2006. The exact reason remains unknown and still remains a topic of speculation. Love would find the 14x NBA All-Star once again after he married model Yvette Prieto seven years after his divorce. Prieto and Jordan have been married for more than a decade now and share two daughters together.

The prediction he made for himself long ago did not prevail. Jordan was able to put that unfamiliar ‘clown’ act behind him and move past it to share a relationship with two people who contributed to making His Airness’ life as good as he could have hoped. What are your thoughts on Jordan’s revelation about his love life? Let us know in the comments.

Source: essentiallysports.com