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NBA Star Dwight Howard recently celebrated winning an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in October. After such professional success, Howard is celebrating a major personal milestone. The NBA big man revealed that he’s married now.
The 34-year-old quietly tied the knot with fiancée Te’a Cooper after revealing their engagement last year. The 23-year-old is also a basketball star, playing in the WNBA as a rookie this year for the Los Angeles Sparks.
Howard revealed his marital status during an interview with the podcast The Rematch released earlier this week when sharing his hopes that he will be able to remain in Los Angeles with the Lakers.
“I would definitely love to come back and play for the Lakers,” he said. “My wife plays for the Sparks, so it would be great for both of us to still be in the same city and play.”
When asked how married life is, Howard said Cooper has changed him for the better.
“You know what? I love it. I absolutely love it. It’s new for me. I never had a situation like that but I’m very happy,” he said. “It’s really just brought more peace, more happiness. Also, it just changed my life. When you have a really great woman behind you, on your side, it just seems to make everything better. So I’m very grateful for her and how she’s just been like my rock and my foundation.”
He said the couple have a great time together and try and push each other to be their best.
“We’re like twins. It’s just crazy. We definitely enjoy each other’s company,” he said. “She pushes me to be a greater person. I just push her to reach new heights. She’s doing such an amazing job. Just trying to be there for her in every way that I can.”
And the duo do pretty much everything together, which works out because they do the same kind of work and have the same kinds of interests.
“Work out together, eat together, cook together, pray together. We try to do as much things as we can together. It’s really good. I enjoy it,” he said.
“Women are winning right now, so it’s like, why not have a great woman by your side? They’re going to lead you in the right direction,” he added. “I tell people all the time, the man might be the head of the household, but the body, the neck, the head can’t turn without the neck. My wife, I listen to her voice and the things that she’s saying and the directions we want to move in. She’s just been awesome and I’m very thankful for her.”
While Howard has made plenty of time for his wife, this good news comes after he was put on blast by his son, Braylon, as well as Braylon’s mother, former Basketball Wives star Royce Reed, for allegedly being an absentee father. He has denied those claims. Reed simultaneously called out Cooper, who had a misunderstanding via text with Howard that he accidentally exposed on Instagram Live during championship celebrations.
“Imagine it being one of the happiest moments/days of your life and someone who’s supposed to be your sanity and celebrate with you comes at you with some childish DRAMA for all the world to see,” she wrote about Cooper.
The WNBA star would only respond subliminally, posting photos of herself with Howard and the caption “Nanana boo boo.” She also shared video of herself reciting Drake lyrics about “beefing with bums.”
Reed would reply by implying that Cooper, who as we mentioned is 23, is a child.
“My bad, I forgot she was a child,” she wrote. “Make sure to tell your dad to take care of your siblings,” referring to Howard.
While Reed and the other mothers of his five children likely will have thoughts about his marriage, he’s certainly floating on cloud nine.
