Thanks to outlets like TMZ, there’s an entire industry centered around celebrity gossip. Actors, athletes, politicians, you name it — people want to know every sordid detail about the private lives of public figures. Many celebrities are closely guarded for this very reason, so it’s rare when we hear them voluntarily discuss the details of their personal lives.
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Shaquille O’Neal isn’t your average celebrity though. Throughout his career, he’s been as open, friendly, and outspoken as just about any modern athlete, and on a recent appearance on the It’s Giving podcast, he opened up to host Sarah Fontenot about his love life and what it would take for him to settle down again.
Shaq was married once before to Shaunie Henderson, but the two got divorced after nine years. They had four kids together — Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’arah. Shaunie also had a child from a previous relationship named Myles whom Shaq helped raise.
The pair’s relationship officially ended in 2011, with Shaunie filing for divorce in 2007 and then again in 2009 after the couple reconciled for the first time. She has since remarried, while Shaq has remained a bachelor.
Shaq surprised Fontenot by saying that “of course” he would like to get married again someday, but that he’s scared to. Why? “Because y’all are crazy. Y’all are f***** plum crazy.”
This echoes what he told Angel Reese on her Unapologetically Angel podcast in October when he said that he knows he’s going to end up alone, “because y’all be making up rules as you go along.”
This hasn’t stopped Shaq from looking for love, as he told Fontenot that he’s currently dating four different women at the moment.
Shaquille O’Neal may like the idea of getting married again, but it doesn’t sound like he’s close to doing it
Shaq has been linked to many women since his divorce. He was engaged once, to Nicole Alexander, but they never tied the knot. He seems to be playing the odds by seeing four women at once now, although that doesn’t seem like the best way to find your soulmate.
Shaq’s experience isn’t a unique one for famous athletes, but to be fair, he can’t put all the blame on women for his relationships not working out. His relationship with Kobe Bryant famously went south back in the day after Kobe publicly outed his Lakers teammate for cheating on his wife and paying off women, which just isn’t a good look for anybody.
Later in his interview with Fontenot, Shaq suggested that he would marry “one of those rich Arab princesses right now,” because he could give her everything she needed. He then described those things as “emotional stability, physical stability, and respect.”
Best of luck to the Big Diesel as he looks for love.
