Brittney Griner reveals she gave her wife an 'out' after being handed nine-year sentence in hellhole Russian prison

Brittney Griner remains happily married after her release from a Russian prison 17 months ago - but revealed she gave her wife Cherelle an 'out' in their relationship after she was handed a nine-year sentence.

Griner was detained by Russian authorities in February 2022 after a vape cartridge containing small amounts of cannabis oil was found on her at the airport.

And after she was handed a lengthy prison sentence for drug possession, she had  apparently prepared for the possibility of Cherelle leaving her.

'When I got sentenced to nine years, I wrote her a letter,' Griner told Megan Rapinoe in a conversation for The Cut.

'I'm a realist. I was just like, 'Nine years is a long time, babe. I get it,' basically giving her an out. I asked, 'Can you still be my friend? Write me.' She shot that down so quick. 

Brittney Griner reveals she gave her wife Cherelle an 'out' after she was sentenced nine years

Griner was arrested by Russian authorities over a vape cartridge containing cannabis oil

'She was like, 'Don't ever write anything like that again.' She never wavered. When I finally got back she was so patient with me. There were so many times when I just wanted to be alone, and then there were days when she couldn't get me away from her.'

Ultimately, Griner was released in a prisoner swap after spending 293 days imprisoned.

But even as she was transferred to a men's prison on her way out, she was wary that it was all a 'mindf***' - and told Rapinoe she was even worried someone would shoot her plane down before it returned to US soil.

She and Cherelle are now expecting a baby in the coming months (Cherelle is carrying the child) and Griner told the former soccer star Rapinoe that raising a child will be the 'highest peak of my life.'

Griner and Cherelle have been married since 2019. They are seen above in a photo from October.

'I can't wait to go fishing and off-roading and teach them everything my dad taught me, them coming to me for advice and watching them learn something or figure something out for the first time. That's going to be the biggest joy. 

Griner also shared how she and Cherelle decided to have a baby after she got home from being locked up abroad.

'We had talked about having kids before this happened,' Griner said. I'm glad we waited because it would've destroyed me even more — destroyed us even more — if we had a little one back here while she's fighting to try to get me out. But when I got back, we were like, 'Tomorrow's not guaranteed. We need to stop playing around with time. We need to do this.''