In the 1980s, Larry Bird led the Boston Celtics to three championships and was a major contributor to the team’s success. Due to the C’s heavy reliance on their star forward, on-court errors were unavoidable. But the biggest mistake made by the three-time MVP happened off the court when Larry Legend decided to get married at the age of 19.

When Bird was younger, he thought that divorced people “were the devil.” But he was caught in a contradiction when, just a year after tying the knot with Janet Condra, his first wife, he suffered the same fate.

Labeling the marriage as his “biggest mistake,” the burden and stress of separation left a scar on Larry for life as he got to know about Condra’s pregnancy after their divorce.

“Getting married was the worst mistake I ever made. Everything that ever happened to me I’ve learned from it, but I’m still scarred by that. That scarred me for life,” Bird said. “That and being broke are the two things that influenced me most.”

Bird married Dinah Mattingly in 1989
After getting divorced, Bird directed his energy toward his career. “The Hick from French Lick” ultimately became one of the most accomplished players in the league, establishing himself as the greatest player in franchise history.

In 1989, Bird decided to give marriage another shot. The Celtics forward chose to wed his longtime girlfriend, Dinah Mattingly, in an intimate ceremony that included just five other people.

Larry’s second wedding took place in his friend’s home just outside Terre Haute, Indiana. Adding to the unconventional charm of the occasion, both the bride and groom chose to wear stonewashed jeans for the ceremony.

Nightmares about his failed marriage
While embarking on a new chapter with Dinah, Bird couldn’t shake off the scars from his first marriage. The burden of a broken family continued to haunt him, causing recurring nightmares even after he found love with Dinah.

“The bad dream… I still have it sometimes,” Bird added. “My wife is trying to get me to come back to her, but Dinah is there, too, and I keep saying to Dinah, ‘I don’t want to go with her, I don’t want to go.'”

Despite the tough times Larry had to go through as a married teenager, he found redemption and enduring love in his second marriage with Dinah. The couple has been married for 34 years. They have also adopted two children, Conner and Mariah.