A Childhood Shaped by Separation: Gilbert Arenas’ Story as the Child of Divorced Cuban Parents

November 1, 2026

This article was last updated by Ritesh Thapa on November 1, 2026

Gilbert Arenas was born in Tampa, Florida, to Cuban parents Gilbert Sr. and Mary Francis Robinson. On March 13, 2010, his estranged mother Mary passed away due to liver failure.

Key Takeaways

Arenas lived with his mother and her family after his parents divorced when he was just six months old.
It was that month that her liver failed. At the age of 46, she passed away a few days after being removed from life support.

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas who is referred to as “Agent Zero” due to his zero jersey number while playing for Washington.

During his tenure in Washington, Gilbert Arenas was selected to the All-NBA Team three times, was named an NBA All-Star three times. He had won the NBA Most Improved Player award in his final season in Golden State, 2002–03.

Throughout his years in the NBA, Gilbert Arenas won a lot of honors and accomplished a lot of things, which is not typical figures.

The former professional now hosts a YouTube podcast called “” where he discusses basketball and other topics with his guests.

Arenas, who currently has a net worth of millions of dollars, appears to have had a wonderful family life with his four children, but things weren’t always that way. He had a difficult upbringing with his parents.

Born to Cuban Parents, Gilbert Arenas’ Parents Divorced When He Was Just Six Months Old

Arenas was born to Gilbert Sr. and Mary Francis Robinson in Tampa, Florida. They are both from Cuba. Arenas’ great-grandfather on that side was Cuban, although his paternal grandparents were from Spain.

Before his father took custody, Arenas lived with his mother and her family after his parents divorced when he was just six months old. Gilbert moved in with his paternal family when he was three years old.

With just $30 in his pocket, Gilbert Arenas Sr. to take his kid across the nation on a tank of petrol and pure adrenaline to follow his acting dream.

Although it was difficult, Arenas’ father relocated from Florida to California in an attempt to provide a better life for him and his family.

Despite the difficulties, their lives gradually began to improve, and Gilbert’s basketball career flourished as well.

However, sources report that his estranged mother became a negative influence after his parents divorced and possibly even before. Additionally, she was abusing chemicals and illicit substances with Following that, there were arrests, aliases, substances, drink, and more aliases.

She sober up after summer of 2006 but her liver started to fail in 2009, less than four years later. Francis was in and out of the hospital while working at Kentucky Fried Chicken on 119th Street NW and Seventh Avenue in Miami.

It was that same month that her liver failed. At the age of 46, a few days after being removed from life support.

Arenas had discussed getting back in touch with his estranged mother after he retired but “wasn’t ready to open that door right now.”

Less than two weeks before the court convicted him in D.C. Superior Court for taking firearms into Verizon Centre. He found out about her passing a few days later and made plans to cover the cost of her funeral over the phone.

In Case You Did Not Know

Between 2002 and 2014, Arenas dated Laura Govan, with whom he has four children. When Govan was playing for the Warriors, Arenas got to know him. The public relations division of the Sacramento Kings employed Govan.

Arenas announced his engagement to Melli Monaco, a French social media celebrity, in July 2026.

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Ritesh Thapa is a content writer focusing in the sports and entertainment industry. His enthusiasm for storytelling combined with his acute sense of trends allow him to create engaging content that appeals to a wide range of people. Aside from his professional life, Ritesh is an avid musician who writes and performs songs.

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