When Shaquille O’Neal revealed how lure of Los Angeles and Miami caused him to ruin his relationships

Former NBA legend and father of six children, Shaquille O’Neal, is currently unmarried.

At 50, Shaq could easily have been in a committed relationship, but the big man has chosen a party life over everything else. Over the years, O’Neal has dated multiple beautiful and famous women and is currently understood to be in a relationship with Nigerian-American actress Annie Ilonzeh.

After being selected as the first overall pick of the 1992 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic, Shaquille O’Neal played eight seasons with the LA Lakers before moving on to the Miami Heat. During a recent interview, Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he was not "programmed" to be in a relationship, especially due to the "lure" of Los Angeles and Miami, the two cities he ended up in after his initial stint with Orlando.

In the video above, O’Neal can be heard explaining his problem:

“I wasn’t programmed to have a relationship. And then when you move to LA, times 10. And then when you go to LA back to Miami, times 20. Everything that was done, everything that was bad that happened, it was all because of me.”

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Shaquille O'Neal has co-founded Majority, an ad agency that will strive for a talent pool that is 75% black, brown, woman and LGBTQ.

"We want to flip that diversity ratio to turn the minority into the majority," said O'Neal, per @WSJ.

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Shaquille O'Neal has co-founded Majority, an ad agency that will strive for a talent pool that is 75% black, brown, woman and LGBTQ.

"We want to flip that diversity ratio to turn the minority into the majority," said O'Neal, per @WSJ. https://t.co/gxfs06iWs3

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Shaquille O’Neal has not been lucky with love

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Shaquille O’Neal, a former Orlando Magic, LA Lakers and Miami Heat player, has been married once, engaged once and dated many other women since the 1990s. He was previously married to Shaunie Henderson, whom he wed in 2002 and divorced in 2010.

Since his divorce, Shaq has been in several relationships. He was engaged to Laticia Rolle in 2016, but the pair broke it off before marrying. The other women in Shaq's life include Annie Ilonzeh (2019 to present), Nicole Alexander (2010 to 2013), Laura Govan (2008 to 2009), Dominica Westling (2007 to 2010), Karrine Steffans (2004 to 2005), Arnetta Yardbourgh (1995 to 1996) and Ananda Lewis. In addition to these relationships, Shaq also had encounters with rapper Trina and actress Cindy Crawford in 1995.

O’Neal seems genuinely smitten with his current girlfriend, 39-year-old actress Annie Ilonzeh. She has appeared in several movies, including "Chicago Fire," "Charlie's Angels," "Till Death Us Do Part" and "General Hospital."

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Dashcam footage captured NBA icon Shaquille O'Neal greeting deputies after stopping to help a woman who crashed her car on a Florida highway.

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Dashcam footage captured NBA icon Shaquille O'Neal greeting deputies after stopping to help a woman who crashed her car on a Florida highway. https://t.co/NHo2ltRuZg

The two are spotted regularly on dates and spending quality time together. While there is little doubt that Shaquille had a memorable NBA and philanthropic career, he will also look to make a significant change in his love life.

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