Bill Belichick and His Ex-Wife Were Married for Almost 30 Years Before Divorce

Apart from everything that he has accomplished on the field, Bill Belichick has also developed a reputation for being grumpy and terse, even by the standards of NFL coaches. Those qualities may have made him one of the great coaches of all time, but it's unclear how well they would translate to the world of marriage.

Following the news that Bill, who is 72, is now dating a 24-year-old cheerleader, many wanted to better understand who Bill's ex-wife was. Here's what we know about their relationship and their almost 30-year marriage.

Who is Bill Belichick's ex-wife?

Bill and his ex-wife Debby Clarke were childhood sweethearts, and the two married in 1977. They had three children together: Two sons, Stephen and Brian, and a daughter, Amanda. Given how terse Bill is even when he's talking about work, it's perhaps not surprising that he doesn't spend too much time focused on his personal life when he's being interviewed by the press.

Bill and Debby divorced in 2006 after allegations surfaced that Bill had an affair with Sharon Shenocca, a former receptionist for the New York Giants who Bill had known when he was one of the team's coaches. According to The New York Post , who reported out the story at the time, Bill "showered" Sharon with expensive gifts and also gave her enough money to hire a maid for her New Jersey home.

Sharon denied rumors that she and Bill had had an affair, instead claiming that their relationship had always been platonic.

"From day one, it was always friendship," one of Sharon's friends claimed at the time. "He's strictly a friend, and nothing more."

Whether the affair actually happened or not, the allegation was enough to bring an end to Bill and Debby's decades-long marriage.

What has Debby Clarke been up to since her divorce?

Because of her ex-husband's low public profile (outside of football), Debby never had to worry too much about the media prying into the details of her life. Even so, she's gone even more off the radar in the years since their divorce, and now runs a tile business in Wellesley, Mass. called The Art of Tile & Stone . She's now 67 years old, and she went to Wellesley College just like Bill.

Bill, meanwhile, has made headlines for the first time in decades over his reported relationship with Jordon Hudson, a 24-year-old former cheerleader who could very easily be Bill's granddaughter. This came after news that Bill had broken up from his long-time girlfriend Lauren Holliday in 2023. Bill and Jordon were spotted together in the earlier part of that year, though, before his breakup from Lauren had been reported.

Given the incredible age gap between Bill and his new girlfriend, there's been plenty of judgment going around on the internet of his latest relationship. Bill's on-the-field record is pretty close to unimpeachable, but plenty of people feel comfortable judging some of his decisions off the field in more recent years.