Multi-millionaire Papa John’s founder John Schnatter, 57, and his wife, 59, to divorce

The controversial founder of Papa John’s is getting divorced from his wife of 32 years.

John Schnatter, 57, is separating from Annette Cox, 59, after she filed divorce papers on Thursday in Kentucky, according to USA Today. 

She said the couple separated on April 1 and that the marriage is irretrievably broken. 

She said the couple separated on April 1 and that the marriage is irretrievably broken

John Schnatter, 57, is separating from Annette Cox, 59, (pictured together) after she filed divorce papers on Thursday in Kentucky, according to USA Today. She said the couple separated on April 1 and that the marriage is irretrievably broken

Mr Schnatter (pictured with his wife), who infamously resigned as chairman in 2018 after using a racial slur, is worth an estimated $500million and owns a 19 per cent share in the pizza company he founded

Mr Schnatter (pictured with his wife), who infamously resigned as chairman in 2018 after using a racial slur, is worth an estimated $500million and owns a 19 per cent share in the pizza company he founded

In an interview in 2013, Mr Schnatter said that Ms Cox was the ‘finest human being’ he’d ever met.  

The couple, who have two children together, seem to have already agreed on a divorce settlement as Ms Cox requested that the financial arrangement be included in the signed papers.

Mr Schnatter, who infamously resigned as chairman in 2018 after using the N-word during a business conference call, is worth an estimated $500million and owns a 19 per cent share in the pizza company he founded.  

The couple own multiple houses, including the most expensive home in Louisville – an $11million mansion. 

They also own a $23million condo in Deer Valley, Utah, and a $6million condo in Naples, Florida.  

The divorce did not come as a shock, following Ms Cox’s purchase of a house in Prospect, Kentucky, a few months ago. 

Schnatter resigned as the company’s CEO in 2017 after controversy surrounding his criticism of the NFL’s handling its players’ kneeling protests. 

Schnatter (pictured) resigned as the company's CEO in 2017 after controversy surrounding his criticism of the NFL's handling its players' kneeling protests

Schnatter (pictured) resigned as the company’s CEO in 2017 after controversy surrounding his criticism of the NFL’s handling its players’ kneeling protests

Since his departure, Mr Schnatter has claimed that the quality of food at Papa John's has declined

Since his departure, Mr Schnatter has claimed that the quality of food at Papa John’s has declined

He blamed a decline in pizza sales on NFL players kneeling during the national anthem – a protest against inequality.  

He said that ‘NFL leadership has hurt Papa John’s shareholders’ and that the protests ‘should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago’. 

Schnatter resigned from the company entirely last year after a series of incidents which began in 2017 when he criticized the NFL for not stopping national anthem kneeling protests, which he attributed a decline in pizza sales to.

PAPA  JOHN’S SCANDAL

November 2017: Schnatter tells investors that the NFL anti-racism protests hurt its bottom line in a conference call. 

The company started gaining support among white supremacy groups who had already condemned the protests. Papa John’s later apologized. 

December 2017: Schnatter resigns as CEO and is replaced by Steve Ritchie 

February 2018: NFL cancels Papa John’s sponsorship deal

May 2018: During a call with a marketing agency about how to handle the topic of racism and racist groups, Schnatter said: ‘Colonel called blacks n*****s’. 

The marketing agency ended its contract with the company. 

July 2018: The call becomes public, Schnatte resigns as chairman

A year later he was heard on a conference call using the N-word. He stepped down as CEO in 2017, then as chairman in 2018 and has since been replaced.

In an interview with WDRB, he claimed he was pushed out as part of a strategic coup from his successors and that a ‘day of reckoning’ will come.

He claimed they ‘used the black community and race as a way to steal the company’ and that he is not racist and never has been. 

Since his departure, Mr Schnatter has claimed that the quality of food at Papa John’s has declined.

He said that he ate 40 pizzas in 30 days and it’s ‘not the same pizza’, in an interview with a local Kentucky news station.

He added: ‘It’s not the same product. It just doesn’t taste as good.’  

Schnatter also alleged that he was the victim of set-up and that his replacements ‘fabricated’ his racist comments to push him out of the company, despite admitting to making the racist comment last year.

The beginning of the end for Schnatter was in 2017 when he criticized the NFL for not stopping players from taking a knee as part of a protest against police brutality.

He complained to shareholders about it and suggested it was part of the reason Papa John’s had seen a downturn in sales, because of the pizza chain’s deal with the NFL.  

Papa John's sponsored the NFL and was involved in the Super Bowl but after Schnatter's comments, the league cut ties with his company

Papa John’s sponsored the NFL and was involved in the Super Bowl but after Schnatter’s comments, the league cut ties with his company 

In May 2018, during a conference call with a marketing company about how he would handle the topic of racism, he was heard using the N-word.

On the call, he reportedly complained that ‘Colonel Sanders called blacks n*****s’ but never faced any public backlash for it.

The call horrified people listening to it, the marketing company terminated its contract with Papa John’s and Schnatter resigned as chairman, issuing an apology which confirmed what he had said.

Now, however, he says it was ‘fabricated’.

‘They fabricated it. Shame on them. This is all a farce.

‘Nothing sells like the truth, and the truth, sooner or later, all comes out.

‘The day of reckoning will come. The record will be straight.’  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk