Shaq and Wife / SPLITTING UP

Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal wants to divorce Shaunie, his wife of nearly five years. ''The marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken,'' says his petition, filed Tuesday by attorney Ira Elegant.

The O'Neals have four children together -- Shareef, 7, Amirah, 5, Shaqir, 4, and Me'Arah, 1. Shaq has a daughter, Taahirah, and Shaunie has a son, Myles, from previous relationships.

The family lives on Miami Beach's exclusive Star Island. They bought an $18.8 million estate in the summer of '04, at the time of his trade to the Heat. It is for sale -- No. 32 is asking $32 million.

Shaq, 35, and Shaunie, 32, wed Dec. 26, 2002, in a lavish ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Shaq, then with the Lakers, gave Shaunie a ring with 17 carats of diamonds.

The two have a ''Cohabitation/Prenuptial Agreement and Acknowledgment of Property Disclosure and Waiver of Further Disclosure,'' the petition says. A copy of their agreement ''will be filed . . . under seal'' -- if the court allows -- and ``contains extensive provisions providing for confidentiality and non-disclosure.''

In the petition, Shaq refers to the Star Island mansion as ``the former marital home.''

Shaunie, he says, has been ''secretive about her assets . . . particularly with respect to certain properties owned or titled in either [her] name alone or in other entities.'' He wants the court to order Shaunie to give a ''correct accounting of all money, funds, stocks, bonds, and other securities (including bearer securities)'' that she came into during the marriage.

He makes $20 million a year, with three years left on a five-year contract worth $100 million.

Shaunie should be ''primary residential custodian'' of their children -- meaning they'd live with her -- and he should get ''liberal rights of visitation,'' he says.

The O'Neals could not be reached for comment. No word on who represents Shaunie. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Roberto Pineiro has the case.


Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/breaking_sports/story/225735.html