Shaquille O’Neal and his ex-wife Shaunie O’Neal have four children together: daughters Amirah and Me’arah, and sons Shareef and Shaqir. Additionally, Shaquille has a daughter named Taahirah from his previous girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh, and he also has a stepson named Myles from Shaunie’s previous relationship.
Despite their separation, Shaquille continues to co-parent her children and maintains strong relationships with both of her ex-partners. In an episode of The Pivot Podcast, he expressed his commitment to protecting, providing for, and loving his children forever.
Shaquille is known for spoiling his children during Christmas and calls himself “Shaq-a-Claus”. He mentioned in an interview with Mila Kunis on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he gets everything they want.
However, Shaquille waited to support her children in their careers until they had proven their abilities. He expected them to put in a lot of effort and emphasized the importance of resumes, business plans, and the numbers that support their business. He believes in meritocracy rather than nepotism.
Shaquille also hopes that his children will continue what he started and contribute to the generational wealth he has built throughout his career. He praised his children’s mothers in an interview, acknowledging their strength and the work they do.
In the same interview, Shaquille talked about his favorite and worst moments spent with his children. Coming home every day and hearing their voices was the best moment for him, while the worst was when they broke up and were no longer together every day.
Taahirah shared a now-deleted picture of herself and her father, Shaquille O’Neal, at the start of his show “Shaq” on November 16, 2022. She expressed her honor to be involved in the project and reminisced about walking her first red carpet with her best friend at the premiere of his HBO documentary series the previous night.
Shaquille’s stepson, Myles, is no stranger to the entertainment industry. He was born in 1997 when Shaunie gave birth to him and subsequently adopted Shaquille’s last nаme. As a young boy, Myles walked runways and appeared on TV shows. In 2010, he made his TV debut on his mother’s reality show, “Basketball Wives,” and three years later, he appeared on “Shaunie’s Home Court,” his family’s program. At the age of 21, Myles made his runway debut at Milan Fashion Week in the Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2018 show.
Myles also enjoys DJing, which has brought him closer to Shaquille. Shaquille mentioned in an interview with PEOPLE in August 2023 that Myles assists him in creating live setups for DJ Diesel, his stage persona. They even trade songs and practice together. Shaquille reminisced about buying Myles his first DJ set and allowing him to figure it out on his own, which sparked Myles’ interest in the medium.