When Shaquille O'Neal openly admitted to cheating on his wife: "Choosing to be with some of those women, well, that’s on me"

Shaquille O'Neal is a man of many talents. Thanks to his impressive basketball skills, Shaq ended up being one of the most dominant NBA players of all time. Unfortunately for Shaq, his personal life wasn't as glorious.

The Hall of Famer revealed some interesting details about his life in his book, "Shaq Uncut: My Story" which was published in 2011. He openly admitted to cheating on his wife.

“At one time my ex-wife Shaunie and I were happy, but I admit it, I was a guy with too many options," O'Neal wrote in his book.

"Choosing to be with some of those women, well, that’s on me. In my mind, I never did it disrespectfully, but obviously I shouldn’t have done it at all,” Shaq wrote.

Shaquille O'Neal married Shaunie in 2002. At the time, the 7-foot-1 center was at the peak of his career and was coming off a three-peat with the LA Lakers. Unfortunately for Shaq, his marriage lasted only seven years.

Shaquille O'Neal admitted that he wasn't a great partner

Thanks to O'Neal's dominance, the LA Lakers were one of the best teams in the early 2000s. The 330-pound center was a force to be reckoned with and was almost unstoppable.

In LA, the legend was too focused on basketball to maintain his relationship with Shaunie, which resulted in a divorce.

"I had things to do. I was trying to win, trying to make some money. I admit I wasn’t the best partner. I just didn’t know how," O'Neal revealed in the book.

The basketball legend won four championship rings during his career (Image via Getty Images)

Despite winning four championships in his career, Shaq has expressed his regret for losing Shaunie numerous times.

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In 2007, less than five years after their marriage, O'Neal filed for divorce, but the couple reconciled and the divorce was withdrawn. However, this did not last long as Shaunie filed for divorce again two years later, which ended their marriage.

Do Shaq and Shaunie have any kids?

Shaquille O'Neal and Shaunie have four kids together. Their oldest child is Shareef O'Neal, who currently plays for the NBA G League Ignite and is attempting to follow in his father's footsteps.

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Shareef O'Neal is the oldest child of Shaquille and Shaunie (Image via Getty Images)

Almost two years after Shareef's birth, the couple welcomed their second child, Amirah. Shaqir O'Neal, their third child, was born in April 2003, while Me'arah O'Neal was born in May 2006.