How did Sergey Brin and Nicole Shanahan meet? Inside Google co-founder's DIVORCE with second wife
Google co-founder Sergey Brin, 48, who is the seventh-richest person in the world with a net worth of $93 billion, has filed to divorce his second wife of four years, citing "irreconcilable differences", according to a report by Insider. Brin has filed divorce papers to end his marriage to Nicole Shanahan, who is a lawyer and entrepreneur in her late 30s. Brin's divorce can be one of the most expensive divorces of all time, including those of fellow tech tycoons Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk. Brin divorced his first wife, Anne Wojcicki, 48, in 2013.
Brin is being represented in the divorce proceedings by the Bay Area law firm Hanson, Crawford, Crum Family Law Group, LLP, while Shanahan has hired Los Angeles-based firms Spector Law Firm, APLC and Meyer, Olson, Lowy & Meyers, LLP, according to Insider. The judge charges $950 an hour, plus an extra $300 per hour for a legal assistant. According to Insider, the court filings “emphasize Brin and Shanahan’s desire for secrecy around the proceedings, and they have attempted to have much of the case placed under seal.”
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“Petitioner is a co-founder of Google and one of the wealthiest and most famous technology entrepreneurs in the world. Because of the high-profile nature of their relationship, there is likely to be a significant public interest in their dissolution and child custody issues,” a filing from Brin’s lawyers reads. “Of great concern is that such publicity puts their minor child at risk of danger, harassment, and even kidnapping if the specifics of their day-to-day whereabouts are exposed to the public,” the filing warned. The court filing has no mention of what assets Brin and Shanahan jointly own and how will they be divided.
“All issues as to the property rights or obligations of the parties will be determined by confidential binding arbitration in accordance with a written agreement between the parties,” one of the court documents reads.
How did Sergey Brin and Nicole Shanahan meet?
Shanahan and Brin reportedly started seeing each other sometime around 2015 and their first public appearance as a couple didn't come until the Met Ball in May 2016, when the two reportedly carpooled together. The couple married in November 2018. They have a daughter together and have been separated since December 15, 2021, according to court filings submitted in Santa Clara County, California.
Shanahan is the founder of legal tech company ClearAccessIP and the Bia-Echo Foundation, whose key investment areas include reproductive health. Shanahan pledged in September to give $100 million to various reproductive health and criminal justice programs and has used the Bio-Echo foundation to launch a research center focused on women's fertility and reproductive health. Shanahan herself went through fertility struggles with Brin.
There have been many speculations going around their separation. Recently Brin was photographed with fashion designer Gabriela Hearst at Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March. However, it was the first time the two met according to the sources. This is the second time Brin has gotten divorced. In 2015, he and his first wife, 23andMe co-founder Anne Wojcicki, filed for divorce after Wojcicki discovered that Brin was dating a Google employee named Amanda Rosenberg. Brin and Wojcicki share two children whom they co-parent.
Disclaimer: This article has been updated as we had erroneously reported about child custody between Brin and his ex-wife.