Al Joyner's First Wife Florence Joyner Asked Him to Remarry If She Died - He Fulfulled Her Wish Years Later

One of Florence Joyner's wishes was for her former husband, Al Joyner, to be happy and married even after her death. Al respected it by finding Mrs. Right, and luckily for him, it happened two times—meet his third and current wife.

Al Joyner was a successful athlete who later became a producer and an actor. He was romantically involved with Florence Joyner, a track and field wiz.

During their time together, the pair created a lot of buzz as tabloids ran stories about the first perfect sports couple. Sadly, Flo Jo passed away in her sleep in 1998.

Alfredrick 'Al' Joyner Has a Quick Career in Sport

Alfrederick "Al" Joyner was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, on January 19, 1960. He began his athletics journey at Lincoln High School, where he was a star student-athlete. He participated in the Arkansas State University track and field team in college.

In his college career, he was a four-time Southland Conference champion and won three NCAA All-American indoor and outdoor championships. Still, in college, he qualified for the Helsinki World Athletics Championships in 1983, where he finished eighth in the triple jump.

His career representing the USA was relatively short, as he only made one appearance at the Olympic games. However, he made that appearance count as he won the gold medal in the triple jump at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games. That was the first time an African American had won the event in 80 years.

Joyner Met His Wife at the Olympic Tryouts

Florence and Al were track and field royalty. Their story began in 1980 when they first met. She was a UCLA sprinter while he was a 100 meters and double-take runner. It was not until four years later that they became friends. After the 1984 Olympics, they started mailing each other.

Two years later, Al traveled to L. A to train for the upcoming Olympics and to begin a courtship with his longtime crush. They started as friends and soon engaged in dinner dates and went dancing in the club. Then, on July 17, 1987, Al popped the million-dollar question, and she said yes; they married in October.

After their marriage, things changed. Florence became a better athlete with her husband serving as a reinforcement; he restructured her diet and schedule. By believing in herself more through Al's pep talks, and other preparations, the female runner soon set a groundbreaking record in the 100 meters with a 10.49.

Al Worked Hard to Make Their Daughter Smile

Al, who has a daughter named Mary from his first marriage to Florence, has worked incredibly hard to see his little princess smile. Mary was born on November 13, 1990; hence, she is all grown now and maintains that her father is an exemplary parent.

During one of the Father's Days, Mary shared a collage of images depicting a series of father-daughter bonding moments and hangouts. However, it has not always been smooth throughout the process after her mother passed away.

In fact, a young Marry was in bed with her mother when she took her last breath. Being a single parent became harder and harder as time passed and the former Olympic champion was worried about losing his daughter. Mary had begun to be a little bit rowdy.

Al Lost His Wife 10 Years after the Marriage

On September 21, 1998, tragedy struck unexpectedly for the Joyner family. Florence passed away in her sleep at home. Her death raised suspicion of foul play, but no charges were laid against anyone. She was 38 years old at the time of her death.

Florence had left him specific instructions on some characteristics of the woman he should marry after her.

However, according to the coroner's office, the death resulted from suffocation during a severe epileptic seizure. She was found to have been prone to attacks due to a congenital vascular brain abnormality. Florence had suffered a mild attack in 1990 and had sought medical attention for seizures in 1993 and 1994.

Florence Wanted Al to Remarry after Her Death

Before Florence Joyner died, she had instructed her husband to remarry after her passing. Al said that her talk angered him as he thought that he should be the one to die first.

However, it did not happen as he thought as she went first. Four years after her passing, Al was still visibly distraught by the loss of his wife. His friends were trying to get him to go out and meet other women.

Florence had left him specific instructions on some characteristics of the woman he should marry after her. The lady had to, like Florence, be born in December and have long nails. She added that she would send him a sign when the right woman came along.

Al Met the Right Person

After refusing to go out on many occasions, one of Al's friends finally convinced him to go out. Al began a conversation with a woman who seemed to adore Florence and Al's sister, six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner Kersee. Was this the sign that Florence was talking about, he wondered.

The lady's name was Alisha Biehn. The two began dating shortly afterward, and his friends could see him smiling again. One night as they left an NBA game at Staples Center onto Florence Avenue, the famous love song, "All My Life," came on the radio, and the words convinced Al that he was getting the sign.

Without ignoring any more signs, Al and Biehn decided to get married. Their wedding occurred in Laguna Niguel, California, on June 28, 2003.

Al's Wife, Cynthia

Losing Florence was devastating, but Al picked himself up and remarried two times. His current wife is Cynthia, who operates a successful business. According to her Instagram page, she is in the business of optimizing people's health-plant-based nutrition and mindset.

But that is not all; Al Joyner's third wife has a confident personality and works as a speaker; she also provides therapy to sports stars and rehabilitation. The legendary athlete appears to be in a happy place in his life despite having one failed marriage. These days, he flaunts Cynthia online and serenades her with sweet words.

During last year's Valentine's Day, the couple stepped out on a date to Rancho Santa Fe, California, where they posed seated, smiling from ear to ear. The post's caption read: "Every day is Valentine's Day to My Beautiful Wife….Cynthia Joyner."

Although it took some time, effort, and convincing, Al eventually moved on from his beloved Florence Joyner, to whom he had dedicated his life. The former Olympic athlete now lives happily with his new wife, something his deceased wife had hoped that he would.