Brittney Griner and Cherelle Griner's Relationship Timeline

Brittney and Cherelle Griner have supported each other through thick and thin.

Cherelle advocated for her wife when she was detained in Russia for 10 months on drug charges. Brittney was eventually released on Dec. 8, 2022.

"I had thought about that moment a thousand times, and I thought I would be full of tears," Cherelle told PEOPLE. "But I was overwhelmingly happy. It was the first time I was able to finally exhale."

The WNBA star and Cherelle got engaged in August 2018 and tied the knot one year later. However, they met years earlier, having attended the same college, Baylor University.

In April 2024, Brittney and Cherelle announced that they're currently awaiting the arrival of their first child together.

Here's a look back at Brittney and Cherelle's relationship timeline through the years.

2009-2013: Brittney and Cherelle meet

Brittney and Cherelle met for the first time during their tenure as students at Baylor University in Texas, which they attended between 2009 and 2013.

"I will never forget the day I met you at Baylor in the sub area!" the WNBA star wrote on Instagram in June 2020. "You tapped me on my shoulder and told me I took your milkshake (still up for debate lol) and I was immediately blown away at your beauty!

The two didn't start dating until years later, and Brittney recalls that it was love at first sight.

"You had no idea but I knew you were the one for me baby. You stuck by my side at the lowest and at the highest!" she continued in her Instagram post.

August 2, 2018: Brittney and Cherelle get engaged

Brittney proposed to Cherelle in August 2018. "I will never forget the first time I said I love you and I will never forget when you said YES!" the basketball star wrote alongside a now-deleted Instagram post, as reported by The Grio.

"My best friend, my lover, my partner in life. I love you. I'm so lucky to have you in my life forever," she continued. "You never gave up on me even when I gave up on myself. You have pull me from the ashes and held me up when I couldn't stand. You really are my backbone and my spirit that keeps me going. I love you baby."

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June 18, 2019: Brittney and Cherelle get married

Nearly one year after Brittney popped the question to Cherelle, the two tied the knot in June 2019. In the years that followed, the couple have posted sweet tributes to each other in celebration of their wedding anniversaries.

June 18, 2020: Brittney celebrates her one-year wedding anniversary with Cherelle

One year after tying the knot, Brittney posted a heartfelt message to her wife. "Your love never wavered with me at any point if anything it grew and you have showed me how to love and how to be loved!" she wrote to Cherelle on Instagram.

She continued: "You over the years have also showed me what it takes to Really have a relationship that takes sacrifices, compassion, understanding, and communication! I have to give you the credit where it's due! You have opened my eyes to see me for who I truly am!"

July 1, 2021: Cherelle celebrates her birthday with Brittney

In addition to thanking her followers for all the birthday wishes she received in light of her special day, Cherelle was sure to show her appreciation to Brittney for planning fun and stress-free activities to celebrate.

"Special thanks to you baby for coordinating a chill day of celebrating me! I've been operating off fumes with school/work and asked for a relaxing day! You nailed it honeybun 😘 I love you unconditionally ✨," Cherelle wrote on Instagram.

March 5, 2022: Cherelle speaks out on Brittney's detainment news

In the WNBA off-season, the Phoenix Mercury star plays for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian basketball team based in the city of Yekaterinburg that competes in the Russian Premier League and FIBA Europe's EuroLeague Women.

PEOPLE reported that on Feb. 17, as she was on her way to join the team, Brittney was stopped at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport after a customs dog indicated there were drugs in the player's carry-on bag. After officers searched the bag and found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, Brittney was taken into Russian custody and charged with smuggling "narcotic drugs" into the country, where marijuana is illegal.

It wasn't until March 5 that the news of Brittney's detainment broke in the United States. That same day, Cherelle spoke out in a post on Instagram, thanking "everyone who has reached out" to her regarding her "wife's safe return from Russia."

"I love my wife wholeheartedly, so this message comes during one of the weakest moments of my life. I understand that many of you have grown to love BG over the years and have concerns and want details. Please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely," she concluded.

July 26, 2022: Brittney wishes Cherelle 'good luck' on bar exam

On June 26, Brittney appeared in court as her legal team shared supporting evidence about the medicinal use of cannabis. In addition to the legal arguments, Brittney was able to share a message for her wife from the courtroom while speaking with a producer from ABC, GMA reported.

From behind the bars in the courtroom, at one point, Brittney was seen holding up a clear plastic folder that shows two photos, including one of Cherelle, the outlet said. "Good luck on the bar exam," Brittney told her wife.

