Who is Maya Moore's husband Jonathan Irons? All you need to know about her relationship

By Ethen Hutton

Modified Aug 26, 2024 12:12 GMT

WNBA legend and four-time champion with the Minnesota Lynx Maya Moore watched as her No. 23 jersey was hoisted to the rafters of Target Center ahead of the Lynx's matchup versus the Indiana Fever. Moore played in the WNBA for eight seasons, winning four NBA championships with Minnesota and the 2014 WNBA Most Valuable Player award.

She averaged 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists for her career and made seven All-WNBA teams in her eight-year run.

After the 2018 season, Moore put her historic career and immense fame on hold for a good cause. Moore began advocating for prosecutorial reform in 2007 and began working for the release of Jonathan Irons during her WNBA career, leading to her eventual retirement to prioritize his freedom.

The two developed a romantic relationship while advocating for Irons' freedom, marrying nine days after his freedom in July 2020.

Here is an in-depth look into Maya Moore's relationship with Irons.

Who is Maya Moore's husband, Jonathan Irons? A look into the couple's relationship

Jonathan Irons was just 16 years old when he was convicted for a nonfatal shooting and burglary in 1996. Two years later, Irons was sentenced to 50 years in prison in front of an all-white jury and would spend the next 22 years in prison, despite a lack of evidence linking him to the shooting and burglary.

In 2007, Maya Moore met Irons at the Jefferson City Correctional Center in Missouri. She took notice of his case, and a friendship between the two ensued. Years later in 2013, a phone conversation would be the start of a budding relationship between Irons and Moore.

"[Irons] teased me with a joke that made my heart jump in my chest. 'Hold up. That's not something a brother says to a sister,'" Moore wrote in Love and Justice, a memoir he co-wrote with Irons, per Time.

In 2017, Maya Moore spoke publically about the Irons case, leaving out mention of their budding romance, in an interview with the Players' Tribune. Moore wanted fans to focus on the injustice Irons faced rather than a possible relationship, specifically mentioning a fingerprint report that the court failed to share with Irons' legal team.

Following the 2018 WNBA season, Moore shocked fans by stepping away from basketball to focus on her advocacy for Irons ahead of his final court appeal. She used her platform to raise awareness for Iron's case and garnered immense support.

Maya Moore invested in a strong legal team to support Irons in court and helped get his case re-examined by a judge on July 2, 2020. Judge Daniel Green voided Irons' conviction, citing the prosecution as "very weak" and "situational at best" and Irons was to be released from prison after nearly 23 years.

Nine days after he was released, Jonathan Irons and Maya Moore married, finally uniting after meeting 13 years prior. The two welcomed a son, Jonathan Irons Jr., who was born in February 2022.