Matt Barnes Wife
Introduction
Matt Barnes’s wife is Anansa Sims, an American model and entrepreneur born on December 27, 1978, in New York City. Matt Barnes is a retired NBA forward who spent 14 seasons in the league and won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2017; today he’s known as a sports media personality and podcast host. The two share a long, on-and-off history that finally led to marriage in early 2026, after years of headlines about their relationship. This article covers everything you need to know about Anansa Sims — her background, career, how she and Matt Barnes met, their wedding, their blended family, and more.
Who Is Anansa Sims?
Anansa Sims was born on December 27, 1978, in New York City. She’s American and is the only child of supermodel Beverly Johnson, the first Black woman to appear on the cover of American Vogue, and music producer Danny Sims, who was best known for signing Bob Marley. Her parents divorced when she was just a year old, but Anansa stayed close with her father until his death in 2012.
Growing up with a supermodel mother put Anansa in the fashion world early, but she carved out her own identity rather than simply following in her mother’s footsteps. She attended UCLA in the 1990s, where she studied and also met Matt Barnes for the first time, long before they became a couple. Friends and family have often noted the strong resemblance between Anansa and her mother, though Anansa has said she worked hard to build a career and public identity distinct from Beverly Johnson’s legacy.
Anansa has spoken publicly about growing up biracial in the public eye and about learning to embrace her body type at a time when the modeling industry rarely celebrated it. That perspective would go on to shape her professional path.
Anansa Sims’s Career & Professional Life
Anansa Sims became one of the earliest high-profile plus-size models in the fashion industry, helping push for greater body diversity at a time when the modeling world was far less inclusive. In 2009, she appeared in a widely discussed nude photo shoot for Glamour magazine alongside fellow plus-size models Ashley Graham, Lizzie Miller, and Kate Dillon — a moment often cited as a turning point for body-positive representation in mainstream fashion media.
Beyond modeling, Anansa has worked as an entrepreneur and media personality. She and her mother, Beverly Johnson, were the subjects of the OWN docuseries “Beverly’s Full House,” which explored their complicated mother-daughter relationship. More recently, Anansa and Matt Barnes starred together in the WEtv reality show “The Barnes Bunch,” which launched in 2024 and follows their large blended family.
Anansa has spoken in interviews about wanting to show women “it is OK to have some meat on your bones” and to love themselves at any size — a message that has stayed central to her public work. Her exact net worth hasn’t been officially disclosed, though her decades-long modeling and media career suggest a comfortable, self-made income independent of Matt Barnes’s NBA earnings.
How Did Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims Meet?
Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims first crossed paths at UCLA in the 1990s, where both were students. They didn’t become a couple right away — their romance actually began years later, after they reconnected in 2018.
That first chapter of dating was rocky. The couple had a public and difficult breakup later in 2018, which led to Sims filing a restraining order against Barnes. It looked, at the time, like their story was over.
But the relationship wasn’t finished. Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims rekindled things in 2021, giving their romance a second chance after years apart. The relationship deepened from there, and on Christmas Day in 2022, Barnes proposed. The couple became engaged while celebrating the holiday with family, marking a major turning point after their turbulent early years together.
Even after the engagement, their relationship continued to make headlines — including a highly public split in early 2025, when Sims accused Barnes of infidelity. The couple worked through that difficult period privately and reconciled later that year.
Marriage & Wedding Details
Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims got married in an intimate, private ceremony during the first days of January 2026, capping off a relationship that had spanned on-and-off years since their UCLA days. Neither Barnes nor Sims made a formal public announcement; instead, news of the wedding surfaced when a guest shared social media images captioned “Congrats to Mr & Mrs Barnes.”
In the photos, Sims wore a traditional white wedding gown and Barnes wore a classic tuxedo. The setting appeared low-key and family-focused rather than a large celebrity affair. One especially touching photo showed the newlyweds embracing their young son, Ashton, during the celebration, with a wedding cake visible in the background.
The wedding came less than a year after the couple’s public split, making their reconciliation and marriage a notable full-circle moment for two people who first met as college students decades earlier.
Children & Family Life
Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims lead one of the more visibly blended families in the sports and entertainment world. Together, they share two sons: Ashton Joseph Barnes, born in 2018, and Austin Matthew Barnes, born on September 4, 2024.
Barnes also has twin sons, Carter and Isaiah, from his previous relationship with Gloria Govan. Sims, meanwhile, has three children from her earlier marriage to David Patterson Jr.: daughter Ava Brielle Patterson and sons David III and Dean. Altogether, the couple’s blended household includes eight children.
Their family life has been documented publicly through the WEtv series “The Barnes Bunch,” which shows how they balance a large household, careers, and co-parenting relationships with their children’s other parents. Despite the show and their public profiles, both Barnes and Sims have described trying to keep their kids’ day-to-day lives as normal and private as possible outside of filming.
Anansa Sims on Social Media
Anansa Sims is active on Instagram, where she shares glimpses of her modeling work, entrepreneurial projects, and family moments with Matt Barnes and their blended brood of eight children. Her posts often highlight family milestones — birthdays, holidays, and behind-the-scenes moments from “The Barnes Bunch.”
She also uses her platform to promote body positivity, continuing the message she’s championed since her early plus-size modeling days. While her follower count is smaller than a mainstream A-list celebrity’s, she maintains an engaged, loyal audience interested in both her fashion background and her very public family journey with Barnes.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Anansa Sims |
| Date of Birth | December 27, 1978 |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Model, entrepreneur, reality TV personality |
| Married to | Matt Barnes |
| Marriage Year | 2026 |
| Children | 2 with Matt Barnes (Ashton, Austin); 3 from a previous marriage |
| Net Worth | Not publicly disclosed |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Matt Barnes’s wife’s name? A: Matt Barnes’s wife is Anansa Sims, an American model, entrepreneur, and daughter of supermodel Beverly Johnson. The couple married in early January 2026.
Q: How old is Anansa Sims? A: Anansa Sims was born on December 27, 1978, in New York City. As of 2026, she is 47 years old.
Q: What does Anansa Sims do for a living? A: Anansa Sims is a model known for being one of the early prominent plus-size models in fashion. She’s also an entrepreneur and appears alongside Matt Barnes on the reality show “The Barnes Bunch.”
Q: When did Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims get married? A: Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims married in a private ceremony during the first days of January 2026, after getting engaged in December 2022.
Q: How many kids do Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims have? A: Matt Barnes and Anansa Sims share two sons together, Ashton (born 2018) and Austin (born 2024). Combined with children from previous relationships, their blended family includes eight kids total.
Conclusion
Anansa Sims is far more than just “Matt Barnes’s wife” — she’s a pioneering plus-size model, entrepreneur, and mother who built her own public identity long before her marriage made headlines. Her decades-long journey with Matt Barnes, from meeting at UCLA to a rocky on-and-off relationship, and finally to marriage in 2026, reflects a story of second chances and reconciliation. As Matt Barnes’s wife, Anansa Sims now shares the spotlight not just for her own career achievements, but as a devoted mother steering a large blended family through the public eye alongside her husband.