May 7, 2022: Brittney shows support for Cherelle's law school graduation

Cherelle graduated from North Carolina Central University School of Law with her Juris Doctor degree in May — and while Brittney couldn't be there in person to celebrate her wife's major accomplishment, Cherelle knew she was there in spirit.

In addition to her graduation announcement news, Cherelle shared with her followers a sweet video of Brittney sporting the North Carolina university's apparel. "This is clearly BG's sweatshirt! She has more school apparel than me! Lol I love the way you support my dreams babe," the law school graduate wrote.

May 24, 2022: Cherelle opens up about Brittney's detainment during an interview on Good Morning America

Cherelle spoke with Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, saying that she and Brittney have communicated sporadically through letters amid the latter's detainment. "[Brittney] wrote me one letter and was like, 'Babe, I know you wanna go down right now but like, don't just yet,'" said Cherelle. "I won't go down until she's back ... Every single day matters for me to be sound, for me to be alert, for me to be attentive, to make sure that she comes back."

May 25, 2022: Cherelle requests President Joe Biden's help

Cherelle pleaded for President Joe Biden's help amid her wife's detainment in the Russian prison. She opened up about the helplessness she felt as she hoped for government officials to secure Brittney's safe release.

"There is one person that can go get her, and that's our president," she told ESPN's Angela Rye. "He has that power. You know, I'm just like, 'Why are we not using it? Like, urgently, use it.' We're expecting him to use his power to get it done."

Since Brittney's detainment, Cherelle said she had received support from the Phoenix Mercury, and had spoken to to Antony Blinken, U.S. secretary of state; Adam Silver, NBA commissioner; and Cathy Engelbert, WNBA commissioner. But she remained very concerned for Brittney's wellbeing.

"I'm in a position of complete vulnerability right now. I have to trust people that I didn't even know until Feb. 17," Cherelle told the outlet. "So I'm trusting her lawyers. ... 'How does she look? How is her spirit? How is her energy?' I'm just asking all those questions, trying to just get some type of indication or vibe."

June 21, 2022: Brittney tries to call Cherelle during detainment

Since being detained by Russian authorities in February, it was very difficult for Brittney to communicate with her wife. Cherelle expressed her frustration to the Associated Press about a Russian government-approved phone call which never came through to her in the U.S.

"I find it unacceptable, and I have zero trust in our government right now," Cherelle told AP. "If I can't trust you to catch a Saturday call outside of business hours, how can I trust you to actually be negotiating on my wife's behalf to come home? Because that's a much bigger ask than to catch a Saturday call."

June 29, 2022: Cherelle says Brittney is 'struggling' behind bars

During an interview with Rev. Al Sharpton on Wednesday, Cherelle gave an update on how she and Brittney are doing almost four months since the WNBA star's arrest in Moscow.

"BG is struggling, she's human," Cherelle said on Sharpton's SiriusXM show Keepin' It Real. "She's there terrified, she's there alone."

In addition to expressing her concern over Brittany's well being, Cherelle also noted that Brittney wasn't sharing all the details of her confinement, in an attempt to protect Cherelle from worrying too much.

"Because I'm her person she will always try and write persuasively to make sure I don't break because she knows I'm studying for my bar and she knows I have all these things going on and she's trying to always be my strong person," Brittney's wife said.

Sept. 18, 2022: Joe Biden meets with Cherelle and other members of Brittney's family

President Biden met with Cherelle in the Oval Office to discuss her wife's release from prison. Following their time together, she uploaded an Instagram photo from her visit paired with a caption expressing her gratitude for his help and support.

"I want to thank President Biden for yesterday's meeting as well as the Administration for its efforts to secure my wife's release," Cherelle wrote. "It was an honor to speak with him directly about the Brittney we know and love. I've felt every minute of the grueling seven months without her. I look forward to the day my wife is back home."

She continued, "As my family and I continue on this journey, I'd like to thank the broad coalition of friends, leaders and supporters who continue to stand with us and advocate for Brittney's swift and safe return."

Oct. 4, 2022: Cherelle speaks out for the first time since Brittney's 9-year sentence

Brittney was sentenced to nine and a half years of prison for drug possession charges on Aug. 4, 2022. After two months of silence, Cherelle publicly spoke out for the first time about the verdict and her wife's future during an interview with CBS Mornings.

"I'm like, in no world would I ever [have] thought, you know, our president and a foreign nation's president would be sitting down having to discuss the freedom of my wife," Cherelle told Gayle King in her first interview since Brittney's sentencing. "And so to me, as much as everybody's telling me a different definition of what BG is, it feels to me as if she's a hostage."

She added: "It terrifies me, because when you watch movies, sometimes those situations don't end well... Sometimes they never get their person back."

Nov. 1, 2022: Cherelle asks people to write letters to Brittney

At Glamour's Women of the Year Awards, Cherelle read an emotional letter she'd written to her wife to share how difficult things have been since Brittney was arrested in February. Cherelle said she "took for granted being able to talk with" Brittney before the arrest.

Asking fans to do the same, she encouraged them to letter write in support of the imprisoned basketball player via weareBG.org or by using the hashtag #WeAreBG. Cherelle said that the thoughtful gesture would go a long way.

"She is 100% not OK, and there is little I can do to ease her pain. But I believe from the bottom of my heart that while I can't bring her back, words can make a difference," Cherelle said.

Dec. 8, 2022: Cherelle says her "family is whole" after Brittney was released from prison

On Dec. 8, Brittney was released from Russian custody in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout. Upon learning the news, Cherelle said during a White House press conference that her "family is whole" again after the WNBA star was released from Russian custody.

"So over the last nine months, you all have been so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life, and so today I am just standing here overwhelmed with emotions, but the most important emotion I have right now is just sincere gratitude for President Biden and his entire administration," she said at the Biden-hosted meeting.

Dec. 27, 2022: Cherelle opens up to PEOPLE about Brittney's emotional homecoming

Following Brittney's release, Cherelle opened up about the relief she felt when she learned her wife was heading home. "I had thought about that moment a thousand times, and I thought I would be full of tears," she told PEOPLE. "But I was overwhelmingly happy. It was the first time I was able to finally exhale, and I'm like, 'Oh, thank God, this is such a great day.'"

Since returning to their shared home in Arizona, Cherelle admitted their reunion hasn't been the most restful. "The first night, we didn't sleep at all," she said, laughing. "We just talked all night long and all morning. And it was so good to be able to do it without three weeks in between the conversation, because for 10 months we were passing letters. It was great to have that dialogue back and forth."

As Brittney and Cherelle rebuild their lives together, Cherelle added that they are taking this time to reconnect. "It's unfortunate that those 10 months happened without us being able to be side-by-side," Cherelle said. "But it happened, and we're embracing the fact that we now get to learn each other's story through that time. So we're taking it slow. We are not doing it all at once. But we are honoring the fact that I went through something that was really hard and difficult without BG's awareness, and vice versa. Day by day, we're just feeding a little bit to the soul and understanding each other's journey so we can actually start walking together."

April 29, 2023: Cherelle and Brittney attend the 2023 White House Correspondents' Dinner

Brittney and Cherelle attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where they were able to meet and take a picture with President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.

Gayle King shared a video on Instagram of Brittney and Cherelle's reactions to meeting the couple.

"Just got done meeting President Biden and it was amazing," Brittney told the camera, adding, "It was emotional, that's for sure. I'll say that. It was emotional for both of us. It was especially for me."

President Biden also mentioned the couple in his speech, saying, "Tonight, unlike last year, Brittney Griner is here with her wife Cherelle" before talking about "how hard all of us were fighting for your release."

May 1, 2023: Cherelle and Brittney attend the Met Gala

The couple followed their trip to the White House up with a glamorous date night at the 2023 Met Gala in New York City, where they posed together on the red carpet. The basketball player wore a long beige coat and matching trousers, while Cherelle was seen in a white strapless gown.

When speaking with La La Anthony on Vogue's red carpet livestream, Cherelle spoke about the joy of being reunited with her wife. "This time last year, I was missing my wife, so to have her right here, to be in this moment — breathtaking," she said.

July 2, 2023: Brittney celebrates Cherelle's birthday

In honor of her wife's special day, Brittney penned a sweet post on Instagram about Cherelle.

"I'm grateful that on this day @cherelletgriner was brought into this world," she wrote. "Without her I wouldn’t have found my person I wouldn’t know what love is and I for sure would feel alone in this world if you weren’t here."

Brittney continued: "I love you baby with my whole heart. I hope in this next year of your life there is nothing but joy, happiness, and no dark days my love. Your truly the most perfect woman on this planet and I’m lucky enough to be here by your side."

October 18, 2023: Cherelle celebrates Brittney's 33rd birthday

Brittney and Cherelle celebrated the WNBA star's first birthday since being released from Russian custody.

"Happy birthday my love! God did his big one with you. I couldn’t ask for a better soul to do life with! Celebrating you is easy and to love you is an honor," Cherelle captioned a sweet tribute video on Instagram. "Cheers to another year baby."

April 13, 2024: Brittney and Cherelle are expecting their first child

Cherelle is pregnant with her and Brittney's first child. The couple shared the happy news on Instagram, writing, "Can’t believe we’re less than three months away from meeting our favorite human being.”