Musk denied having an affair with Shanahan, Brin’s wife.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Sergey Brin filed for a divorce from his second wife, Nicole Shanahan, in January 2022.
The divorce was sparked by an alleged affair between Shanahan and Elon Musk, sources told WSJ.
The divorce was finalized on May 26, court records obtained by Insider show.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin quietly finalized his divorce from his wife Nicole Shanahan, which was reportedly prompted by allegations of an affair between Shanahan and Brin’s longtime friend Elon Musk.
Court records obtained by Insider show that the divorce was signed off by a judge on May 26.
Brin filed for divorce in January 2022, citing “irreconcilable differences” after three years of marriage. The two met at a yoga retreat in 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported last year.
Shanahan and Brin married on November 11, 2018, court documents show. About two weeks later, their daughter was born.
Under the terms of their divorce, Shanahan and Brin will split legal and physical custody of their now 4-year-old daughter, and issues including spousal support, lawyers fees and the division of their assets were settled in confidential arbitration, as part of a stipulation in their prenuptial agreement, according to court documents. The pair also agreed to “non-guideline” child support, though the dollar amount was kept secret, the divorce filings show.
Shahanan, a lawyer and founder of the nonprofit Bia-Echo Foundation, did not contest the divorce, but did ask the court to award her spousal support, the court papers state.
People familiar with the matter told The Journal that the divorce was sparked by an alleged affair between Shanahan and Musk, who was friends with Brin for years. Musk once fondly recalled a time when Tesla was struggling during its formative years and how Brin and Larry Page still decided to invest in the company.
The alleged affair between Musk and Shanahan occurred sometime in December 2021, a person close to Shanahan told The Journal last year. Brin indicated in the divorce filings that the two had been separated since December 15, 2021, while Shanahan said it was “TBD.”
Musk said on Twitter, now X, that the article was “total bs.”
“Sergey and I are friends and were at a party together last night,” he wrote on July 24, 2022. “I’ve only seen Nicole twice in three years, both times with many other people around. Nothing romantic.”
Shanahan also denied that she’d had an extramarital relationship with Musk, calling the scandal “utterly debilitating” in an interview with People Magazine.
Brin had hoped to keep the divorce proceedings under wraps.
Court records show that his attorneys filed multiple requests to seal documents of the divorce, citing extensive media coverage from various outlets including Insider of Brin’s previous relationship.
Brin was previously married to 23andMe’s co-founder Anne Wojcicki for eight years. Insider reported in 2013 that the couple was no longer living together.
Brin’s attorney stated in a January 2022 filing that “danger arising out of the disclosure of confidential information about the parties’ minor child is a significant concern.”
However, a judge rejected the request, stating that the “burden of proof” had not been met.
Insider has contacted attorneys for Shanahan and Brin for comment.