Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra: A Brief History
Including that one time in the Bulls locker room.
It won't surprise you to learn that Dennis Rodman has some wild stories up his sleeve. In episode three of The Last Dance, we're given 50 minutes of pure Rodman (although the basketball legend wouldn't start talking until filmmakers got him a Subway sandwich and chamomile tea). One topic that came up in that episode, and in other moments in the series, was Rodman's relationship with Playmate and Baywatch star Carmen Electra in the late '90s.
Electra and Rodman met a nightclub in Los Angeles, and the basketball player quickly became smitten. "We exchanged numbers, and he would call and call and call," Electra said to the Chicago Sun-Times. "I wouldn't respond. Finally, one day I picked up the phone and he invited me to come hang out with him and I went for it. I went in."
Their relationship was a big part of episode three, and we heard all about the wild nights in Vegas to when Michael Jordan made sure his teammate made it to practice on time.
"I remember being in the living room, naked, in Dennis' house in Chicago," says Electra to the Associated Press. "He [Rodman] was very humble. He threw a mattress in front of the couch in the living room. That's where he always slept. That's where I slept as well. We were both naked, actually, when there's a knock at the door, Dennis jumps up, I don't know if he answered the door naked or not, I can't remember that part because I was hiding. He just turned around to me and said,' It's Michael Jordan. I've got to go practice.'"
The crazy stories don't stop there. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Electra spilled that Rodman had a "sweet romantic side" and liked to surprise her.
"One day when the Bulls had an off day from practicing, Dennis said he had a surprise for me," she detailed to The Los Angeles Times. "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. 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. To be honest, I don't think he's ever worked out so hard in his life." So, like, the most normal date of all time?
The pair were so enamored with each other that they, like many of our favorite celebrity couples, got hitched in Las Vegas. On November 14, 1998, Rodman and Electra eloped at Chapel of the Flowers, only to file for annulment nine days later. They reconciled but ultimately divorced in April of 1999.
"I was so honored to see them play," Electra says about that final championship season. "There's just no words for that era. There will never be another one like it."
Today, the pair don't speak often, despite having the same agent. The documentary has reminded Electra what a special time that was, she says. "Yes, we had a blast and this wild love, but we had a lot of hard times, too. A lot of struggles," she said to the Associated Press. "No matter what, I'll always wish him the best."
watch 'the last dance' on espn+
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