Shaquille O’Neal has been living in the public eye for 3 decades now, ever since being drafted by the Orlando Magic as the number 1 overall pick in 1992. Almost every single aspect of his life has been documented and if not documented, been reported on over the decades.
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Everything from his investments to his personal life regarding his relationship with his ex-wife, Shaunie O’Neal, has been put forth to the public. Of course, Shaq has a lot to do with this as well as he’s constantly on television and actively partakes in the social media, unlike his fellow retired NBA legends.
Though, one aspect of his life that has remained relatively private has been his romantic life before he met Shaunie O’Neal. Prior to having 4 children with her, he would have his first born child, Taahirah O’Neal, with a woman named Arnetta Yardbourgh.
Shaquille supported Arnetta and his daughter financially but was not given custody
It’s unknown when Shaquille O’Neal and Arnetta Yardbourgh started their relationship but it has more or less been confirmed that they were together when the former was drafted into the NBA in ‘92. They also went to high school together in Texas so their romance could’ve started all the way back when they were teens.
Fast-forward to 1996 and both Shaq and Arnetta welcomed a baby girl, Taahirah, who would be their first born child. However, the two were never married and after O’Neal signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, he would eventually work out a deal.
He had earned $17.4 million with the Orlando Magic up until that point and so he would support his daughter financially while her mother would receive custody of her until she turned 18 years old. Silver lining here is that Shaq was never once prohibited from meeting his daughter and from the looks of reports, he shared quite the healthy relationship with both his daughter and her mother.
Where is Taahirah O’Neal now?
Taahirah O’Neal has been doing quite well for herself as she graduated Magna Cum Laude from Oglethorpe University in 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and her LinkedIn had her pegged as an employee at PepsiCo.
Her job entails her being a social media marketing agent as well as a strategist. Shaq has always taken time out of his life to be there for his daughter when need be, as he was there for her graduation in 2019.
