Shaquille O’Neal took ‘new year, new me’ very seriously. In about a year, he’s changed his stance on relationships. It got a bit dramatic in 2025 when he declared eternal solitude and joked about relationship rumors. Now, 15 years since his divorce from Shaunie Henderson, the ‘Big Bachelor’ is open to another trip down the aisle.

It’s worth noting he made this known on a recent stop at Houston, where his ex-wife now resides with her current husband, Pastor Keion Henderson, and leads the Houston Lighthouse Church. Shaq’s got roots in San Antonio and a residence in Dallas, but spoke about his connection to Houston with Fox 26’s Jade Flury.

In that candid conversation, Flury asked the 53-year-old Hall of Famer about his love life. In typical Shaq fashion, he joked about being ‘married to himself.’ He had been joking about this or making up a minimum of three fictional wives throughout 2025. But something has shifted in his outlook on a future partner.

For once, Shaq said he’d “probably get married soon.” That’s a rare departure from his usual guarded stance on his private life. He even described what he’s looking for in Wife #2.

“I think a lot of people put the word ‘qualities’ on it. Just want her to be nice. Okay, personality, that’s what matters. Just nice,” he explained.

He’s also containing his expectations as he believes being too picky isn’t good for romance. “You want somebody that’s gonna be nice and somebody that’s gonna treat you with honor and respect. That’s it. It’s all you want. ‘I want this, I want that’ never works out.”

With that being said, he tried to shoot his shot with Jade Flury. No luck there. But Shaq is keeping his options open.

Shaquille O’Neal’s relationship opinions evolved in 2026

Shaquille O’Neal was previously married to Shaunie, nee Nelson, from 2002 to 2009. Their divorce was finalized in 2011 and they have co-parented five kids (Shaq is a dad of six).

O’Neal was honest that he wasn’t the best husband, and his infidelity was an open secret. He held a lot of regret over being a bad husband but they were a united front in public, visible especially when their son Shareef went through open-heart surgery in 2018.

Their relationship was once again in the spotlight through Shaunie’s 2024 memoir, Undefeated, where she admitted she never truly loved Shaq. The big guy responded directly online, saying, “I understand. I wouldn’t have been in love with me either.” His kids also comforted him under that.

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Since then, Shaq’s relationship status has been a hot topic. After joking about it for a while, he told his mentee Angel Reese a year ago, “Probably not [getting married]. I’m going to end up alone, I already know.” He mostly blamed it on everyone being picky about what they want in a partner.

That spawned the oddest discussion about Shaq’s personal life. He’d go on several interviews, dismissing the notion of dating and marriage. It appears he’s got a new look about 2026 and he might just be open to a second shot at marriage.