In her first interview since Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison, Cherelle Griner talked to People about numerous things that included what she and her wife did once the trade from Russia went through.
“It was almost as if somebody just punched you in the stomach and you inhaled,” Cherelle said of waiting for her wife’s return, in her first interview since Griner’s release with People. “You never get to breathe out.”
The pair, who have been married for three years, were separated in February when Griner was detained by Russian officials for allegedly having trace amounts of cannabis oil in her luggage. Griner was later sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drug smuggling charges and was transferred to a Russian penal colony where she was set to serve out the rest of her sentence.
“I was hopeless a lot of days,” Cherelle told People. “You try and stay grounded, but I’m human. Still, I would never completely give up hope on my wife’s life.”
In early December, President Joe Biden announced that the administration had brokered a deal with Russia for a prisoner swap: Brittney would return home in exchange for the convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Cherelle waited for Brittney’s arrival in San Antonio, Texas. Brittney and Cherelle spent their night catching up on all the time they missed this year.
“The first night, we didn’t sleep at all,” Cherelle told People. “We just talked all night long and all morning. And it was so good to be able to do it without three weeks in between the conversation, because for 10 months we were passing letters. It was great to have that dialogue back and forth.”
Cherelle went to state a “new journey” for their family.
“On one hand, I’m doing amazing,” she explained. “My family’s whole, I have my person, and so I feel the most supported and safe and secure as I’ve ever felt in life. But it’s very overwhelming. We’re plus-13 days in from BG being away for almost 10 months. So it’s a new journey for us. And so we’re definitely trying to figure out how we blend back as one.”
In the meantime, Griner has made it clear that she has every intention on returning to the Phoenix Mercury for the 2023 WNBA season.
