The Slatest

Inside Donald and Shelly Sterling’s Amazing, Surreal, Terrible Marriage

Shelly and Donald Sterling in happier (?) times.

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

The Los Angeles Times profiles Donald and Shelly Sterling’s marriage in an astounding piece centered on the Sterlings’ relationship with race-conversation interlocutor V. Stiviano and a past mistress named Alexandra Castro. The story of the Sterlings and Castro is simply amazing. First, Donald and Castro began having sex—and he made her legally acknowledge he would never leave his wife.

Castro signed five separate agreements saying that she understood Sterling was happily married and that any disputes between them would be resolved in private arbitration, court filings show.

Then they broke up and Donald AND Shelly Sterling sued her.

In 2002, Castro ended the relationship, in part, she wrote in court filings, because he reneged on a promise to have a child with her. Sterling asked her to come back, according to court papers, and when she refused, he sued, demanding the return of a four-bedroom million-dollar home in Beverly Hills…As the suit dragged on, family lawyers filed a second claim against Castro, this one under Shelly Sterling’s name, calling Castro a “gold digger” who pursued older, wealthy men.

And then they settled the lawsuit and all became friends!!!

Since then, it appears that Castro has reconciled with the Sterlings…When a tenant sued her in 2009, Donald Sterling’s longtime attorney represented her and the billionaire himself offered the opposing attorney free Clippers tickets to urge on a settlement, saying that Castro was a friend. Stiviano’s attorney said his client often saw Shelly Sterling and Castro socializing together.

The Sterling-Castro conflict, by the way, involved what has been described as the greatest exchange in the history of depositions, which seems to have occurred while Sterling was being caught in a lie about the nature of their relationship.

What a world. Please read the whole L.A. Times article.