In November, Erik Spoelstra and his ex-wife Nikki Sapp announced that the couple would be parting ways in a joint statement. The duo had been married for seven years before they decided to call it off. Their love story has started to take shape during their tenure with the Miami Heat. Spoelstra was working as a coach, while Nikki was working as a cheerleader for the team. However, their relationship kicked off only after Nikki left the Heat, culminating in an engagement in 2005. The following July, they took the plunge into marital bliss and share three children: 5-year-old Santiago, 3-year-old Dante, and 1-year-old Ruby.

While the chapter between Spoelstra and Nikki has closed, she is still optimistic about love. In the recent episode of her podcast, The Know with Nikki Spo, she opened up about her perception of love.

Nikki Sapp believes in the power of love

Following the divorce announcement, Nikki found herself in the crossfire of online trolls, who spared no mercy in criticizing her for the decision. However, amidst all the noise, some comments that particularly stood out to her were the ones claiming “love is dead.” For people who have been following their relationship closely and idolizing a love like theirs, an end to Nikki and Erik’s relationship might have challenged their romantic narratives. Nikki hopes to offer some encouragement to them through her words, “Love is not dead. It is not dead for me. It is not dead for you. I want you to believe this on a soul level. Love is not dead for me because it is within me.”

She then turned to a quote from the movie Love Actually to get her point across to her audience, which says, “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.” Even though her romantic journey with Spoelstra has reached its conclusion, she maintains the belief that love manifests in various forms, beginning with self-love. While she flourishes in her role as a YouTube podcaster, the headlines continue to be dominated by the achievements of Miami Heat’s head coach.

Erik Spoelstra signs a historic extension

Acknowledging Spoelstra’s instrumental role in securing two championships for the Miami Heat, Pat Riley and the Heat organization made a historic move by extending an eight-year, $120 million contract to him. His journey with the team began as a video coordinator, gradually advancing through the ranks to roles such as scout and assistant coach. In 2008, he ascended to the position of Pat Riley’s successor and has since served as the head coach for an impressive 16 seasons.

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This groundbreaking deal now positions Spoelstra as the second-highest-paid coach in the league, trailing only behind Gregg Popovich, who commands an annual salary of $19 million.

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