If you spent any time on social media this week, you probably saw a photo of Shaquille O’Neal wrapped up in a warm hug with a woman named Monique Martin. The picture was sweet and pretty harmless, but the internet being the internet, some folks ran straight for the rumor mill. Shaq decided he wasn’t letting that slide.
The whole thing started when Martin posted the photo on Instagram. Shaq, who’s 53 now, stood behind her with his arms around her while they both smiled. Her caption made it sound like he’s a familiar face in her world. “My favorite guy is back in town, and of course he stopped by to see his favorite people!!” she wrote. “Class act always, which is why I love seeing that face pop in!!! 🏀🏀 #shaqattack #myfavoritehuman.”
That should’ve been the end of it. Cute picture, longtime friends, everyone moves on. Instead, a sports media account called 4thQuarterTV reposted it with a spicy caption hinting that Shaq had shown up on “a man’s wife.” That’s when the rumor flame caught a little oxygen.
Shaq saw the post and went straight into the comments with a response that left no room for debate. “Yes my boys wife I can tell yall site is broke and need money nice try this is the reason yall always gonna b a broke blog,” he wrote. “Thanks for making me more money though #dummies.”
And just for good measure, it turns out the woman in the photo isn’t some mystery romantic interest. Monique Martin is married to her husband, Ryan Rackleff, and the two share three sons. She even chimed in under her own post, talking about Shaq like a longtime family friend. “He stops by often to check in on us,” she said, calling him “the biggest baby ever.”
Shaq’s personal life tends to stir up attention whether he wants it or not. He was married to Shaunie O’Neal from 2002 to 2011, and the two share four kids: Shareef, Shaqir, Amirah, and Me’arah. He also helped raise Myles, Shaunie’s son from a previous relationship, and has a daughter, Taahirah, with his former girlfriend Arnetta Yardbourgh.
Earlier this year, he had to swat down a different round of gossip after being spotted at the 21st birthday party of OnlyFans model Sophie Rain. A TikToker claimed people were upset that Shaq showed up, which led Shaq to jump into the comments again. “I don’t [draw] that young, but I will date your mom and give u a brother,” he wrote. TMZ reported he also left a few other fiery comments like, “Stop tryna create rumors don’t make me slap you dude.”
Shaq has been open about where he stands on relationships these days. On Angel Reese’s “Unapologetically Angel” podcast, he said he’s probably “gonna end up alone,” mostly because modern dating feels exhausting to him. “Because y’all be making rules up as you go along,” he said. He still stands firm that looking at something on his phone isn’t the same as cheating. “It’s not. I just don’t understand that.”
