Mets pitcher Kris Benson's wife once joked that she would sleep with all his teammates if he ever cheated on her
MLB fans were shocked when the news of Kris Benson being assaulted by his wife Anna broke in 2013. But even before the incident, signs of toxic behavior were evident in a 2007 interview with FHM magazine.
January 21, 2006: New York @Mets traded Kris Benson to the Baltimore @Orioles for John Maine and Jorge Julio. #MetsRewind #LGM #Mets https://t.co/lGqaZ7viH1
Anna was interviewing Kris for FHM magazine and asked her former husband several questions. One of the questions was if the pitcher ever got nervous that Anna would actually sleep with his teammates.
"Do you get nervous when I go on shows like Howard Stern and say that I'll sleep with all of your teammates if you cheat on me?" Anna asked.
Kris Benson replied:
"I get some butterflies in the stomach. But I think you handle that stuff well. The thing is, you've always told me that. It's been a running joke since we started going out. It caught the people who aren't really in our circle by surprise."
Kris Benson's reply to the question was not what most people expected. Saying that this was something he often hears from Anna and a running joke should perhaps have been a red flag.
7/27/99: PIT @ NYM: Robin Ventura (19th of season, 190th of career) off Kris Benson https://t.co/JHPe8Qu4hI
Kris and Anna were together for 12 years before getting divorced in 2012. In 2013, news broke about Anna (now Anna Warren) attacking her ex-husband. Kris has not been married since.
When Kris Benson said that if given permission, he would cheat on his wife
During the same interview, Kris Benson revealed that the couple often used to joke about cheating. He made it clear that it was a running joke and that all their friends were aware of it. But his ex-wife once said the same thing during an interview with Howard Stern on his radio show.
He acknowledged that her statement must have caused confusion to all the listeners who weren't aware of the fact that it was mostly a joke.
"But our friends hear that all the time. I guess now that Howard Stern's on satellite radio, there's no limit to what you can say," Benson said.
Anna brought up another question: If she would let him cheat on her once, who would it be with? However, she made it clear that this was hypothetical and something that wouldn't happen.
"If I did ever let you cheat on me, and I never will, who would you pick to do it with?"
The pitcher replied with the name of the 2007 Miss Oklahoma winner. Benson said that it was because she also won the Miss America pageant. Benson added that he was one of the people who had initially scouted the pageant winner.
"Miss Oklahoma. She won the Miss America pageant, didn't she? I had her scouted out from the beginning," was Kris Benson's reply.
Kris Benson pitches during a game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium on July 27, 1999 https://t.co/3F72FFJvDh
It was a strange interview, and while it's never right to judge a marriage (as marriage can be complicated), most readers came away with more questions than answers.