Decorated U.S. Olympian, Bode Miller, is involved in a complex, legally interesting custody battle with an ex-girlfriend, 27-year-old Sara McKenna.
The 36-year-old Olympian skier briefly dated McKenna for several months, after they met through an online dating agency. McKenna became pregnant in June 2012. Shortly after, Miller expressed his desire not to be part of the child’s life. They broke up. Miller married, shortly thereafter, to Morgan Beck, a beach volleyball player.
In November, 2012, Miller changed his mind about the child and launched legal action to gain custody over McKenna’s baby. By that time, McKenna had moved from California to New York. The child was born in February, 2013 and named Samuel Nathaniel Bode Miller-McKenna. (The child’s legal name is “Sam,” but Bode insists on calling the baby “Nate.”)
The New York Family Court sided with Miller and found McKenna’s decision to leave from California to New York to be “unjustifiable conduct” that constituted “appropriation of child while in utero.” The court even went as far as to declare her behavior “reprehensible.”
But the battle has taken additional twist and turns — we’ll cover those in a future post. For now, if you need help with a child custody or family law issue, please connect with the Dinnebier and Demmerle team today for assistance.