Former super middleweight champion Laila Ali might have had the privilege of being the daughter of Muhammad Ali. However, she was only one of the nine children he had with six different women which certainly sowed the seeds of animosity between her and her stepsiblings.

In addition, this means that all his children fought for the love and attention of their father and live up to his expectations. Naturally, Laila felt a disconnect from her stepsiblings which she detailed in her book Reach! Finding Strength, Spirit, and Personal Power.

Laila Ali details her fragile relationship with her step-siblings

In the third chapter of the book Reach!: Finding Strength, Spirit, and Personal Power, she revealed that she wasn’t very close with her stepsiblings. Moreover, she stated that some of her sisters and brother had bad opinions of her mother which might have been brewed by their mothers. She also claimed that despite her father’s idea of a happy family, he wasn’t able to bring them together.

“Before my mother took me and my sister and moved out of the mansion in Fremont Place, we were frequently visited by our brothers and sisters. I was not close with my stepsiblings, although later in life my sister Miya and I became friends. As you might expect, some of them had attitudes about my mom, whom they (or their mothers) blamed for breaking up their families. The truth is that Dad clung to the idea of family. Yet for all his gentle sweetness and love of children, he couldn’t make us all come together as one big happy family.”

With the brewing hatred for her stepsiblings, Laila was even compelled to harm her brothers and sisters when they took things a step too far.

Laila reveals she felt compelled to attack her step-siblings

The former middleweight champion then detailed that jealousy had developed among the children. However, she couldn’t handle anything bad being said about her mother which even made her think about physically attacking her stepsiblings.

Read More: Meet Laila Ali’s Children: One Inherited Muhammad Ali’s Iconic Look

“When all the kids got together, everyone fought to be his favorite; I could feel the jealousy in the air. As the youngest child, I was never comfortable with the group; When I heard nasty comments about my mom, I wanted to attack back. I didn’t mind when my stepsiblings went home,” she added.

Despite fitting Ali’s footsteps perfectly, Laila was always under the shadow of her father. Moreover, the pressure of being the daughter of an icon would crack many people, but the former middleweight champion broke all odds and overcame all expectations.

What did you think about Laila wanting to attack her stepsiblings? Let us know in the comments.

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