Age Difference Might Explain Much of the Ugliness That Led Rollins Divorce To Be A Colossal Cheat Job

Ted Rollin

We have covered the Rollins v. Rollins divorce case mostly in terms of unlawful court rulings, given that Shelby County Circuit Judge D. Al Crowson issued a final order even though he did not have jurisdiction to hear the case in Alabama.

But Rollins might have become the most flagrant courtroom cheat job I've encountered because of simple numbers--as in those found from a date of birth. And the key numbers are present in an information sheet that Ted Rollins filed with his divorce action against Sherry Carroll Rollins in Alabama. (Document can be viewed at the end of this post.)

Sherry Rollins' date of birth is listed as 5/31/1952. Ted Rollins' date of birth is listed as 9/12/1962. That means she was 39 years old and he was 29 when they got married on December 7, 1991.

Under normal circumstances, none of that information should raise eyebrows. There is nothing unusual or improper about a man being attracted to a woman who is 10 years (or more) older than him. And we feel reasonably certain that Sherry Rollins had no problem attracting the attention of normal guys in a variety of age ranges.

But our research indicates Ted Rollins was not a normal guy, with normal interests--and it's not just because he comes from a family--the people behind Orkin Pest Control--that has abnormal wealth.

Just before she got married to Ted Rollins, Sherry Carroll spoke via telephone with Monica Bulich, who was Ted Rollins' first wife and had been divorced from him a few years earlier. Sherry Rollins says Ms. Bulich made a curious statement that she did not understand at the time. But Ms. Rollins now says she believes it was a warning that Ted Rollins' primary interest might be in her sons from a previous marriage, who were ages 10 and 16.

Here is part of Monica Bulich's message: "I know what he wanted with me; you just have to ask yourself what he wants with you--an older woman with two kids and nothing . . . "

What, by the way, did Ted Rollins want with Monica Bulich? Sherry Rollins says she was told that Ted's parents fixed him up with Monica, knowing she was a bright student who could help him get through graduate school at Duke University. She had an undergraduate degree in biology from Boston College and had worked for the Rollins family as a nanny to the four children (each separated by one year in age) that John Rollins Sr. would have with Michele Rollins. As Sherry Rollins understands it, Monica Bulich wound up doing much of Ted Rollins' graduate work for him, and they eventually got married at Duke Chapel.

What did Ted Rollins want with Sherry Carroll? That is where her age enters the picture. At 39, she was old enough to have one adolescent son and another who was about to enter adolescence. We now know that public documents show Ted Rollins physically abused the youngest boy and was the subject of a social-services investigation for possible child sexual abuse, based on a citizen complaint in North Carolina.

With the power of hindsight, Sherry Rollins says she thinks Monica Bulich saw the abuse coming and tried to warn her. "I think she knew he was after my sons," Ms. Rollins says.

That, Sherry Rollins says, is why Ted Rollins agreed to marry her without a prenuptial agreement, contrary to standard practice in his family. And it probably is why he went to extraordinary lengths--with assistance from his billionaire cousin, Randall Rollins--to ensure she would not receive an equitable share of marital assets that accumulated over 14 years, prior to their divorce in 2005.

Here is a portion of Sherry Rollins' statement to Legal Schnauzer on these matters:

I believe [Ted] knew he was never going to take me seriously as a wife; Zac, Eric, and I were covers to keep his family from wondering if he was normal. His first wife wanted to have children with him desperately; he left her because of it. But he came and found me, with two young sons.

(To be continued)

Rollins Case Action Summary by Roger Shuler