Former Tight End Shannon Sharpe worked incredibly hard to reach where he is today. Through the years, he has been very vocal about his humble beginnings and how he had to struggle big time even for basic necessities, before making it big in the NFL. However, Sharpe confessed a little while ago that he was so consumed in making football his priority that at 55 years of age, he sits alone with no one to share his success with. This probably resonated with NBA’s Shaquille O’Neal who himself went through a dark, lonely phase when he used to live in a 76,000 sq ft mansion without his wife and kids.
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O’Neal recently shared a reel on his Instagram story in which Shannon was seen admitting that his hunger to be the absolute best on the field, resulted in him being a terrible boyfriend. The star analyst accepted that at the end of the day, everything that he has, carries no meaning, as he is devoid of a partner who could have made it all worthwhile.
Shaquille O’Neal shares Shannon Sharpe’s moving message about marriage & companionship
While having a chat with former receiver Chad Johnson on ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast a few months back, Shannon had accepted that things would have been better for him, if he had married someone when he was younger. “I would’ve loved to get married earlier in my career,” Shannon claimed.
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“My career was the most important thing. So, I was no good. I would’ve been a terrible father. I probably was a terrible brother, a terrible son. I definitely was a terrible boyfriend because football was the most important thing. I was consumed with that,” Sharpe had added.
The former TE went on to claim that in the last few years, he has realized that all that he has accumulated by being incredibly successful in his career, doesn’t really mean anything as there is no one to share it with. Shaq, who shared the video on his Insta story in which Shannon uttered the powerful words, probably connected with the NFL star more deeply than anyone else, as he himself felt extremely lonely in his luxurious mansion, when his wife and kids weren’t there with him anymore.
Shaquille O’Neal admitted feeling lonely in his grand mansion
Shaq, during an appearance on The Pivot podcast last year, had claimed that he regrets parting ways with his wife Shaunie Nelson. Moreover, the gentle giant had gone on to admit that he messed up big time when he was married, which ultimately landed him in a state where he had no one to share his hauntingly big mansion with.
“I don’t like to use the D (depressed) word, but I was lost. 76,000 square-foot house by yourself, lost. No kids… I go to the gym and their rooms, nobody was there,” Shaq had stated. The NBA legend and his wife first separated in 2007, but soon reconciled. However, in 2009, Shaunie filed for divorce citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’
Needless to say, O’Neal still misses his former wife. On the other hand, Shannon surely misses having a companion as the spotlight slowly drifts away from him. However, it is praiseworthy that instead of hiding this aspect of their lives, the two athletes came out in the open to address them, inspiring people to avoid committing similar mistakes.
