Fans concerned for Shaq after he reveals how he lost his entire family and 'sounds lonely'

Shaquille O'Neal has opened up about losing his 'whole family' and living alone.

This week, former NBA player Shaq took to his podcast alongside Jason Kelce and dished out some advice on retiring from the sporting world.

The 51-year-old revealed the repercussions of 'a lot of dumba** mistakes' he's made and fans have since spoken out in concern for him.

Jason Kelce plays as an American football center for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL) and is the elder brother of Taylor Swift's new boyfriend, Kansas City Chief's player Travis Kelce.

Jason - aged 36 - revealed to Shaq he's considering retiring from the NFL soon and asked the former professional basketball player for advice while on Episode Eight of The Big Podcast with Shaq.

In a clip from the sit-down, Shaq advises if Jason is really going to retire he should 'accept it' and 'enjoy [his] family'.

Why? Well, the former NBA player goes on to make some heartbreaking reflections.

Shaq continues by noting he's 'made a lot of dumba** mistakes'.

"To where I lost my family and I didn't have anybody," he says. "That’s not the case for you, so enjoy your beautiful wife, enjoy your beautiful kids, and never dwell on what we had. What we had is what we got."

He adds: "You got the ring, people know who you are. Enjoy, because again, I was an idiot, and I’ve talked about it a long time. I lost my whole family. I’m in a 100,000-square-foot house by myself."

And fans of the former basketball player are flocking to social media in concern for the star.

Someone shared the clip to Reddit thread r/BlackPeopleTwitter by u/TheClassyWomanist, quoting a tweet which reads: "I really hope Shaq is seeing a therapist. He sounds so regretful, so lonely."

U/Carleese24 commented: "DAMN....this made me teary eyed man. I'm no way near what these people are, but on a divorce level I get it when my kid is not with me, and you're just there by yourself."

"S**t if big man needs a friend I'll add him to the group chat," u/Amxela said.

U/Nateh8You wrote: "Shaq if you’re reading this, let’s be friends. I don’t need money you can just come chill I’ll make burgers on the grill. Our kids can play together."

However, u/FreeDependent9 added: "Nah it sounds like a person who has perspective and understands the life he's lived and the choices he's made, I'm willing to be he knows who he is now more than before."

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

Topics: Celebrity, Mental Health, Reddit, Social Media, Basketball, NBA, NFL, Money

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.