I’ve always believed that most relationships breakdown because of men, however most men blame women. In this case Shaquille O’Neal admits that it was he who caused his 2011 divorce.
Shaq, 50, recently appeared on “The Pivot Podcast” and placed the blame for his split from his ex-wife, Shaunie, on himself.
“I was bad. She was awesome,” Shaq admitted.
“It was all me. We don’t need to talk about what I was doing, but I wasn’t protecting her and protecting those vows. Sometimes you live that double-life and get caught up. I’m not going to say it was her. It was all me.”
He kept reiterating that he put the blame on himself.
“She did exactly what she was supposed to do,” the NBA Hall of Famer continued. “Take care of the kids. Take care of the house. Take care of 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. But as I get older and you dwell on situations, it was all me.”
He was also candid about what he lost.
“The best feeling for me was coming home and hearing 5-6 different voices,” he said. “Don’t matter if I miss 15 free throws and we lost. They don’t care about that.”
Shaquille O’Neal and wife Shaunie at the 2007 ESPY Awards. Kodak Theatre, Hollywood, CA. 07-11-07 – Shutterstock
He said he was just being “greedy.”
“I had the perfect situation,” he said. “Wife was finer than a mug. Kept giving me babies. Still finer than a mug. I had it all. I don’t make excuses. I know I messed up. When that d-word happened — I don’t like to use that word — I was lost. 76,000 square foot house by yourself. Lost. No kids. Go to the gym. Nobody’s playing. You go to their room, nobody’s there.”
The pair, who tied the knot in 2002, have five children together: Myles, 24, Shareef, 22, Amirah, 20, Shaqir, 19, and Me’arah, 15. Shaquille also has a daughter, Taahirah, 25, with his ex Arnetta Yardbourgh.
Shaunie O’Neal, 47, is an executive producer of VH1’s “Basketball Wives” series. She and Shaq married in 2002. The couple separated in 2007. While they had a reconciliation at that time, Shaunie filed for divorce in 2009 and it was finalized in 2011. They had four kids together, and each have another from previous relationships.
Shaq still takes great pride in being financially responsible for providing for his children.
