Brittney Griner and wife Cherelle ‘embraced the slow’ after 2022 detainment

Brittney Griner and her wife Cherelle told PEOPLE on the Sundance red carpet that they have resettled into life at home after the WNBA star’s 2022 detainment in Russia, and that their house became a haven as they healed. The couple, married six years, also share an 18-month-old son, Bash.

“Honestly, I think for me personally, like self care, it really looked like being able to just turn it off,” Cherelle, 33, tells PEOPLE, saying she had to be “on for so long” in a way that wasn’t natural because Griner is usually the one in front of cameras.

Cherelle said Brittney, 35, likewise found stepping back behind the scenes to be healing. “I needed nothing more than to actually just be in my four walls with my family and enjoy peace with no outside noise,” she told PEOPLE, adding that they “embraced the slow, steady of our four walls.”

Parenting the couple’s 18-month-old has intensified that focus on home life. “Oh my God, it is a lot,” Brittney tells PEOPLE of early parenthood. She has said being away during the season is hard, but that Bash “is my why,” telling reporters last June that “everything I do is for him.”

The Griners walked the red carpet in support of Griner’s new documentary, The Brittney Griner Story, and say they are continuing to prioritize family and quiet time at home even as she balances her career and public appearances.

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