Dennis Rodman's Dating History: From Madonna to Carmen Electra (2024)

Dennis Rodman is a basketball legend.

The New Jersey native quickly became one of the best professional players in the world after making his debut with the Detroit Pistons in 1986. He went on to play for teams including the San Antonio Spurs, the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers, and is regarded as one of the greatest rebounders in the history of the sport.

However, the five-time NBA champion is known almost as much for his personal life as his professional career — particularly when it comes to his romances. Rodman has had relationships with big celebrity names like Madonna and Carmen Electra, and has been married three times.

The athlete also has three children: a daughter with his first wife, Annie Bakes, and a son and a daughter with his third wife, Michelle Moyer.

Between his three marriages and high-profile flings, here's a look at Dennis Rodman's dating history.

Annie Bakes

Rodman began dating his first wife, Annie Bakes, in 1987, and they got married in September 1992. While together, the couple were on and off, with PEOPLE reporting in 1989 that they had briefly broken up.

While their marriage lasted for 82 days, Rodman and Bakes do share a daughter, Alexis Rodman, who was born in 1988.

Madonna

The athlete had a brief relationship with Madonna in 1994. They were together for only a few months, but the relationship was one of Rodman's more high-profile and highly-publicized relationships.

Rodman opened up about their romance in his 1996 memoir, Bad As I Wanna to Be, which included an entire chapter titled "Madonna: An Old-Fashioned Tale of Romance."

"We never had any problems. It was one of the easiest relationships I'd ever been in," he wrote, before divulging in his sex life with the singer.

However, the relationship ultimately came to an end because Rodman didn't want to be known as "Madonna's Playboy, her boy-toy," according to a 1996 interview.

Carmen Electra

In 1998, Rodman met model and actress Carmen Electra, and the couple wed that November.

"I love Carmen and am proud to be married to her," Rodman said following their Las Vegas nuptials.

Nine days after the pair got married, PEOPLE reported that Rodman had filed annulment papers, with Electra's publicist Cindy Guagengi saying, "Carmen and Dennis spoke several days ago and mutually agreed (to end the marriage)."

The couple later reconciled, although they eventually divorced in the spring of 1999.

One notorious moment in their relationship occurred during the 1998 NBA Finals when Rodman left his team to visit Electra in Vegas for 48 hours.

"I do remember being in Vegas with him. It was on — the party was starting right away," Electra recalled on The Last Dance docuseries. "One thing about Dennis: he had to escape. He liked to go out, he liked to go to clubs. We'd go to his favorite restaurant, then we'd go to a nightclub, then we'd go to after-hours. It didn't stop," adding, "It was definitely an occupational hazard to be Dennis' girlfriend."

When Rodman failed to return to the Bulls after two days, teammate Michael Jordan flew to Las Vegas to "go get his ass out of bed."

"There's a knock on the door, and it's Michael Jordan," said the Baywatch actress. "And I hid. I didn't want him to see me like that. So I'm just, like, hiding behind the couch with covers over me, [and Jordan goes]: 'Come on! We got to get to practice.' "

In 2020, over two decades after their marriage ended, Electra spoke about her relationship with Rodman, saying that the pair once had sex "all over" the Chicago Bulls' practice facility. "One day when the Bulls had an off day from practicing, Dennis said he had a surprise for me. He blindfolds me and we get on his motorcycle. When he finally takes my blindfold off, we're standing at the Bulls practice facility, center court."

She added, "It was crazy, like two kids in a candy store. We were eating Popsicles from the fridge and pretty much having sex all over the damn place — in the physical therapy room, in the weight room. Obviously on the court."

Michelle Moyer

Rodman met his third wife, Michelle Moyer, in 1999, and the couple went on to have two children together. Dennis "DJ" Rodman Jr. was born in 2001, while Trinity Rodman was born in 2002. Now adults, DJ plays college basketball while Trinity is a professional soccer player.

Per the Los Angeles Times, the pair married in 2003, on Rodman's 42nd birthday. Moyer filed for divorce in 2004, but the couple attempted to reconcile during the following years. However, the marriage was officially dissolved in 2012.

In March of that year, the Los Angeles Times reported that Rodman could face jail time over unpaid child and spousal support, with an Orange County court commissioner telling him that he could face 20 days in jail if he didn't pay over $800,000 to his ex-wife.

Yella Yella

Rodman is currently dating singer Yella Yella. The athlete first popped up on Yella Yella's Instagram in a July 2022 clip where the two stood behind a DJ booth. In May 2023, they celebrated Rodman's birthday together.

In July 2023, Rodman showed love for his girlfriend by getting a black-and-white tattoo of her portrait on his right cheek. In avideoshared by tattoo artist Val Johnson on Instagram, Yella Yella smiles and squeals when she sees Rodman's new ink.

“This is my last dance with a woman,” Rodman told TMZ Sports when discussing the tattoo.

He added, “I thank her for loving me the way I am, and that's why I did it for her.”