Shaquille O'Neal Took His Divorce From His Ex Shaunie Especially Hard

Shaquille O’Neal blames no one but himself for the demise of his marriage to Shaunie O’Neal. “I was bad,” he said on The Pivot Podcast in April 2022. “She was awesome. She really was.” Shaq has previously discussed engaging in extramarital affairs, suggesting they were the reason behind their split. “I admit it — I was a guy. I was a guy with too many options,” he wrote in his 2011 memoir, “Shaq Uncut: My Story,” released shortly after the divorce. 

At the time, Shaq somewhat downplayed his unfaithfulness, writing: “In my mind, I never did it disrespectfully, but obviously I shouldn’t have done it at all.” The four-time NBA champion has since changed his tune, taking accountability for the pain he caused with his actions. “As I get older and dwell on situations, I can honestly say it was all me,” he told The Pivot Podcast’s hosts.

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Shaunie has also been open about the toll Shaq’s infidelity took on her. In a 2017 episode of “Basketball Wives,” Shaunie shared how she found out about Shaq’s affairs — though she didn’t use his name. “Our Blackberries got switched. I went to my baby’s play at school and I was like, ‘Damn, my phone is going off a lot.’ Just girl, after girl, after girl,'” she revealed. Shaq now knows his behavior was the final straw. “When you make a lot of mistakes like that, you can’t really come back from that,” he said.