Any athlete allegedly involved in an extramarital affair is going to be newsworthy. When that affair allegedly involves another athlete’s fiance’, the internet will go nuts dissecting the details.
Case in point: About a year ago, it was revealed that Shaq and his wife, Shaunie, were filing for divorce again. The stories kicked into overdrive when an anonymous source submitted e-mail conversations between Shaq and Gilbert Arena’s fiance, Laura Govan. (How do all these “sources” get their hands on private e-mails, texts, etc.? Hi, Jenn Sterger.)
Laura recently had an interview with Sister2Sister magazine where she finally spoke on “those” rumors as well as why she didn’t participate in Shaunie’s VH1 show “Basketball Wives”:
Her reason for not participating:
“I didn’t want to do it because I’ve never asked to be in the public eye,” explained Laura. “I’m educated. I want to make sure that my children have a role model in the sense of whatever that means to me. I want them to see that mommy is doing things other than being behind daddy, going to games, and being cute.”
Interesting, Laura, but you had no issue referring your sister under those circumstances. She also made a guest appearance in one of the episodes. I guess it was okay because she wasn’t “camera ready.” Per Laura, expect to see Matt and Gloria on the new season of “Basketball Wives”, airing in December.
As for the “Shaq issue,” she denies that anything ever happened between her and Shaq and points the finger at Shaunie O’Neal for running with a rumor that both couples knew was false. “We found out who actually made up the fake emails. Both parties know the truth, and that’s it.”
Hmmm. So, is the implication that Shaunie did it to generate interest in “Basketball Wives” or to gain leverage in her divorce case with Shaq?
The Govan sisters have been accused of targeting athletes. That’s a nice way of saying they’re Jock chasers, AKA Gold Diggers. Laura’s thoughts on that topic:
“I always said I would never date an athlete or entertainer ever. You know, because we grew up around it,” Laura said. “My family has always held their own, and we were always taught to make it on our own, especially as women.”
She met Gilbert while working at a Golden State Warriors basketball camp. He wasn’t “Agent Zero” or the “$100 Million Man” yet.
“I was like, ‘Being an athlete doesn’t impress me.’ I said, ‘If you really want to go out with me, you’ll work for my family.’” Her dad owned a jazz club, and she promised him a date if he worked there.
“That weekend, this boy was taking tickets at the door. People were like, ‘Aren’t you Gilbert Arenas?’” Laura was shocked to see him there. “And then he wouldn’t leave! He was filling salt and pepper shakers and pouring water.”
Although Laura thought he was cute, he had to prove that he was really interested.
“I was in a master’s/PhD program, so as I was finishing my master’s, he would come and sit in the parking lot and wait for me for three hours; I thought, okay, you know what? He’s serious.”
After their first date, which included a movie and a game of tag in the parking lot, they were inseparable. “We were together every day since then. We were just kind of crazy about each other.”
