Amid the recent cheating scandals in the entertainment world, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recently opened up about his background as a serial cheater.
In the past month, multiple entertainers from different pockets of media were caught cheating on their significant others. Ned Fulmer of the highly notable Try Guys YouTube channel was seen cheating on his wife with an employee.
Adam Levine, lead singer for Grammy award-winning band Maroon 5 had DMs leaked of him being flirtatious with supermodel Sumner Stroh, a woman who is not his wife. Most recently, Ime Udoka, head coach for the Boston Celtics, was found engaging in an improper workplace relationship with a female subordinate.
To everyone’s surprise, when Shaquille O’Neal discussed the incident on his podcast, The Big Podcast with Shaq, the 50-year-old former professional basketball player shared that he himself has a past of cheating on his partners.
“I was a serial cheater,” the athlete admitted. “It would be crazy and blasphemous for me to get up here and say, ‘Boom, boom, bam.’ I can’t do that.”
However, rather than denouncing the actions of those who were caught in the act, O’Neal was sympathetic. “I know they’re going through a lot because I went through a lot,” he explained. “I refuse to get up here and be like ‘You shouldn’t do this, you shouldn’t have done that. I’m not that guy. I’m real with the situation.”
The moment Shaquille O’Neal realized that cheating was never worth it
Despite these claims, the basketball player took full responsibility for his decision to cheat and the problems that occurred in the aftermath. He relayed, “I was the best at it. I’m not proud of it. I lost my family doing it and I lost valuable and important years with my children from doing it.”
As O’Neal continued, he shared his reason for putting an end to his affairs. O’Neal, who was with his wife from 2002 to 2011, said that it momentarily ruined his relationship with his children.
“The happiest days of my life were coming home and hearing six different people say ‘Daddy’. Happiest days of my life,” he said. “Forget the money, forget the cars, even forget the championships. When I lost those days, I was all the way down. When I lost that from being stupid it killed me.”
