Gordon Ball, who lost his bid for U.S. Senate Tuesday, has filed for divorce, reports the News-Sentinel.
The complaint filed in Knox County Chancery Court names his wife of 10 months, Marjorie Happy Hayes Peterson Ball, as the defendant.
“I really don’t have any comment on it,” Ball said when contacted via mobile phone by the News Sentinel. “The campaign was very stressful and we’re getting a divorce.”
On Tuesday Ball, a Democrat, lost his challenge to incumbent U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Republican, by almost a two-to-one margin. Both men are from East Tennessee; Alexander is a former governor from Maryville, Ball is a multimillionaire attorney living in Knoxville.
Ball’s wife, Happy Hayes Ball, was unavailable for comment, but information on her LinkedIn profile showed that she relocated to Ocean Ridge, Fla. in October and was previously in Boynton Beach, Fla.
Both Ocean Ridge and Boynton Beach are in South Florida, more than an eight-hour drive from Destin, the site of a recent dispute over a condominium that Ball sold.
Ball wouldn’t say whether there was any connection to his divorce and the condo dispute.
…His divorce complaint filed Friday cites “irreconcilable differences, inappropriate marital conduct” and “intolerable indignities” as the grounds for divorce.
Ball claims, in his complaint, that his wife has been abusive, spent his money from his business account without permission, and “routinely incurs thousands of dollars a month in charges for items to be paid by Plaintiff Husband, who is the marriage’s sole breadwinner.”
The complaint also claims Ball’s wife threatened to reveal private matters to the public if Ball did not give her money.
Ball also said, in the court papers, that his wife sent “lewd email/text messages” to his ex-wife.
And Ball’s wife apparently played a role in the Florida condo dispute.
Continue reading