Basketball behemoth Shaquille O’Neal gave an engrossing testimonial about how “lonely” he became after he messed up with his ex-wife, Shaunie, and admitted making career-altering mistakes that temporarily ruined relationships with fellow superstar teammates.
The NBA legend revealed that as a marquee player for the Los Angeles Lakers and one of the most dominant big men who ever played, he was once swallowed up by his own inflated sense of self. This egomaniacal personality bled into the locker room and at home.
“I had the perfect situation,” Shaq bluntly revealed to the hosts of the “Pivot Podcast” about his wife. Shaunie O’Neal has gone on to create, produce and star in the successful reality show, “Basketball Wives,” and is currently engaged to Pastor Keion Henderson.
“Wife was finer than a mug. Kept giving me babies, still finer than a mug — I had it all.”
Shaq and his wife were married in 2002 and had four children together; Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir and Me’arah. The couple separated in 2007. After trying to reconcile for a few years, their divorce was finalized in 2011.
Because the divorce took place just as he was retiring from the NBA, Shaq was forced to live alone in his super-exclusive and mammoth mansion in the Isleworth community outside Orlando, Florida. The pangs of loneliness were especially acute because he had no job, nowhere to go and no family to surround him.
Shaq admits he was the author of this chapter in his life.
“I was lost. 76,000 square-foot house by yourself. Lost.” a more mature Shaq admitted. “I don’t make excuses. I know I messed up.”
The multi-hyphenate businessman, sports show host and philanthropist also admitted his narcissism caused his relationships with two great teammates – first Penny Hardaway in Orlando and then Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles – to erode.
“Big mistake in the Penny relationship. Big mistake in the Kobe relationship,” Shaq said.
“I was arrogant, I was dumb, but sometimes when you do a lot of stuff you don’t wanna work at stuff. Those [are] the only three major regrets that I have.”
Listen to Shaq also discuss his great upbringing with his late stepfather and eventual reconciliation with his estranged father.
