Miami Heat Legend’s Public Comment on Shaquille O’Neal’s Divorce With Ex-Wife Shaunie That Was Forgotten By Many

Shaquille O?Neal has lived a full life and has enjoyed it to the fullest. But there was a time when he was struggling with his personal life. His marriage with Shaunie was not as smooth as he would have wanted. Shaquille and Shaunie O?Neal split in 2010 and divorced after 7 years of marriage.

O’Neal has often reminisced about their time together. He has always admitted that if he could go back in time he would do many things differently. They spent some happy times together but it did not end smoothly as even in separation they were uncertain about their relationship for about 3 years.?

Shaq and Shaunie first decided to separate in 2007. On September 5, 2007, after nearly 5 years of their marriage, Shaq wanted to separate. He was a Miami Heat player at the time. The news of the apparent separation and eventual divorce was everywhere, because of the magnitude of Shaq’s stardom.

Also read: Divorced Shaquille O?Neal Perfectly Sums Up Current Relationship Status With Ex-Wife Shaunie in 2 Words

His head coach at the time and Miami Heat legend Pat Riley was shocked and disappointed that their relationship had taken this turn. He was ?devastated? after hearing the news of the split of the couple. ?I’m really saddened by the news,” Pat Riley said in a radio interview on 790 the Ticket. “But he will work it out ? they will work it out, as most people do.”

The story of Shaquille O?Neal and Shaunie O?Neal

Shaq first met Shaunie, a film marketer, when he joined the Lakers from Orlando Magic. In 1996, the two met and started dating soon after that. In 2000 after more than 2 years of dating, the couple welcomed their first child together. Then in December 2002, Shaq and Shaunie got married. The couple wed in an extremely exclusive event. However, fast forward to 2007, they had issues with each other which made them reflect on what they had.

After Shaq filed for divorce in 2007, the couple thought about separation but instead, they tried to sort things out. And they actually did. Shaunie and Shaq admit at the time they could even remember why there was a divorce filing. But their separation was imminent, unfortunately. In 2010, the couple confirmed their divorce.

WATCH THIS STORY: When did Shaq get divorced?

“You know when you get older, you try to think about the mistakes that you made that could have been avoided. Divorce is definitely one of them,” the basketball legend said when reflecting on his past with Shaunie. Shaq has often said that it was all him and accepts his faults in their marriage. This maturity and acceptance is probably the reason why even after a topsy turvy end to their relationship there are no bad vibes but only good words between the two.