Shaquille O’Neal has been in plenty of relationships over the years, but some important concepts still fly over The Diesel’s head. The Lakers legend had never heard of “emotional cheating” until recently, when a now-former partner accused him of it, and he still isn’t convinced it’s a real thing.
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Shaq claimed that, despite admittedly being a serial cheater, he was not physically cheating on this woman, yet the woman still labeled his inappropriate response to an ex-girlfriend’s text a form of infidelity. He didn’t believe he’d done anything wrong.
O’Neal shared his story with author Gia Casey and her husband, fellow guest DJ Envy, questioning why and how he went wrong. When he asked Gia Casey if emotional cheating was a real phenomenon, the author gave him an answer he wasn’t expecting.
Casey adamantly believes that emotional cheating is real and explained why, in some cases, it can be even worse than physical infidelity. When the Hall of Famer’s ex-girlfriend texted him an unexpected “I love you,” he made the wrong decision as a taken man.
“I was dating a woman one time … I was not cheating, but an ex text me, ‘I love you,’ and I responded, ‘I love you’ back,” O’Neal said. “She said I was emotionally cheating.” Casey was quick to ask for context, but Shaq simply repeated himself, adding, “And she’d pick up the phone and say, ‘Oh, you still love your ex.'”
Adam Lefkoe interjected, explaining that Shaq says, “I love you,” to everyone. But Gia still didn’t believe his response was right, whether he still had feelings for her or not.
“I don’t think that’s emotional cheating. I just think that’s inappropriate,” Casey said.
“But how is it emotional cheating if you don’t know my emotions?” Shaq asked.
“If you’re committed to a woman, and she’s committed to you, those words are only meant for her,” Casey responded. “It’s not meant for anyone else unless it’s your child, your mother…” When O’Neal asked if the same applies to his ex-wife, with whom he shares five children, Casey stressed that it depends on the context.
“If a person randomly texts, ‘I love you,’ it’s not because she was just laying in bed and having those nostalgic moments and decided to send you a text,” Casey continued. “That’s not what happened. She’s sending you a message. It’s very direct. It’s very specific. It’s very short. And if you play into that, then it’s inappropriate.”
Shaq has stuck to his old-school mentality in both his life choices and his relationships. But if the four-time champion hopes to have another lasting partnership with a woman, he’ll have to learn to understand her needs without dismissing them as nonsense.
