Maya Moore Marries Jonathan Irons, Man She Worked To Get Out Of Prison

Source: Maya Moore / Instagram

Maya Moore walked away from her stellar WNBA career to focus her time squarely on prison reform, connecting her to the case of Jonathan Irons, a Missouri man facing 50 years in prison. After working tirelessly to free Irons, who walked free over the summer, the pair revealed Wednesday (Sept. 16) that they are now husband and wife.

Moore and Irons were all smiles during an appearance on Good Morning America, sharing the news live on air with host Robin Roberts, who said with a laugh that Irons “put a ring on it” which also had the new couple breaking out in a smile.

Moore, who hails from Jefferson City, Mo., plays small forward for the Minnesota Lynx and is a four-time WNBA champion, six-time WNBA all-star, WNBA MVP, and two-time EuroLeague Women’s champion along with countless other awards dating back to her time at the University of Connecticut.

Stepping away from her still-surging career to dive deep into prison reform, working directly on freeing Irons, now 40, from the Jefferson City correctional facility, who was serving a 50-year sentence stemming from a conviction for assault, robbery, and shooting of a St. Charles County woman when he was 16 in 1998.

“We wanted to announce today that we are super excited to continue the work that we are doing together, but doing it as a married couple,” Moore said. “We got married a couple months ago and we’re excited to just continue this new chapter of life together.

The pair say they had as close to a traditional as possible considering the pandemic’s looming presence. The pair’s romance has been in slow bloom for years, with Moore meeting with Irons via a prison ministry program when she was 18. Irons shared that he was ready to commit his life and love to Moore, but was careful in not disrupting the course of her life. He was willing to let her go to pursue a more sensible union considering his predicament. However, the feelings were indeed mutual and now it’s a true fairy tale ending.

Check out the reactions to Maya Moore and Jonathan Irons’ marriage announcement below.

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Photo: Instagram

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