Slovenia's basketball superstar in custody battle for two daughters
Slovenian basketball superstar Luka Dončić has confirmed he has separated from his fiancée Anamaria Goltes.
The US sports broadcasting network ESPN also reports that he is in a custody battle over their two daughters, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.
"I love my daughters more than anything and I've been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the US during the season, but that hasn't been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement," Dončić said in a statement sent to ESPN.
"Everything I do is for my daughters' happiness and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can," the Los Angeles Lakers star added.
ESPN cites the TMZ celebrity news portal in reporting that Goltes filed a petition in California seeking child support and attorney fees from Dončić after their separation.
Dončić said he had "no idea" the petition was filed.
According to the report, the couple's first daughter, Gabriela, spent only three months with Dončić in LA last year, while their second child, Olivia, who was born in Slovenia in December, has never been to the US.
Dončić and Goltes have known each other since childhood. They got engaged in July 2023, having been dating since 2016. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Gabriela, in Dallas in November 2023, when Dončić was still playing for the Dallas Mavericks.
After Olivia was born in Slovenia last December, the 27-year-old wanted to bring Gabriela back to the US with him, but a disagreement broke out between him and Goltes, and police were called to the hospital, according to ESPN. The report says officers "did not detect any elements of a criminal offence or misdemeanour" by Dončić during that incident.
According to ESPN, the NBA star filed an interim injunction seeking immediate contact with Gabriela and Olivia in Slovenian courts on 26 February.
Dončić, who was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025, is the NBA's top scorer this season, averaging 32.5 points, 8.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.
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