Former professional football player Ray Rice has been married to his wife, Janay Palmer, for nearly a decade. They are the parents of two kids- a daughter and a son.
Only a month before their marriage, Ray and Janay had a severe fight, after which fans thought they would separate. Also, Ray was arrested and charged with assault, which might have put him in jail for at least three years.
Nevertheless, Janay stayed with him and gave him a second chance. It has been nearly a decade since that incident, and the pair is having a great married life.
Raymell Mourice Rice, better known as Ray Rice, is an American former football running back. Starting his professional career in 2008, he played six league seasons with the Ravens.
Rice had a short NFL career but won numerous accolades and honors, including being the Super Bowl champion with the Ravens in 2012. In addition, he was selected to the Pro Bowl games twice.
Before his NFL debut, Rice was a college athlete for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. While there, he played football for three seasons under the head coach Greg Schiano until 2007.
Ray Rice Wife Janay Palmer And Kids
The former football running back has been married to his wife, Janay Palmer, since 2014. The two reportedly met around 2008, shortly before the Ravens chose Ray Rice in the NFL draft.
Janay was born on January 14, 1988, to her parents, Joseph and Danyette Palmer, in Mount Vernon, New York. She has a sister named Taylor, who played basketball at West Virginia.
Speaking more of Janay, she began dating Rice while studying Fashion Merchandising at SUNY Westchester Community College. Although she later went to Towson University to pursue her undergraduate degree, the two remained in touch.
Their first daughter, Rayven, was born in February 2012 out of wedlock. Two years after the birth of their first daughter, Ray married Palmer.
Their marriage took place in the presence of close friends and family members on March 28, 2014.
They welcomed their second child, Jaylen, on September 9, 2016. The couple resides in Stamford, Connecticut, where Janay owns a clothing boutique, Cutie & Co, LLC.
Janay Rice: Surviving Domestic Abuse & Overcoming Past
On February 15, 2015, the Atlantic City Police arrested Rice and Janay after a physical altercation at Revel Casino in New Jersey. The two reportedly got into a fight after drinking.
As shown in the video released by TMZ, they were seen hitting each other inside the elevator, after which he was later seen dragging Janay’s unconscious body out of the elevator.
On March 27, 2014, the court indicted Ray on third-degree aggravated assault, with a possible jail sentence of 3 to 5 years in addition to $15k in fines.
Similarly, he was suspended by his NFL team for the first two games of the 2014 season on July 25.
The Ravens much later issued a statement saying the domestic abuse case was a serious matter and eventually took a much bolder decision, releasing Rice from the team on September 8, 2014. After that, he never played in the NFL again.
Despite everything, Janay forgave Rice for what he did to her and married him on March 28 of that same year.
Quite surprisingly, Janay defended her husband with all her might, saying she regretted being the one to force Ray to behave in such a way.
She also remarked that the Ravens’ termination of their contract with Rice was wrongful.
