Shaquille O’Neal making his way out of Orlando after having been lowballed by the Magic was what led to him eventually meeting his future wife, Shaunie O’Neal. Him get to the Los Angeles Lakers saw him bump into Shaunie. The two would instantly form a connection in LA and would go on to date for a multitude of years.
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Eventually, in 2002, the two would get married to one another. They share 4 children together: Shareef, Shaqir, Amirah, and Me’arah. Though, while on the surface they looked to be quite happy while out in public or on the red carpet, their relationship was far from perfect.
A series of cheating scandals revolving around Shaq led to Shaunie eventually filing for divorce from the 4x NBA champion. Shaunie herself admitted to having had an extramarital encounter in the wake of her husband’s cheating ways being made public.
Shaunie O’Neal received $50,000 from Shaquille O’Neal despite having a hit reality TV show
Of course, as it goes with any divorce where a prenuptial agreement wasn’t signed, the person with a significantly higher earning provides financial support to their ex-partner, especially if they built that wealth together.
Shaquille O’Neal paid a total of $50,000 to Shaunie O’Neal following their split: $10,000 in spousal support and $10,000 for each child they shared.
Though, fans at the time were a bit confused as they thought Shaunie didn’t need that much money coming in every single month. This is due to the fact that she created a hit reality TV show called ‘Basketball Wives’.
The premise of the show is quite literally in its title. It’s about the wives of basketball players and how they go about with their daily lives with as little drama as they can. Well, that’s a lie, there’s a lot of drama.
The show has been on air for over a decade and has generated an incredible amount of wealth. So fans, upon hearing that Shaunie, on top of having that kind of a show, was also receiving $50,000 a month, didn’t understand it all too much.
Shaunie O’Neal wanted Shaquille O’Neal to find a wife
Having been married to Shaq for over half a decade, she saw a side to him that no one else in the world has seen. While their marriage wasn’t perfect in the slightest, it clearly left a positive impression on Shaunie.
Enough for her to admit to PageSix recently that she hopes her ex-husband finds a wife. “When I see Shaq with a new woman, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, is this the one. Please let this be the one.’ Like girl, stick in there. You got this”
