Brooke Shields Reveals Andre Agassi Divorce Threat [Video]

Brooke Shields revealed that ex-husband Andre Agassi threatened that their divorce could have gone worse if they had children together on Thursday’s episode of The Today Show.

“I am divorced,” the 48-year-old said. “And mine was fairly quick and relatively easy but it’s a very interesting thing because he did say to me ‘be happy that we don’t have children or I would not have made this easy for you.'”

Shields added, “And therein lies why I’m not there anymore.” She went on to say that there is another level added to divorce when there are children involved, and that they are the ones most affected.

Shields and Agassi began dating in 1993, and were married on April 19, 1997. They divorced on April 9, 1999. Shields went on to marry television writer Chris Henchy on April 4, 2001. The couple have two daughters, 10-year-old Rowan and 7-year-old Grier.

In 2005, Shields opened up about her battle with postpartum depression after giving birth to Rowan in 2003. The illness could have been triggered by the death of her father, Frank, three weeks prior to Rowan’s birth, as well as the stress of in vitro fertilization. Other factors could have included a prior miscarriage and a family history of depression.

Brooke Shields’ mother and former manager, Teri, died last November at age 79. Teri Shields began managing her daughter’s career when she was just 11 months old. She also secured her daughter’s role in the 1978 film Pretty Baby, in which the 12-year-old played a child prostitute. Two years later, Brooke Shields starred in The Blue Lagoon, which featured a number of nude scenes between her and co-star Christopher Atkins. Shields testified before a US Congressional inquiry that older body doubles for some of the scenes.

Brooke Shields fired her mother in the 1990s, and the two suffered a rift in their relationship because Teri Shields didn’t approve of her daughter’s relationship with Andre Agassi. She said of her relationship with her mother, “My mother was an enormous part of my life and of who I am today. I loved her, laughed with her, and respected her. And although she had her share of struggles, she was my mom.”

[Photo credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com]