Who is Dwight Howard's ex-wife, Te'a Cooper? Looking into former Lakers superstar's personal life amid assault allegations

Dwight Howard isn't known to show off his personal life, as he usually presents his basketball life more to the public. However, those who follow him closely know that he was once married to a WNBA player.

Howard has been accused of sexually assaulting a man he met on Instagram. The lawsuit claims Howard attempted to force him to have a threesome and Howard held him against his will as Howard performed oral sex, RadarOline.com reported.

Te'a Cooper dated Howard and became engaged to the former Orlando Magic star in 2019. The couple got married secretly a year later, but their marriage didn't last. The two parted ways in 2021 after fans speculated about their separation due to them unfollowing each other on social media.

Cooper is from Newark, New Jersey, and is 26 years old.

Cooper attended three different colleges. She started her career at Tennessee, where she shot 26.0% from 3-point range and averaged 8.6 points per game in 2015-16. She transferred to South Carolina during her sophomore year but had to sit out for two seasons, the first because of NCAA transfer rules and the second because of injury.

Cooper ended up only playing for one season (2018-19) with South Carolina, averaging 11.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. She capped off her college career in 2019-2020 as a point guard for Baylor, where she bumped up her 3-point percentage to 41.5%.

Cooper was selected 18th by the Phoenix Mercury in 2020 but was cut by the team due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was then pursued by the LA Sparks, where Te'a played point guard. The 5-foot-8 guard played for the Sparks for two seasons before getting released last year.

Now, Cooper is a free agent and is trying to get a WNBA team to sign her. She averaged 8.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg and 1.6 apg with the Los Angeles team.

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Te'a Cooper confirmed her breakup with Dwight Howard via social media

Former LA Lakers center Dwight Howard

Fans started to speculate about the conclusion of Dwight Howard's marriage to Te'a Cooper after the two unfollowed each other in 2021, during the time when Howard was playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Some fans thought that the distance between the two played a huge role in their separation.

Cooper commented on their status after rumors started to go around that the two may have broken up. During one Instagram live session, the WNBA point guard confirmed that they had gone their separate ways.

"No, I do not go out with him." Cooper said. "I’m not with him no more. Leave it alone. I don’t want to see y'all in my comments saying it no more.

"Don’t add me to nothing that have to do with him. It’s over with. It’s adios amigos."