Paul Pierce earned the nickname "The Truth" for a reason. The longtime NBA player scored more than 26,000 points, won a championship and played in 10 All-Star Games over his 19-year career with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers.
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Pierce retired in 2017. Since hanging up his jersey, he has worked as an analyst and TV personality for ESPN. He often offered insight on network shows like "NBA Countdown" and "The Jump" alongside Rachel Nichols. These days he's busy watching the Celtics in the NBA Finals, where they're trying to win their first championships since Pierce's 2008 Celtics.
However, his broadcasting career went off the rails when the 44-year-old was fired from the "The Worldwide Leader in Sports" after posting a racy Instagram video in 2021, which I'm sure his ex-wife of more than 10 years wasn't too happy about.
Paul Pierce's Ex-Wife Julie Pierce
Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images for BET
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Paul Pierce was previously married to Julie Landrum Pierce.
Julie is from St. Louis, Missouri, and is an American interior designer. According to The Sun, the 39-year-old earned her a merchandising degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. She later studied interior design at the New York School of Interior Design and founded her own company in 2009. She earned her MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, too. Julie has earned several interior design awards throughout her career, including being named an Elle Décor A-List Designer.
The two tied the knot at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Coast, California, in 2010. About 80 guests attended the gathering, including Doc Rivers and teammates Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Pierce's 2-year-old daughter, Prianna, was the flower girl for the wedding, according to PEOPLE.
Paul and Julie reportedly met at the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend and began dating afterward. She reportedly dated NBA player Larry Hughes before meeting her future husband.
Paul told Boston.com that she "really helped me" in 2007 when he was "down a lot." The Celtics won just 24 games in 2007 and Pierce played just 47 games because of an injury.
"She's an amazing woman. We get along so well because we were such good friends. We started dating after the All-Star weekend in Houston three years ago," he told Boston.com in 2008. "The next thing I know we're living together. Man, we clicked, we bonded."
Just like that, the basketball player who starred at Inglewood High School, the University of Kansas and then the Celtics was tied down.
Paul Pierce's ESPN Firing & Controversy
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Pierce was fired by ESPN after posting a racy Instagram live video to his account in April 2021. The former NBA star can be seen smoking while women in thongs dance in the background.
ESPN, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, cut ties with him once the scandalous video became a trending topic on social media.
Pierce didn't look too bothered that he lost his job. He posted videos to his Instagram with messages like "Smile" and "Big Things coming soon stay tuned make sure u smile #Truthshallsetufree."
Pierce showed no remorse for the video in an interview with Sports Illustrated prior to his Hall of Fame induction on September 11, 2021. Additionally, he stated he was divorced at the time of the video but didn't provide details of the split. Pierce's agent Jeff Schwartz suggested he apologize to avoid ruffling the feathers of Hall of Fame voters. Pierce refused:
"Come on, I didn't do anything illegal," says Pierce. "These motherf——-s in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f—-ing battery. What the f—- did I do? I was just having a good time. All the people coming after me, half you motherf——-s do the same s—-. You're just hiding it. And you all are married while you're doing it. I'm divorced. I'm retired. I'm having fun." And if Hall voters had held it against him? "Listen," says Pierce, "if I didn't make it with this class, it would be the biggest stiff job in Hall of Fame history."
Looks like Paul Pierce's wife Julie is no longer in his life. Paul Pierce the single man is here. Still, it's unclear when the two officially split up.
Paul Pierce Has 3 Children With Julie
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Paul and Julie share three children together.
They welcomed their first child and daughter, Prianna Lee Pierce, into the world in 2008. Paul told Boston.com that he thought the name "sounded nice" and "it fit her."
In 2011, Julie gave birth to second daughter Adrian Tanya Pierce. The couple then had a baby boy named Prince Paul Pierce in 2013.
The reason for the name Prince? According to Paul, he named his son after the artist Prince. When Prince died in 2016, Paul sent out a tweet explaining that.
To the man I named my son after RIP to the great Prince
— Paul Pierce (@paulpierce34) April 21, 2016
When asked by Fatherly about fatherhood, Pierce said life changes when you have children.
"I guess the biggest way is how I live every day because I got something to live for. I got kids that depend on me every day. When you're a young, single with no kids, you can go out with your friends and you can do whatever you want to do. That's who I was but now that I've got kids, I can't just think about myself. I have to think about how my actions affect my family because I know daddy gotta make it home. They need their dad," he said.
Ain't that the truth, Paul.
Hopefully, he'll find another steady gig after he's enshrined in hoops history forever.
