It seems as though the drama between Matt Barnes and his ex-wife Gloria Govan has calmed for now after years of a very public custody battle.
Recently, the former NBA journeyman, Govan, and Govan’s fiancé and five-time NBA championship winner with the Lakers Derek Fisher came together to celebrate the former couple’s twin boys’ birthday. In an adorable photo posted to Barnes’ Instagram on Saturday, Nov. 7, the boys, Carter and Isaiah, gathered in a group with their dad, mom, and future stepdad. “Birthday Dinner for the bro’ s..,” Barnes captioned the sweet snap. He added, “Happy 12th Bday to the @thebarnesboys.”
The heartwarming family photo received over 95,500 likes from fans who also flooded the comments section commending Barnes on making a step in the right direction regarding his family, including one user who wrote, “Growth & Maturity — love this — respect!!”
A second user commented, “Soooo happy to see this! You went through so much drama and just a picture together is a HUGE step for self healing. Your boys will always watch how you handle things. Way to set examples.”
A third person wrote, “Unity love to see you and Derek be cool wish more of us could come together 💜.” “Legend brother. This is amazing and thanks for teaching us about forgiveness. 🙂 mad respect from New Zealand :),” a fourth person commented.
While Barnes didn’t give much detail into the status of his and his ex-wife’s relationship, their history proves it has come a long way if they could all put their differences aside to celebrate their boys’ special day.
As many may remember, in October 2015, Barnes infamously drove 95 miles to Los Angeles and attacked Fisher after his boys called him to say he was inside their home. Fisher, who used to be Barnes’ friend and teammate, was dating Govan at the time.
In 2018, Barnes and Govan got into a confrontation outside of their sons’ school, which resulted in Barnes requesting a restraining order against Govan, which has since been lifted. She was also ordered to complete 26 anger management sessions, as well as ten parenting classes. Barnes was awarded custody of their boys.
