Caroline Hjelle, wife of San Francisco Giants pitcher Sean Hjelle, has accused him of affairs, abuse, and abandoning his family in a TikTok video that has gone viral.
The video, posted on Friday afternoon and currently garnering over 4.2 million views, shows Caroline and her two sons playing. Overlayed text reads: “When my MLB husband abandons us on Mothers Day a week after this once I finally found out about his affairs and stopped putting up with his abuse so I’ve been raising two boys alone.”
A caption accompanying the video reads, “Yeah, I’ve had to be silent for too long about this,” and includes hashtags such as #divorce, #cheating, and #infidelity. Lorde’s “Man of the Year” is playing over the video.
This isn’t the first time Caroline has posted a video on TikTok referencing experiences that allude to issues with her husband in terms of parenting and infidelity. While it’s currently unclear if the couple is already divorced or on their way to being so, an October 2024 video references “battling a storm,” and a video from this past April references her being “devastated from finding out all the lies.” That video includes the hashtag #divorce.
All of this might have been a private matter going public in a messy way, except that Caroline specifically mentions abuse in her latest video. There are no specifics around what she meant by that, but it’s the kind of claim that sparks alarm bells. As such, the Giants have released a statement, saying they’re aware of the allegations.
“We are aware of these serious allegations,” the Giants said in the statement. “We have been in contact with MLB. These type of allegations fall under their jurisdiction and we won’t be commenting further.”
Giants manager Bob Melvin was also asked about Hjelle’s situation before Saturday’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
“Obviously, we’re aware of it,” Melvin said. “He told me about it last night. We talked to MLB. At this point, it’s in their jurisdiction right now, so I really can’t comment on it further.”
Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have a joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy that says the Commissioner’s Office will investigate all allegations of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse involving members of the baseball community.
Hjelle was charged with the loss in Friday night’s 7-5 loss to the Red Sox, giving up the go-ahead home run. The 6’11” right-hander has a 4.66 ERA with seven strikeouts over 9 ⅔ innings on the season.