Slippery slope. Hilary Rhoda and Sean Avery had their fair share of ups and downs before the supermodel filed for divorce in July 2022.
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model and the hockey pro tied the knot in New York in October 2015, two years after their engagement news made headlines. Sparks flew between the duo when they met at an NYC bar in 2009.
“I can say I’m part of the age-old story: girl walks into a bar and guy says to his buddy, ‘That’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to marry her,'” Avery recalled to Hamptons magazine ahead of their wedding day.
Five years into their marriage, Rhoda and the Ice Capades author announced they were expecting their first child after previously struggling to conceive. “We’re having a baby! The last year has been quite a journey* getting to this point, lots of ups & downs … but for those trying to conceive, all I can say is just keep going,” the Maryland native wrote via her Instagram Story in January 2020. “Trying to conceive is a mindf—k and might have almost ended our marriage once or twice.”
Avery went on to share more details of the duo’s pregnancy journey during an episode of his “No F–ks Given” podcast. “Going into the process, we’ve got two healthy partners and right out the gate, the first month that we were eligible to procreate, Hilary got pregnant,” he recalled. “I said, ‘That’s f–king great. That was easy.’ I start planning.”
However, the Estée Lauder model suffered a miscarriage. “It’s fairly common,” the retired athlete noted. “She was amazing. That’s not an easy process. We got back on the trail and now what do you know two months later, Hilary gets pregnant again and has another miscarriage.”
The loss put a strain on the pair’s marriage, and they turned to medical professionals for advice. “After a few miscarriages, the pressure starts mounting and fertility doctors say, ‘You have this window. Maximize that window, a four-to-five day window with no rest,'” Avery continued, adding that the strict routine made trying to conceive less enjoyable. “A man can’t perform if he’s looking at a stopwatch.”
After a “tough” six months, the Canada native landed a film role that required him to move to California. When he got back, Rhoda was able to get pregnant. “It was no longer a job,” he recalled on his podcast. “I haven’t seen my wife in five weeks. So we’re going to make love and what do you know, I stood up and said, ‘You’re pregnant.’ We went through a difficult six months. I come back and we have real true passion and love and harmony.”
Son Nash Hollis was born in July 2020. When Rhoda filed for divorce two years later, she requested to share legal custody of the little one with Avery, per docs obtained by Us Weekly. She celebrated Nash’s birthday with a fun-filled bash days after filing the docs to end her marriage.
“Nash is TWO!” Rhoda captioned a July 2022 Instagram slideshow of a dino-themed party, with Avery noticeably absent from the photos. “My sweet, sweet boy 🦖🎈🎉🎂.”
Scroll down for a glimpse inside the duo’s relationship before their split:
