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Former NFL linebacker Ryan Shazier said he and his wife Michelle had separated after she reportedly accused him of cheating in a since-deleted Instagram post on Wednesday.
“Michelle and I have been living apart and are currently separated,” 31-year-old Shazier told TMZ shortly after the gossip site was the first to report the news. “As we work through what comes next for our family, I ask for privacy and prayers.”
Michelle, 31, who’s been with Shazier since before his career-ending spinal cord injury he suffered in a game in 2017, accused the former Steeler of being “a liar and a cheater” in a since-deleted social media post, which was published by TMZ.
The apparent post included alleged text messages between Shazier and a woman named Marie.
According to TMZ, one message in particular showed the person who Michelle claimed was Shazier sending books to another woman that included guides on how to perform sexual acts.
“A person that loves his family … this is what they do to their family … the WIFE.. that has been there for him since day 1!” Michelle said, according to the outlet.
“Infidelity at its finest! I can’t sit here and keep hiding anymore. You can have it. I deserve better. 🤍 This is Ryan… he’s a liar and a cheater!”
Shazier and Michelle, who is a real estate agent in Pittsburgh, share a son, Lyon, 4.
The former Pro Bowl NFLer has a 9-year-old son, RJ, from a previous relationship.
It’s unclear when Shazier and Michelle, a former college basketball player, exactly split.
They celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.
The pair attended the Steelers-Browns game with their son on Sept. 18, before stepping out together for the opening of Rize Sports indoor basketball facility in Leetsdale, Pa. that same month.
Shazier and Michelle also celebrated Halloween together and dressed up as milk and cookies.
Shazier runs a foundation to help spinal cord injury patients get treatment after sustaining his SCI injury — a spinal contusion, or a crushing of the spinal cord — in a “Monday Night Football game” against the Bengals on Dec. 4, 2017.
The Ohio State product was selected by the Steelers with the No. 15 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
He spent his entire playing career with Pittsburgh and announced his retirement from the NFL on Sept. 9, 2020.
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