When it comes to who commands the spotlight in their marriage, Savannah James definitely lets her husband, world-renowned basketball phenom LeBron, bask in it.
In a rare interview, however, the mother of three opens up about their love and how despite their fame, their life is just as normal as any other husband and wife.
“He is truly a king to his queen, if you will,” James told her hometown Cleveland Magazine. “He treats me with so much respect — I mean, it’s hard to not love him, with the way that he is with me and the kids and his mom and just everyone who’s around him. He’s a really, really humble guy for everything that he has and everything that he’s done.”
The couple met in high school and initially, the 31-year-old had little interest in the future first-round NBA draft pick turned three-time NBA champion and four-time league MVP but at the urging of a mutual friend she took a chance and the rest is history.
“I’m like, ‘Um, nope. I’ll take his number [then] one day I’m sitting around — I was probably bored or something — and I’m like, ‘Oh, I forgot! I have this number for this guy that I can call. He seemed interested, so let’s see.'”
The Cleveland Cavaliers star proposed on New Years Eve in 2011 and the pair wed in September 2013 in a lavish San Diego wedding. Together, they have three children —two sons 13-year-old LeBron Jr., 10-year-old Bryce and daughter, Zhuri who they welcomed in 2014. Raising their children to be humble is a high priority and it’s one the James’ take seriously.
“They’re not rewarded for mediocrity. I believe that my kids can do anything they put their minds to,” she said before adding, “We are just normal people from Northeast Ohio. You can look at it as a very good thing because maybe we don’t understand what we could be. But to me, that’s much more stressful — it takes much more energy rather than just being yourself. And I feel like that’s definitely rubbed off on our kids.”
Along with the way LeBron loves her, Savannah says she uses his philanthropic heart to be a mirror for her own, as she’s involved in her own charitable efforts to give back to the community.
“He’s super, super passionate about his philanthropic endeavors. He’s super, super passionate about his athletic abilities, doing everything he needs to do to stay in tip-top shape to make sure that he can help his team do what they need to do on the court,” she added. “I just try to mirror that drive in everything that I do.”