Change of Heart for Michael Jordans

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday February 05, 2002 10:00 AM EST

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Things are looking up on the home front for His Airness. Michael Jordan, 38, and his wife of 12 years, Juanita Jordan, 42, who had filed for divorce only last Jan. 4, are trying to patch things up. In a statement sent to news outlets, including The Washington Post, Jordan said: "We have decided to attempt a reconciliation, and our efforts to do so will be greatly enhanced if the privacy of our personal lives is respected." The divorce filing, in which Juanita had cited "irreconcilable differences" between the two and went on to say that "past attempts at reconciliation have failed, and future attempts at reconciliation would be impractical and not in the best interests of the family," has been withdrawn, says The Post. She had been asking for custody of the couple's children, a 25,000-sq.-ft. "marital residence" in Highland Park, Ill., an "equitable" share of the couple's considerable property and unspecified alimony payments. The Jordans married in Las Vegas on Sept. 2, 1989, and have three children: Jeffrey, 13; Marques, 11; and Jasmine, 9. Shortly after news of his marital breakup surfaced last month, Jordan was asked by courtside reporters (basketball court, that is) whether or not such a split was inevitable. Replied the sports legend: "That's none of your business . . . I don't want to talk about my personal life . . . We have kids, obviously, and we want to make sure that's the focus. Everything else, when the time comes, you guys will hear it."