- The former NFL wide receiver and sportscaster, Ahmad Rashad enjoyed success after changing different careers and equally changed spouses five times.
- He is the father of six children from his many marriages and other relationships
- The 72-year-old”s last marriage to his current wife, Ana Luz Rodriguez-Pas was shocking to many as she is over three decades younger than him.
Popular actresses and marriage counselors have been among Ahmad Rashad’s spouses. The former wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL has a successful career that many people only imagine. He is now a sportscaster and actor. Rashad has left a string of five marriages in his ascent to the top despite leading a successful life.
Notably, Ahmad Rashad has married five different women, including Phylicia Rashad, a well-known star of The Cosby Show. The sportscaster hosted programs like Inside Stuff, Real TV, Ceasar’s Challenge, and many others while working for networks like NBC, ABC, and ESPN.
Here are all the fascinating facts we learned about the spouses and kids of the NFL Hall of Famer, former player, and sportscaster.
What is Known About Ahmad Rashad Early Life
Robert Earl Moore, a former wide receiver for the NFL, was born on November 19, 1949, in Portland, Oregon. He began his playing career with the University of Oregon’s Ducks squad. When he started studying Islam in college, his perspective on life began to change.
Later, in 1972, he switched from Pentecostalism to Islam. Notably, the rising star also experienced a felony charge in 1970 that resulted in his guilty plea to a lesser charge in 1971. Soon after converting to his new religion, the young Moore decided to change his name to Ahmad Rashad, which in Arabic means admirable one led to the truth.
Let’s Get to Know Every Spouse of Ahmad Rashad
According to reports, Ahmad Rashad was married five times to different women, which includes four divorces.
1. Deidre Waters
The first union between Rashad and Deidre Waters ended as abruptly as it had begun in 1969. Inquiries into the actual reason behind their divorce over the years have turned up nothing. Keva was their only child together.
2. Matilda Johnson(1976-1979)
Before getting married to Matilda Johnson, the native Oregonian waited a few years. They were married in 1976, but their union disintegrated after three years.
Rashad and Matilda had two of his children—Maiyisha and Ahmad Rashad Jr.—even though they had only been married for three years.
3. Phylicia Rashad(1985-2001)
The native Oregonian third married Phylicia Rashad, also known as Phylicia Ayers-Allen, an American actress and singer. When their relationship first began, they were both prominent figures in the sensational media. He was a former NFL player who had a successful career as a sportscaster at the time that Phylicia was a leading actress on The Cosby Show.
In one of football’s most dramatic moments, Rashad proposed to his then-girlfriend, Phylicia. On November 28, 1985, during The Detroit Lion’s annual Thanksgiving celebration, he proposed live on television.
They got married on December 14, 1985, after she agreed to his proposal. OJ Simpson served as his best man, and Bill Cosby, Phylicia’s on-screen husband, led the bride down the aisle. Despite being his longest marriage to date, the one with Cosby’s leading lady ended tragically. It was finalized in the first few months of 2001 after she filed for divorce on the grounds of abandonment.
Despite being the third marriage for both, their fairy tale union lasted for almost 20 years and gave birth to Condola Phylea Rashad. Williams Lancelot Bowles III, Phylicia’s son from a previous marriage and also known as Billy Bowles, now has Rashad as his stepfather.
4. Sale Johnson(2007-2013)
Sale Johnson, a model and millionaire ex-wife of Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, was the subject of his fourth marriage. He became the father of Sale’s children, Casey Johnson, Daisy Johnson, and Jamie Johnson with her ex-husband during their six-year marriage.
Casey, Rashad, and Sale took in her daughter after she passed away. After Sale ejected him from their opulent Florida home, where they lived next door to basketball legend Michael Jordan and golfer Tiger Woods, their divorce became widely publicized. The sale also placed him under estate security to ensure his departure.
Some sources claim that the marriage, which was strongly protected by a prenuptial agreement, eliminated his rights to her fortune. According to some sources, Sale’s wealth can be linked to the $100 million divorce settlement she received from Woody Johnson. Furthermore, Sale expelled him from the clubs to which they had both belonged.
5. Ana Luz Rodriguez-Pas( 2016-Present)
The 72-year-old is currently wed to Ana Luz Rodriguez-Pas, his fifth wife. Ana is a marriage counselor and psychologist. Despite the two of them being 32 years apart in age, they forbade it.
According to reports, they were married in April 2016 at the Palm Beach Gardens, with one of her family members performing the ceremony. In comparison to Rashad’s prior marriages, their union is currently kept low-key.
Ana finished her education at New York University and received a psychology degree. She runs a prosperous practice with locations in Miami and Boca Raton. After securing the title role in the independent drama Consensual Injustice in 2007, the family therapist decided to pursue acting. The Ponce Massacre of anti-US demonstrators in Puerto Rico in 1937 serves as the movie’s central theme.
The Six Children of Ahmad Rashad That We Are Aware Of
1. Geoffery Simmons
- Date of Birth: December 31, 1967
- Mother: Melody Neal
The renowned former pro footballer has one child, Geoffrey, who is the oldest. Rashad, his father, was never introduced to him when he was a child. Melody Neal, Geoffrey’s mother, was Rashad’s high school girlfriend; in 1967, she placed Geoffrey up for adoption through the Medina Adoption Agency, now Amara.
His birth certificate lists the name “Baby Boy Neal,” and it is believed that his mother gave birth to him at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Charles and Mary Simmons later gave him a name after adopting him nine months later.
The father and son eventually connected. In 1991, Geoffrey’s mother passed away from cancer.
2. Keva Rashad
- Date of Birth: 1970
- Mother: Deidre Waters
She is the famous sportscaster’s child from his first marriage.
3. Sean Rashad
- Date of Birth: 1970
- Mother: Unknown
According to rumors, Sean Rashad is a result of a liaison between Ahmad and an unnamed woman. He was born the same year, though, as his sister Maiyisha.
4. Maiyisha Rashad
- Date of Birth: 1976
- Mother: Matilda Johnson
5. Ahmad Rashad Jr.
- Date of Birth: 1977
- Mother: Matilda Johnson
The offspring of Ahmad’s second marriage is Rashad Jr. The famous son has credits for TV production and works in production. He worked with: according to his LinkedIn profile.
- Amazon Studios
- Sacramento Kings
- VH1
- Nickelodeon
- Disney ABC Television Group
- Warner Brothers
- Paramount Pictures
6. Condola Phylea Rashad
- Date of Birth: December 11, 1986
- Mother: Phylicia Rashad
She is carrying on her mother’s acting career. The 35-year-old was born in New York City a mere 12 months after her parents’ wedding day.
While on a trip to Mexico, she and her boyfriend got engaged. Their wedding preparations have not yet been made public. With parts in films like Sex and the City2 Money Monster, Steel Magnolias, and Billions, the actress has had success in her career.
Her performance in Ruined earned her a Pulitzer Prize.