Savannah James: Heartbreaking Details About LeBron's Wife

On the surface, being the wife of LeBron James may make it seem that Savannah James' life has been storybook-esque, but she has faced difficulties in her family life and in dealing with public scrutiny. The pair were high school sweethearts, and Savannah has been by her husband's side for the entirety of his professional career. "But in all actuality, Savannah was with me shooting in the gym when I [had] absolutely nothing," the former Cleveland Cavaliers forward told The Hollywood Reporter in September 2018 while recalling their first date was at Outback Steakhouse as teenagers. "You wouldn't be talking to me right now if it weren't for her," he added. Initially, she was content to stay out of the public eye and be known simply as LeBron's wife, but Savannah underwent a transformation and later embraced the spotlight.

In May 2023, Savannah discussed her decision to be more of a public figure. "That time, to be honest, was spent pouring into my boys," she told The Cut, referencing the years spent mostly away from the media as the James family matriarch. "I wasn't super comfortable with putting myself out like that," the philanthropist said. Savannah may have become more involved in the media, even launching her own podcast, but she was wary of avoiding the "rabbit hole" of online rumors.

Savannah's time in the spotlight only increased when her oldest son, Bronny James, started playing alongside LeBron on the Los Angeles Lakers. After Bronny's first game, Savannah shared a heartfelt hug with her son. The moment was especially touching given the tragic event that nearly derailed Bronny's basketball career and almost took his life.

The James family was shocked to learn Bronny James had collapsed from cardiac arrest during a team practice at the University of Southern California in July 2023. "Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU," a statement from the family obtained by CNN said. It was perplexing that a young college athlete would suffer cardiac arrest, but a spokesperson for the family issued a statement in August clarifying the matter. Apparently, the issue was due to a "significant congenital heart defect," noted NBC News. Bronny eventually underwent surgery and fully recovered from the frightening condition.

By November 2023, Bronny was cleared to return to full basketball activities. Even though the collapse from the previous summer was traumatic, Savannah showed support for her oldest son returning to the sport he loved. Shortly after he was back on the court, she uploaded snaps of Bronny in his USC uniform to her Instagram Stories and included a smattering of flexing emojis, per Sportskeeda. Later, Savannah spoke about coping with her son's health scare. 

On an episode of Netflix's "Starting 5" documentary released in October 2024, Savannah opened up about Bronny's cardiac arrest and the impact it had. "I think at the end of the day, it was just about us supporting each other and just being super grateful for the outcome," Savannah said. She was no stranger to adversity as a mother, as Savannah had her firstborn at a young age.

Savannah and LeBron James were high school sweethearts — everyone knows they dated back then. But what's less talked about is that Savannah discovered she was pregnant with Bronny during her senior year. Obviously, this was before the pair were married and before LeBron had even turned pro. "I was thinking, 'What am I going to tell my parents? What's going to happen to his career?'" she recalled to Harper's Bazaar in August 2010.

Fortunately, the St. Mary's Vincent basketball phenom kept his composure and was supportive of his then-girlfriend. "I was very scared. I was bawling. But he said, 'It's not going to slow me down, and it's not going to slow you down,'" Savannah recalled to Harper's when discussing LeBron's reaction to the news. She also remembered putting together her senior prom dress while five months pregnant and joked that it likely "looked terrible." Savannah also said that she intended to keep the child no matter what. "Even if it would have been my mom's advice, I would have fought it to the end," she added.

Years later, after she had given birth to three children, Savannah spoke candidly about her parents' role in the situation. "I still never had the sex talk with my parents," she said on her "Everybody's Crazy" podcast. Her co-host, April McDaniel, asked if Savannah thought she still would have gotten pregnant in high school had her mother given her the talk. "Probably," Savannah replied with laughter. Getting pregnant was not the only difficulty Savannah faced in school, as she also was in several fights.

