Jeff Gordon is one of the most legendary athletes in NASCAR. But there’s one element of Jeff’s personal life that is nowhere near as glamorous or successful as his career on the track: his first marriage. From cheating scandals to crazy demands in court, Jeff’s divorce from his first wife, Brooke Sealey, was unbelievably messy.
While his 25-year career hardly has any blemishes, Jeff’s seven-year marriage crashed and burned into a fiery mess. Brooke wasn’t just some random nobody when she linked up with Jeff. She was Miss Winston, a model who represented NASCAR’s series sponsor at the time.
How Jeff Gordon Met His First Wife Brooke
The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company leased NASCAR from 1997 to 2003 and named their Winston series after their popular cigarette brand. They hand-picked the models to represent the company on the massive stage that NASCAR provided as it exploded in popularity, always looking for the most beautiful women.
Brooke was one of them — and she caught Jeff’s eye on the track. In 1993, when Jeff was beginning to make a real name for himself in the sport, he won Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year driving his iconic number 24 car.
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He went on to win two qualifying races for the Daytona 500, which seriously raised his profile in the sport and everyone started to take notice, including Brooke.
Before too long, the two of them got together. They kept their romance under wraps at first. They realized that there could be a lot of media scrutiny on them. But more significantly, there was a rule forbidding NASCAR drivers from dating Winston models.
Jeff and Brooke Kept their Relationship a Secret at First
They couldn’t be seen together as a couple and were constantly sneaking around so that neither of them would get in trouble. Even though, realistically, Brooke would be the only person to face serious consequences, since she was significantly more replaceable than Jeff.
In a Sports Illustrated interview in 1995, Jeff even bragged that he had become a master at sneaking in and out of hotels thanks to his secret relationship. But he and Brooke couldn’t keep things a secret for long. In 1994, they finally got married.
After Brooke’s time as a Winston girl came to a close, and they no longer had to sneak around, Jeff and Brooke revealed themselves to be the hottest couple in NASCAR. It seemed like things were going great for the newlyweds. According to Brooke, they had the cutest proposal.
She said that Jeff approached her at Daytona and asked her to get lunch, but she could tell something was up by how nervous he was. His voice was apparently quivering. Jeff said that he went to the bathroom five times during that lunch, just to make sure that he could get the ring right for when he popped the question.
A Shocking Divorce Announcement
But if Jeff knew how bad their marriage was going to end, he probably would’ve kept that ring in his pocket…Everything seemed like it was going great for Jeff and Brooke — until Brooke filed for divorce seemingly out of nowhere in 2002. The reason for divorce was stated as “irretrievably broken as a result of husband’s marital misconduct.”
That’s pretty messy…Usually, couples just list something like irreconcilable differences. But clearly, Brooke wanted the whole world to know what happened. It’s even worse because Jeff famously protected his squeaky clean image. Without that, he wouldn’t have all his lucrative brand endorsements.
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Jeff even rejected a big payday to work with an adult beverage sponsor on a commercial. But all of that came crashing down around him with this news. People couldn’t believe that Jeff would ever cheat on his wife.
As the divorce continued to get messier in the public eye, that would turn out to be the least shocking part of the whole ordeal.
Brooke’s demands during the divorce settlement blew people’s minds when they became public. She asked to have an airplane, use of the couple’s boats, two cars, and an alimony payment on top of that. Brooke’s requests seemed so excessive that the media even labeled her Crook Gordon.
Even though it seemed like the divorce was Jeff’s fault due to infidelity, the outrageous asks made by Brooke’s divorce attorneys had people supporting Jeff…
Brooke Brought the Drama to the NASCAR Track
In February 2003, Brooke’s attorney Terry Young actually brought the divorce drama to the track. He went to the Daytona 500 specifically to serve legal papers at the track to Jeff’s closest colleagues, all in an effort to find out how much he was really worth.
That bottom line was going to be important in finding out how much Brooke could ask for. But Jeff and the rest of the NASCAR community just accused Brooke of turning one of the year’s biggest events into a circus instead of focusing on the sport.
There are definitely quieter ways to serve someone with a subpoena than in the middle of an event like the Daytona 500. At the time, Jeff’s lawyers had already filed paperwork saying he was worth $48.8 million, which Brooke would be entitled to half of under Florida law.
But she thought he was hiding money from her and wanted even more. The dramatic divorce dragged on for over 16 months before it was finalized on June 13th, 2003. Almost 10 years after they met on the track, Brooke and Jeff finally went their separate ways.
By the time all was said and done, Brooke received a whopping $15.3 million. The division of the couple’s assets wasn’t publicly disclosed, but you can make an educated guess that she probably got a good chunk of what she was after.
What Happened to Brooke Sealey?
And if you’re wondering who the mystery woman is that broke up this happy home, her name is Deanna Merryman. She was an actress and fitness model who was even on the cover of Iron Man magazine.
The year before their divorce got announced, tabloids linked Jeff and Deanna. But even if the rumors were true, the romance didn’t last. The month before Brooke’s attorney was gearing up to head to Daytona, Jeff was with a model named Amanda Church in St. Barts.
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Clearly, he wasn’t too broken up about the divorce. Although, for such a self-proclaimed master of sneaking in and out of hotel rooms, he apparently lost his ability to be subtle and blend in. In the end, there’s no such thing as a good divorce, but Jeff and Brooke’s was pretty bitter.
For a couple who spent so much of their early relationship staying out of the spotlight, they really went out with a bang toward the end. Brooke seems to have gotten what she wanted, and both she and Jeff moved on.
Jeff married Belgian model and actress Ingrid Vandebosch in 2006. Brooke married twice: first to James Dixon, and then to Mullins McLeod.
When her marriage to James didn’t work out, James was the one looking for alimony payments. He got them from Brooke to the tune of $10,000 a month, a $1.5 million house, and an expensive Mercedes Benz…
