Ric Flair, the former pro-wrestling star who rose to fame and popularity during Hulk Hogan’s era, was issued an arrest warrant on July 3rd for failing to pay over $32,000 in spousal support.
Flair, whose real name is Richard Fliehr, has been married four times. His most recent marriage to Jacqueline Beems ended when she filed for legal separation last summer, and Fliehr was ordered to pay $4,000 a month in support. According to court documents, he can avoid jail time if he pays what he owes, but that may prove tricky for the former WWE superstar; according to a 2011 Grantland story, Fliehr was ejected from his home that spring for failing to pay his rent. Later that same year, he received an arrest order for failing to pay back a $35,000 loan, and reportedly owed money to all his ex-wives, his lawyers, the IRS, and several debt collectors. All this was after filing for bankruptcy in 2008.
Fliehr’s story is much different than Flair’s; Flair was a multiple championship winner, a superstar in the WWE whose bleached hair and trademark “WOOO!” put him alongside the most recognizable faces of the early ’90s, a fast-talking guy who seemed to be in control of everything. Fliehr, on the other hand, was going through girlfriends and wives at an alarming rate, spending millions on jewelry for them, getting into fights with family members, and was allegedly being beaten by at least three of those women. In 2010, Jacqueline Beems was arrested for punching him repeatedly in the face after an altercation in their home.
