Deion Sanders Drove His Car Off a Cliff and Survived During His Divorce From His 1st Wife: ‘I Was Empty’
Deion Sanders rose to fame in the ’90s as a sports star in both the NFL and MLB. At the time, he was also married to his first wife and appeared to have a beautiful family. However, when Sanders’ then-marriage was coming to an end, he attempted to end his life by driving his car off a cliff.
When Deion Sanders’ first divorce took place
Deion Sanders married his first wife, Carolyn Chambers, in 1989. According to Buzz South Africa, the pair welcomed two children together: Deiondra Sanders (born 1992) and Deion Sanders Jr. (born 1993).
In 1998, Sanders and Chambers filed for divorce. It is unclear what the reason for their divorce was. But Sanders has since revealed that he was going through personal struggles.
Deion Sanders drove his car off a cliff during the divorce
Sanders seemed to have it all in the 1990s. However, in his 1998 book, Power, Money & Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life, he shared that, toward the end of his marriage, he was dealing with mental health struggles.
“I was going through the trials and tribulations of life. I was pretty much running on fumes,” he said (via Andscape). “I was empty, no peace, no joy. Losing hope with the progression of everything.”
In 1997, Sanders drove his car off a cliff in an attempted suicide. Sanders managed to survive and did not have serious injuries from the fall. In the autobiography, he shared that this event strengthened his faith in a higher being.
“I finally just got on my knees and gave it all to the Lord,” he wrote. Sanders also added, “My faith is everything. It’s the gas that propels the courage, the truth, keeps me going. It’s the wind, it’s the wings, it’s the air that pumps into my lungs, that provokes me to live. Faith is everything.”
Deion Sanders’ life after his first wife
After his divorce from Chambers, Sanders got married a second time. In 1999, he tied the knot with actor Pilar Biggers-Sanders. The pair welcomed three children: Shilo (born 2000), Shedeur (born 2002), and Shelomi (born 2003). In 2011, Sanders and Biggers-Sanders got divorced.
Since 2012, Sanders has been dating businesswoman and TV host Tracey Edmunds. They got engaged in 2019, though it is unclear when the couple will officially get married.
For much of their relationship, Sanders and Edmunds have had a long-distance relationship as she lives in LA and he lives in Dallas. However, that seems to have benefited their romance.
“I love what both of us contribute to society and to this world,” Sanders told People about their busy careers. “It’s not just a separation because you want to be separated, it’s a separation because you are active and you are really influencing lives.”
He added, “I mean what she does, I don’t take for granted whatsoever, and the shows that she chooses to produce, they’re meaningful, they have substance, they’re informative and challenging, and I love that about it.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
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