Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin and attorney Nicole Shanahan finalized their divorce in May. The couple, who started dating in 2015 and married in 2018, now share custody of their 4-year-old daughter.
Court papers reveal that Shanahan didn’t contest the divorce and sought spousal support. Issues like lawyer fees and the division of assets were settled confidentially through arbitration, according to court documents.
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The timing of the divorce is what throws a wrench into the already complicated dynamic. The Wall Street Journal reported that an affair between billionaire Elon Musk and Shanahan in late 2021 led Brin to file for divorce. But Musk, who became a father for the second time in December 2021, vehemently denied the allegations.
Musk took to X, formerly Twitter, in July 2022 to slam the allegations as “total bs,” stating that he and Brin were still friends. He added that he had only seen Shanahan twice in the last three years, both times in group settings. “Haven't even had sex in ages (sigh),” the post read.
Musk also addressed the rumors by emphasizing his demanding work schedule, stating that he works “crazy hours” and doesn't have time for the alleged “shenanigans.” He expressed frustration with what he termed as “character assassination attacks,” which he believes have escalated in intensity this year.
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Musk went on to criticize the journalistic integrity behind the allegations, saying he is notorious for “fake news.” He also noted that none of the people supposedly involved in the incidents were even interviewed for these stories.
According to a statement made to Daily Mail, Shanahan’s lawyer said, “Make no mistake, any suggestion that Nicole had an affair with Elon Musk is not only an outright lie but also defamatory.”
Despite this, a source close to The Wall Street Journal maintains that tensions between Musk and Brin have risen considerably, leading Brin to consider divesting his investments in Musk’s ventures.
Brin and Musk have a history of professional collaborations and personal friendship. According to reports, Brin loaned Musk about $500,000 during the 2008 financial crisis to help Tesla Inc., while Musk returned the favor in 2015 by gifting Brin one of Tesla’s first all-electric sport-utility vehicles. The duo, along with Google’s other co-founder Larry Page, was featured in a 2015 Vice article describing their relationship as the “world's weirdest friendship.”
Silicon Valley friendships can be as intricate as the algorithms that power tech giants.
The deterioration of Musk’s friendship with Page has come under scrutiny as well. The two had a falling out nearly a decade ago, largely over the future and ethical considerations of artificial intelligence (AI). Musk revealed in a Fox News interview that this led him to co-found OpenAI, a nonprofit aimed at transparent AI development, as a direct counterpoint to Google’s approach to the technology.
According to Musk, he and Page differed on how AI should be developed and managed. Page was accused of not taking AI safety as seriously as Musk believed was necessary, allegedly aspiring for “digital super-intelligence” without adequate precautions. Musk claimed that these differences led Page to call him a “specist,” further widening the gap between the two.
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