Julianna Zobrist, wife of MLB all-star Ben Zobrist speaks out amid divorce: 'I am still here'
Christian pop artist Julianna Zobrist, the wife of Chicago Cubs star Ben Zobrist, has broken her silence nearly two weeks after the couple announced they were seeking a divorce amid her alleged “inappropriate marital misconduct.”
On Saturday, Zobrist posted on Instagram a photo of herself and her three children, with a lengthy message in the caption.
“I am still here. Somewhat in the mire, but I am still here,” Zobrist wrote. “Over these last two weeks I have watched so many of you quietly enter the marshland with me. I can see you, sitting beside me, waist deep in the water and bog. I can feel you, in a silence like art, honoring the most intimate spaces of our pain and heartbreak without shame. I can hear you saying, Let me carry some of that for you.”
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She also thanked those who have shown her support amid her separation from the Cubs infielder.
“Thank you for stepping forward and not back. Thank you for not shutting your eyes. Thank you for holding my heart within yours, even while you do not yet understand exactly what you are holding. Someday I will share my story with you … but not today. Today we breathe in deeply the fragrance of the rushes and reeds, and then, I might need your delicate reminder to breathe out again. Maybe tomorrow we will look up and notice the marsh wren and smile at her song. Maybe the day after that we will laugh at the skittish harvest mouse. But not today. Today we Be. Today we softly whisper, 'btw, you are Loved.'"
Ben Zobrist earlier this month filed for legal separation from Julianna, alleging she “has been guilty of inappropriate marital conduct which render further cohabitation impossible."
"Husband is unsure if the marriage can be salvaged," the filing reads, according to the Tennessean. He filed for separation in Tennessee, while Julianna filed for divorce in Illinois.
Ben Zobrist, who has recently taken a leave of absence from the Cubs, has played 14 years in the big leagues, including more than three with Chicago. He’s also played with the Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals.
Both the children of pastors, Ben and Julianna Zobrist began their relationship through instant messaging in 2001, later followed by a “prayerful courtship” filled with “chaste dates and long phone conversations about God, family and baseball,” the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The couple married in 2005 and have talked openly about how they have prioritized their marriage through a hectic 162-game MLB schedule.
In 2014, the couple released the book, Double Play: Faith and Family First. Ben, Julianna and their children were featured as “The All-American Family” in the cover story of Parade magazine in 2017.
The Zobrists have also been vocal about their faith in Jesus Christ.
"We are just so thankful that Christ does not measure us by what we do. God is not measuring us by that, He is measuring us by our faith in Christ," Ben Zobrist said in a 2016 interview. "We are perfect. According to God, we are perfect, yet we know that we are sinners. We believe in the fact that we are both saints and sinners at the same time as we live in this world."
In a 2012 interview with The Christian Post, Julianna Zobrist spoke of the need for grace to overcome times of tension in her life.
"We all have things we want to go back and erase, and the Lord gives us the opportunity to redeem our lives and for Him to change us,” she said.
"Stop trying to be so perfect — it's a false gospel!" she warned. "God left us here for a purpose and didn't create you to be this perfect, Godly girl. We all place expectations on one another that can become idols in our lives as we attain to live up to them."
