Cherelle Griner details Her Life Now That Brittney Griner Is Home

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Brittney Griner is back home. It still feels good to say even though she has been back in the United States for a couple of weeks following her nine-year prison sentence in Russia.

While the WNBA, NBA, and several prominent American voices spoke up on her behalf, no one worked as hard or suffered as much as Brittney’s wife Cherelle Griner. She has taken to many public platforms to express her grief, frustration, concern, and anger at the circumstance that her beloved Brittney has been enduring. It stands to reason that while many of us are glad that BG is back stateside, none of us are happier than Cherelle.

She recently spoke to PEOPLE about what it’s like to have her dream come true on Dec. 8, 2022. Griner was flown to San Antonio, Texas to be evaluated by medical staff before she could touch the soil but when she did..

Medical personnel boarded the plane first, to quickly evaluate Brittney. “Those seconds couldn’t go by fast enough,” said Cherelle. When Brittney was allowed to disembark, the two fell into a tight embrace. “I couldn’t stop touching her face,” Cherelle said. “I was like, ‘Is this really you?’ It did not feel real. It was chilling — and warm. I was just holding on tight. I couldn’t let her go.”

Cherelle went on to describe what things were like when the couple finally returned to their home:

“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.”