(February 18, 1989 - present) (3 children)
In January 1989, Garvey also became engaged to Candace Thomas, whom he met at a benefit for the Special Olympics. He broke the engagement with Mendenhall in a phone call the night of January 2,. Their only child, Slade, was born October 13, 1989.
Over the next few weeks, Garvey and Thomas began a whirlwind courtship that included trips to the inauguration of President George H.W. Bush and the Super Bowl.
When these details became public, Garvey's post-baseball political ambitions were widely seen to have disappeared under the weight of two illegitimate children. Garvey, in the midst of what he later termed a "midlife disaster", sued Cyndy, his ex-wife, for access to his two children. His daughters testified in court they did not love their father and did not wish to see him. Cyndy Garvey was handcuffed and jailed, based on 167 counts of contempt. Under the shadow of multiple lawsuits and damage to his reputation, Garvey lost business opportunities, declared himself broke, and found himself paying half his monthly television earnings in child support, and millions in legal fees. He and Candace Thomas married in February 1989, and had three children, Ryan Steven Patric Garvey March 30, 1993, Olivia Lauren Garvey June 3, 1994, and Sean. The Garveys remain married and still reside in Southern California.