As America’s most decorated Alpine skier, Bode Miller has tackled some incredible heights and near-impossible terrain. But his steepest challenge yet is the one he faces now in court.
For the last year, the 36-year-old athlete and his wife, Morgan, have been fighting for joint custody of Nate, his 9-month-old son with ex-Marine Sara McKenna. Now, in the new issue of Us Weekly, he’s opening up about the “brutal” battle for his little boy.
“Nate is such a cool kid,” the San Diego-based dad tells Us. (He also has a 5-year-old daughter, Dace, from a previous relationship.) “He deserves every ounce of fight we have.”
That said, it hasn’t been easy. “It’s been brutal,” he shares. “It’s so easy to get negative about it, but when you see him, everything shifts. I just want to make sure he has the opportunity to live a great life.”
Miller — who won Olympic gold at the 2010 Vancouver games — has lived quite a life himself. And though he admits he has some regrets about his previously wild ways, he says his “mistakes” have made him a better person. He’s currently training for the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014 and is in top form again.
For more from the reformed bad boy — including his Olympic comeback, his wife’s recent miscarriage, and his brother’s death earlier this year — pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.