Ben Zobrist’s wife is a topic that comes up again and again because his personal life became public during the final stretch of his MLB career. The simple, accurate answer is that his former wife is Julianna Zobrist, a Christian musician and speaker he married in 2005. Their relationship lasted for years, included three children, and eventually ended in divorce. Below is the full timeline—cleanly explained—plus who Julianna is and how their family story fits into his baseball legacy.
Who Is Ben Zobrist?
Ben Zobrist is a former Major League Baseball player best known as a versatile switch-hitter who could play multiple positions at a high level. That flexibility wasn’t a small footnote—it was his calling card. He built a reputation as the kind of player managers loved because he could move around the diamond, plug gaps, and still deliver at the plate.
Over his career, Zobrist became closely associated with the Tampa Bay Rays, later played for the Kansas City Royals, and finished his time in MLB with the Chicago Cubs. He was part of two historic championship moments: the Royals’ 2015 World Series win and the Cubs’ 2016 World Series win. If you remember the Cubs’ drought-breaking title, you probably remember his name in the mix, because he was one of the defining pieces of that team’s chemistry and performance.
Even after retirement, Zobrist’s name still comes up because his story isn’t only about stats. It’s also about longevity, faith-forward messaging during his career years, and how personal life pressures collided with a very public job near the end of his playing time.
Who Is Ben Zobrist’s Wife?
Ben Zobrist’s former wife is Julianna Zobrist (born Julianna Joy Gilmore). She is known publicly as a Christian pop musician, speaker, and author. While Ben was a visible sports figure, Julianna built her own platform through music and faith-based projects, including releases that gained attention in Christian music circles.
For years, the couple was often seen as a “faith and family” public pairing—appearing in interviews and projects that highlighted marriage, parenting, and belief. That’s part of why their later separation drew extra attention. When a couple is associated publicly with family-centered messaging, people notice more when the story changes.
When Did Ben Zobrist and Julianna Zobrist Get Married?
Ben Zobrist and Julianna Zobrist married in 2005. Their marriage lasted for well over a decade and overlapped with the most prominent years of Ben’s MLB career, including his championship seasons.
It’s worth noting that many older bios still speak about Julianna as “Ben Zobrist’s wife” in the present tense, because a lot of online profiles don’t get updated quickly. But in current terms, the most accurate phrasing is that she is his ex-wife.
Do Ben and Julianna Zobrist Have Children?
Yes. Ben and Julianna Zobrist have three children together: a son and two daughters. Their children’s names are commonly reported as Zion, Kruse, and Blaise.
One detail that has been widely mentioned over the years is that their youngest daughter, Blaise Royal, was born shortly after the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series. That timing became a memorable “life meets baseball history” moment for fans, and it’s often referenced when people summarize Zobrist’s personal life during his championship era.
Even though the family has been discussed publicly, the children themselves are not public figures in the way celebrity kids can become. The best and most respectful way to talk about them is to stick to the basic, widely known facts: they exist, their names are public, and they were part of the life structure Ben was navigating while playing at the highest level.
When Did Ben Zobrist and Julianna Zobrist Separate?
The marriage troubles became publicly visible in 2019. In May 2019, filings were made that signaled the relationship was ending: Ben filed for legal separation in Tennessee, and Julianna filed for divorce in Illinois. That same period is also when Ben stepped away from the Chicago Cubs for a significant stretch of the 2019 season to address family matters.
That leave of absence became a major part of how fans remember the final chapter of his playing career. It wasn’t a minor “personal day” story. It was a clear example of how even elite athletes, with all the resources in the world, can be knocked off course when home life is unstable.
What Was Publicly Reported About the Divorce Situation?
The Zobrists’ divorce received heavy coverage because it involved allegations that became part of public court-related reporting. The core of what was widely reported is that there was an admitted affair involving a former pastor and marriage counselor connected to the couple. That allegation also intersected with later legal conflict and claims involving finances and charitable work.
If you’re trying to understand why the story got so big, it’s because it combined multiple sensitive themes at once: marriage counseling boundaries, faith-community relationships, and high-profile divorce filings. That combination tends to attract public attention quickly, even when the couple would prefer privacy.
At the same time, it’s important to keep the framing grounded: divorces are painful even without an audience. When court filings and media coverage amplify the details, the situation becomes less about one couple’s private crisis and more about a public narrative that can be impossible to control.
When Was Ben Zobrist’s Divorce Finalized?
Public summaries commonly report that Ben and Julianna Zobrist’s divorce was finalized in 2022. That’s an important point for anyone still seeing “wife” used in the present tense online. If you’re looking for the current reality, this is it: they were married for many years, separated publicly in 2019, and the divorce is generally reported as final by 2022.
Who Is Julianna Zobrist Outside the Marriage?
Julianna Zobrist has been known publicly for her work in Christian music. She released music projects that connected with listeners who prefer faith-based pop sounds, and she has also been associated with speaking and writing tied to marriage and personal growth themes.
For a long time, her public identity and Ben’s public identity overlapped in a way that made sense: an athlete with a platform, a musician with a platform, and a shared family message that audiences found appealing. After the split, that shared platform naturally became more complicated. But it’s still true that her career was not simply “being married to a baseball player.” She had her own work and her own audience.
How the Divorce Intersected With Ben Zobrist’s Baseball Career
One reason the “Ben Zobrist wife” topic is so persistent is that the marriage breakdown didn’t happen quietly after retirement. It became public while he was still on a roster, still being evaluated, and still expected to perform.
In 2019, Zobrist’s time away from the Cubs was openly discussed in sports media, and many fans understood it as a reminder that athletes are not machines. The pressure of professional sports is already intense. When you add a personal crisis, it can become impossible to keep the same rhythm—no matter how disciplined you are.
He eventually returned and played again that season, but the overall arc was clear: the personal situation was significant enough to reshape the year, and that year became the final chapter of his MLB playing career.
Is Ben Zobrist Married Now?
As of widely available public reporting, Ben Zobrist has not publicly confirmed a new marriage since his divorce from Julianna. In other words, the most reliably documented spouse connected to him is Julianna Zobrist, and she is his ex-wife.
It’s possible for public figures to remarry quietly, but when there isn’t clear, mainstream confirmation, the most responsible wording is simple: there is no widely verified, publicly confirmed new wife.
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