Who Was Joy Taylor's Ex Husband, Richard Giannotti And Why Did They Split?

Richard Giannotti, once a promising young professional baseball player and former husband to Fox Sports 1 host Joy Taylor, has gone on to build a successful life in the financial sector post-sports. Born on August 9th, 1983 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Giannotti first flexed his athletic talents at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park, Kansas. His impressive skills on the field earned him a scholarship to the University of Miami, where he played as an outfielder while pursuing a business administration degree.

Giannotti was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 2004, spending eight years total in professional baseball (including time in the minor leagues with the Angels and Cardinals organizations). After retiring from the sport in 2012, he transitioned into wealth management, founding Athlete Asset Management under the umbrella of Global Wealth Management in his birthplace of Fort Lauderdale. He now serves as president of the company's sports and entertainment division, where he has gained a solid reputation for helping athletes manage their finances. His clientele is said to include professional athletes like NFL quarterback Mike White and baseball player Colton Welker.

Richard Giannotti's former relationship with Fox Sports 1 host Joy Taylor kept him tied to the world of live sports even after retirement. The two reportedly met in 2014 before becoming engaged in 2015 and tying the knot on February 13th, 2016 in an elegant ceremony at Miami's Biltmore Hotel. It was the stuff of romance movies, but it wouldn't last. Despite such happy beginnings, cracks in the facade of their relationship began to show not long after their wedding.

By 2017, the couple had already divorced. While neither Giannotti nor Taylor have publicly addressed the reasons behind their split, rumors of infidelity have been at the center of speculation for years now. These allegations suggested that Taylor had been involved with FS1 executive Charlie Dixon during her marriage to Giannotti. A lawsuit filed by former FS1 hairstylist Noushin Faraji later legitimized these claims by claiming Taylor had another affair with former NFL player and FS1 colleague-turned-Bachelor host Emmanuel Acho. Unfortunately for Giannotti, the timelines of these lawsuits overlap with that of his marriage to Taylor.

The scandalous allegations against Joy Taylor came to light as part of a larger lawsuit accusing Fox Sports 1 of workplace misconduct, sexual harassment, and toxic work environments. According to the lawsuit, Taylor was accused of using relationships with colleagues — including Charlie Dixon and Emmanuel Acho — to advance her career. It's the kind of thing successful women in the working world are unfairly accused of all the time (and, as a result, never really holds water), but that didn't stop Faraji from filing the suit.

Faraji's lawsuit argued that Giannotti became suspicious of Taylor's relationship with Dixon in 2016 after a dinner attended by the couple and Dixon's wife. Shortly after, Giannotti is said to have uncovered evidence confirming his suspicions, leading him to file for divorce. The lawsuit went on to say that Taylor's relationship with Dixon was not her only affair and that she later became involved with Acho... which, in Faraji's words, played a role in securing her a position on FS1's "Speak for Yourself" program. Just like the divorce, Taylor has not publicly commented on these allegations.

Following his split from Joy Taylor, Richard Giannotti on to the next phase in life, both personally and professionally. He remarried in 2020, tying the knot with a woman named Kristen Simigran. The couple now shares two children, Banks Domenico Giannotti and Baker James Giannotti (not to mention Beau, Giannotti's son from his marriage to Taylor).

Taylor, on the other hand, has not remarried — though she was previously engaged to former NBA player Earl Watson for a time. Speculation surrounding her allegations would lead one to believe that Taylor's involvement with Dixon went beyond her marriage to Giannotti and may have even hurt her engagement to Watson in the aftermath. (The lawsuit claims that Charlie Dixon financially assisted with Taylor and Watson's wedding deposits in an effort to maintain silence about their alleged affair.)

Taylor's career in sports journalism continues despite the ongoing controversy, while Giannotti remains focused on his family and wealth management career. Since his marriage to Taylor ended in scandal, Giannotti has largely avoided public scrutiny in favor of a quieter, more private life with his new family.