Shaquille O’Neal Didn’t Cheat During Marriage to Shaunie, Comedian Hilariously Claims Despite Raw Confession

Chico Bean flew all the way to Miami during Thanksgiving week and appeared on The Big Podcast for a reason – vengeance. Shaq apparently got so handsy with him on Wild ‘n Out that the comedian roasted, dragged, and scorched the giant the entire show. But he drew the line at the NBA legend’s past relationships. Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie Henderson made no secret that their marriage was not ideal, mostly because of Shaq’s infidelity. Over a decade since their marriage ended, Chico Bean is trying to salvage a little bit of Shaq’s rep.

Born Anthony Bean, the funnyman is a native of Washington DC. Talking about his hometown and its representative NBA team took a wild turn when Chico exposed Shaq’s post-game shenanigans when he was on his turf.

“I know you’ve [O’Neal] been famous since the late 80s. You didn’t came through the city back when it was still the city…” Bean said, referring to when DC was a culture in itself. Shaq even agreed about the ‘Chocolate City’ culture. But Bean proceeded to say, “I’m sure… you had … some fun in the Chocolate City. You come and dunk on the Wizards and then go out and mess with a woman that’s 4’11, I already know.”

Before we and Shaq could process the bomb Bean just dropped, Bean cushioned it with, “But not when you was married, before that.” And he implied he didn’t want to get Shaq in any trouble 14 years after his marriage ended. “I don’t know if you can still get hit with them alimony payments, that he wasn’t doing s–t when he was married. Before then and after then, freaky a-s… God.”

Shaq laughed it away and quickly moved on to the next segment. But it’s a little too late for Chico Bean to save anything.

Did Chico Bean get Shaquille O’Neal in trouble with Shaunie?

Shaquille O’Neal admitted in his 2011 memoir, Shaq: Uncut, that he was far from the best husband during his marriage to Shaunie from 2002 to 2011. On a previous episode of The Big Podcast, Shaq called himself a “serial cheater.” Shaunie also confirmed several instances of discovering Shaq’s infidelity in her 2024 memoir, Undefeated.

It’s not clear if there’s any truth to Chico Bean’s story or if it’s a punchline. He either could’ve been referring to when the Orlando Magic and a rookie O’Neal played against the erstwhile Washington Bullets, or when Shaq was in LA as he and Shaunie had been dating since 1999 during his Lakers era.

O’Neal played against the Wizards when he was with the Heat too, and at that time, the gossip about Shaq cheating was getting to Shaunie. In 2007, Shaq filed for divorce but withdrew it when they reconciled. Past his prime with the Phoenix Suns, Shaq did a one-handed dunk on the Wizards on January 26, 2009. It was around that season, as per Shaunie’s book, that she had confirmed that O’Neal had not ended his affairs. Later that year, she filed for divorce and it was finalized in 2011.

If Chico Bean is afraid of the implications this could have on Shaq’s alimony to Shaunie, he need not worry. A watertight prenup protected Shaq’s assets. Shaunie confirmed she didn’t have much other than her savings to go by till she built a fortune off Basketball Wives.

Despite the tough financial situation, she refused any spousal support from Shaq, though he offered. However, O’Neal reportedly paid $10,000 in child support for each of their five kids. It doesn’t appear that Shaunie would go for back support for any reason at all.