Even though she met future NBA star LeBron James in high school, there were some rocky moments in Savannah James' educational career. Perhaps dating a well-known athlete was to her detriment. "I was fighting. I don't [love to fight]. But I had to defend myself," Savannah said on her "Everybody's Crazy" podcast in June. "I had girls who didn't like me and couldn't tell nobody why they didn't like me," she said. According to Savannah, those scraps mostly took place to defend her friends, but her podcast co-host thought the altercations were due to another reason. "I would hate you too if your boyfriend was LeBron James," April McDaniels joked.

McDaniels was not the only one who thought Savannah may have had a target on her back because she was dating LeBron. "Yeah stop playing Savannah you know why they didn't like you. Literally had a walking meal ticket on your arm!" a fan on X, formerly Twitter, chimed in.

While some may have thought it was obvious that Savannah drew the ire of classmates because she was the girlfriend of a future Cleveland Cavaliers star, LeBron's stardom was not apparent to her right away. The couple met at a football game, as she recalled to Harper's Bazaar in 2010. "I had no idea who he was," Savannah recalled. LeBron eventually invited her to watch him play basketball, and that's when she started to get an idea about who he was. "I went, and I was like, 'Wow, this guy is pretty popular in here,'" Savannah added. Of course, just as in high school, dating a popular athlete has drawbacks — such as incessant rumors.

As comes with the territory of dating a high-profile figure, Savannah James has faced incessant cheating rumors about LeBron James. Internet personality Sofia Franklyn claimed on her podcast "Sofia with an F" that the former NBA MVP had frequently been unfaithful to his wife. "LeBron James has various parties constantly where NDAs need to be signed, and women are at," Franklyn said during a September 2022 episode. "You didn't know LeBron's a cheater?" she added. That was not the only woman who accused LeBron of infidelity.

A couple of years earlier, model Erza Haliti — who is married to NFL tight end Nick Vannet — took to her Instagram Stories to hurl cheating accusations at the Los Angeles Lakers star. "Am I the only one that's not a fan of LeBron?" Haliti wrote in September 2020, according to Fadeaway World. "I guess I've never been a fan of guys that cheat on their wives especially with @sofiajamora," she said, referencing model Sofia Jamora. That was not the only model romantically linked with LeBron.

The same month that Haliti made her public accusations, fans confronted LeBron on X about cheating with model/influencer YesJulz — whose real name is Marie Goddard. For years, rumors circulated about the relationship between LeBron and Goddard, and in June 2023, she finally put those claims to rest. "I have never in my entire life been alone with LeBron James, period," Goddard said in a passionate rant posted to her Instagram Stories. That said, Goddard admitted to romancing another NBA player LeBron knew. "I did not f**k with LeBron ... I have the utmost respect for Savannah," YesJulz added. Unfortunately for Savannah, rumors about LeBron's supposed indiscretions were not the only cheating rumors she faced.

Long before whispers of LeBron James being unfaithful to his long-time partner had surfaced, rumors swirled that Savannah James had been cheating on the then-Miami Heat star. The gossip surrounding the relationship infidelities started in June 2011 when a source called into Houston 97.9's "The Box," claiming that Savannah — who was not yet married to LeBron — had been seeing another NBA All-Star. "Word got out while drinking with friends that Rashard Lewis slept with LeBron's girl while visiting South Beach," the caller claimed, according to Bossip. At the time, Rashard Lewis was just finishing up his tenure with the Orlando Magic. Not only did this unnamed source make those claims, but ESPN's Stephen A. Smith added fuel to the fire.

In June 2011, when the Savannah-Lewis rumors swirled, LeBron was underperforming in the NBA Finals. According to Smith, the Heat forward's love life had caused issues. "My theory is that he's got a lot of distractions off the court and evidently, on occasion it tends to affect his play on the court," Smith said while appearing on ESPN 2's "Mike & Mike." Smith remained coy and didn't outright claim cheating was taking place.

Unlike the ESPN personality, Lewis was unafraid to go on the record about the supposed relationship with Savannah. "[T]hose rumors are 100 percent false, they're not true, I don't know how they came up," Lewis said, calling into 97.9's "The Box" to set the record straight (via Hollywood Life). With wild rumors spreading without being substantiated, it's no wonder Savannah decided to stay out of the spotlight for so many years.