Source: Megan Briggs / Getty
Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t want his sons to fumble the great loves of their lives like he did.
Also known as Shaq, the 51-year-old shared the important love lessons he’s given his sons during the first episode of singer Monica Denise’s MoTalk Radio podcast.
Shaq and his ex-wife Shaunie Henderson share two sons, Shareef and Shaqir, and two daughters, Amirah and Me’arah. The 7-foot-1 NBA All-Star also helped raise Shaunie’s son, Myles, from a previous relationship. The former athlete turned entrepreneur-philanthropist shares his eldest child, daughter Taahirah, with his former girlfriend, Arnetta Yardbourgh.
When speaking with his male children, the basketball champion emphasizes the importance of men implementing “PPL” with the important women in their lives.
“Protect, provide and love,” the NBA Hall of Famer stated. “Some men can only offer two, for whatever reason, but I’m going to teach you how to offer all three. And that’s what I try to do.”
Shaq said his PPL approach doesn’t falter because Arnetta and Shaunie aren’t romantically in his life anymore. The former athlete said, “Even though I don’t have a relationship with the women that I let get away, I will always PPL — protect, provide and love. Whatever they need, they get it from me.”
Speaking on his ex-wife in particular, the revered former baller wished Shaunie the best in her marriage to Pastor Keion Henderson — whom she married in May 2022. Shaq noted that while his former spouse has remarried, he’ll always give her the PPL respect, care and love of a wife.
“She’s still my wife, I will always protect, provide, and love for her, married or not. No, it’s just how I was raised. You protect, you provide, and you love your woman.”
Now that he can appreciate the “perfect woman,” Shaq wants his sons to avoid the mistakes he’s made regarding love.
The former athlete opened up about how he romantically wronged the mothers of his children at the top of the podcast. He said immaturity caused him to ruin his relationships with them.
“I had two perfect women, and I messed it up,” Shaq said on MoTalk Radio. “My first one was my baby mother, Arnetta, and then I met Shaunie.”
“Shaunie was also a perfect woman and I messed it up. Yeah, you know, we were young and I was just doing dumb stuff. But, you know, the good thing about our relationship is that they forgave me and we have a good relationship now. But when you ask me about the perfect woman, I had two perfect women and I messed it up. Just by, you know, being dumb.”
Peep the first episode of MoTalk Radio by Monica down below.
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