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Divorced Shaquille O’Neal Snubs Journalist Over “Infidelity” Question in Visibly Uncomfortable Situation

Published 05/14/2022, 11:30 AM EDT

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Shaquille O’Neal and his marriage with Shaunie ended in heartbreak and tragedy. The former NBA legend has himself admitted several times that he was in the wrong and has expressed regret on how things ended.

He married Shaunie Nelson in 2002. She ended things with him in 2009, and their divorce was finalized in 2011 citing irreconcilable differences. Since then, they have been co-parenting their kids and have been able to maintain their friendship.

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He is very open and frank about how and why the marriage ended. “Big” Shaq was asked about this again by Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks. He said, “ You know the rules of marriage. I broke it all. We don’t need to discuss what I was doing because you opened all rooms. I was bad, I was the worst and she did the right thing”.

He ended up not answering the specifics. It ended up being a little awkward both for Taylor and Shaq. Rooks did pivot it nicely to a general conversation about marrying the right person. She did not approach this topic anymore.

Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie

via Imago

Shaquille O’Neal has talked about the reasons why this relationship broke up in multiple other places. He told the Pivot Podcast, “I’ve never talked about this, and I’m glad you guys asked because I don’t mind talking about this, but I was bad. She was awesome. She really was. It was all me.” Of course, then too, he didn’t go into the details of it.

He continued saying, “She did exactly what she was supposed to do and gave me beautiful kids, take care of the house, take care of the corporate stuff. It was just all me. Sometimes, when you make a lot of mistakes like that, you can’t really come back from that.

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Shaunie and Shaq have since then had relationships with other people. Shaunie had announced her engagement to pastor Keion Henderson after they first began dating in February 2020. Shaq is in a relationship with actress Annie Illonzeh. Yet, both of them are cordial with each other and enjoy time with their kids.

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Did you feel Shaq was honest enough about his life? What do you like about him? Tell us in the comments below.

 

 

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Written by:

Aditya Kar

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Aditya Kar is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. A holder of Bachelors and Masters degrees in History, he has been a fan of the NBA since 2011. He has a very keen interest in the stories that define the league and the sport.
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