Who Is Soccer Star Trinity Rodman’s Mother?
Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman has made headlines not just for her play on the pitch, but for her relationship with tennis player Ben Shelton as well. Over the years, she’s also been in the news for her relationship, or lack thereof, with her father.
As you’re probably aware, or guessed by her last name, Trinity is the daughter of NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman. But who is her mother? Here’s more about her, plus why Trinity and her dad are estranged.
Trinity’s mom is Dennis Rodman’s third wife, Michelle Moyer. The pair met in 1999 and began dating. Trinity was born on May 20, 2002, and her parents walked down the aisle a year later. Their wedding took place at Newport Beach in a private civil ceremony.
In his autobiography I Should Be Dead by Now, the former basketball player revealed that Moyer got “Mrs. Rodman” tattooed on her back after a night of drinking. The two are also parents to Trinity’s older brother, Dennis “D.J.” Rodman Jr.
Moyer initially filed for divorce in 2004. The two tried to work things out but to no avail. Their divorce was finalized in 2012.
Moyer was born on April 27, 1967. She was an athlete herself in high school, having run track and field and played softball. Moyer also has another daughter, Teyana Lima, from a previous marriage. In 2004, Moyer was involved in a serious motorcycle accident that served as a wake-up call to focus solely on her children, which led to her divorce filing at the time.
She told ESPN, “I’m blessed to be alive. But I knew that I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to be there for my kids. I decided to divorce and be done with the Dennis stuff. That was it for me.”
Although the divorce wasn’t finalized until 2012, single parenting defined much of Moyer’s time raising Trinity and D.J. in Southern California. Both siblings frequently credit their mother as their primary support system and role model.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Dennis kept Trinity and D.J. “at a financial and emotional distance,” and there were times when Moyer had to live at motels or in cars with their kids. They would end up moving nearly 10 times in one decade.
Needless to say, Trinity does not have a good relationship with her father and was candid when speaking about him during an episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. She described him as a father “by blood” rather than an active parent and admitted that she only occasionally answers his phone calls out of concern for his mental well-being and for her own conscience, not because they maintain a close or functioning relationship.
Dennis gave a tearful speech in 2011 when he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He said he never had a father and then shared his one regret in life, telling the audience, “I wish I was a better father.”
After her appearance on the podcast, Dennis responded with a lengthy Instagram post to his daughter. He apologized for not being there and promised to continue to try to make up for lost time.
