One of Metro Detroit’s wealthiest and most powerful couples — Dan and Jennifer Gilbert — is splitting up after three decades of marriage.
“After 30 meaningful years filled with love and gratitude, we have together made the difficult decision to end our marriage,” the Gilberts said in the statement Friday. “Our journey has been profoundly shaped by our love and devotion to our children — including the enduring memory of our beloved son Nick, in addition to our commitments to Detroit and Cleveland.
“As our relationship evolves, our friendship and partnership remain steadfast. In this next chapter, we will continue working on our fight to eliminate neurofibromatosis and uplift the communities we both cherish,” the statement continued. “As we move through this transition, we ask for understanding and respect for our family’s privacy.”
It’s an uncontested divorce that was effectively finalized in a post-nuptial agreement in April, according to documents filed Friday in Oakland County Circuit Court’s Family Division.
Forbes pegs Dan Gilbert’s wealth at $29.4 billion. He is the founder and chairman of Rocket Companies, majority owner of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, and a significant owner of downtown Detroit real estate, including the Hudson’s Detroit development constructed on the Woodward Avenue site of the iconic former department store.
Gilbert and his team spearheaded a years-long revival of downtown Detroit real estate, accumulating more than 100 properties and redeveloping many of them for commercial or residential use after the heart of his business empire decamped from the Detroit suburbs to renovated space downtown.
For the past decade, the Gilberts have ranked among Detroit’s pre-eminent power couples. Their business investment and philanthropy have helped to reimagine the contours of Detroit and reshape a new and positive narrative for the city and its people.
A spokesperson for Gilbert’s mortgage company Rocket provided The Detroit News with a copy of Dan and Jennifer Gilbert’s divorce statement.
The divorce filing was entered Friday morning in Oakland County Circuit Court’s Family Division. It states that the couple entered a “comprehensive post-nuptial agreement” effective April 17 this year that “resolved all issues arising out of the Parties’ marriage (including but not limited to alimony/spousal support, attorney fees, property division, taxes and other issues related to the marriage).”
The details of the post-nuptial agreement were not included in the divorce filing. It says that neither of the Gilberts owes the other spousal support and terminates each other’s rights “in any policy or contract of life, endowment, or annuity insurance of the other, unless specifically preserved by this Judgment.”
Franklin-based divorce attorney Candyce Abbatt said it is uncommon for a couple to work out the details of the divorce and asset separation before coming to court, though given how high-profile the divorce would be, she said she is not surprised.
“It’s uncommon because it’s a fairly civil way to deal with the dissolution of a marriage,” Abbatt said. “I think with these folks they want the privacy and want to avoid a public spectacle and fight. Personally, I’m glad given the contributions both have made to the city that they were both able to work out their differences without bringing the ship down. It speaks volumes for both of them and their lawyers.”
Dan Gilbert’s attorney, Jeffrey Morganroth, and Jennifer Gilbert’s attorney, David Mendelson, did not respond for comment Friday.
In a divorce involving a large number of assets and a lot of money, Abbatt said the biggest complication would be the valuation of the businesses. Generally, the person working with the businesses would be the one to keep them, she said, but that can depend on how civil the divorce is.
By filing a post-nuptial agreement and then handing a settled divorce to the court for approval, the Gilberts “did the hard part first,” Abbatt said. It will also keep the details and process of the divorce largely out of the public eye.
“The easy part is the actual physical filing of the case,” Abbatt said. “Most people don’t work it out before they file. Cheers to them for doing that. They avoided a lot of heartache for themselves and their families.”
The Gilberts have resided in Franklin for years. Their son, Nick, died at age 26 in May 2023 of complications from neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow along nerves in the skin, brain, and other parts of the body. Jennifer Gilbert, who co-founded the Gilbert Family Foundation in 2015 to increase NF research, said in 2022 that the foundation and family were committed to finding a cure for the disease and had committed $72.5 million to the effort. The couple has four other children.
In June, the couple pledged $800,000 to a technology manufacturing accelerator program at Lawrence Technological University aimed at helping entrepreneurs from “underserved communities” get their startups off the ground.
In May 2019, Dan Gilbert suffered a debilitating stroke that has largely kept him out of the public spotlight in recent years.
Jennifer Gilbert has been a member of the board of Rocket Holdings Inc. since 2019. The company’s holdings include a variety of mortgage and fintech companies, including Rocket, the online mortgage company previously known as Quicken Loans.
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