Shaquille O'Neal shuts down rumors of dating Maria Ozuna Teachey after viral photo

Shaquille O'Neal has addressed rumors circulating on social media that he is the secret new boyfriend of influencer Maria Ozuna Teachey. Earlier on Tuesday, Teachey, who boasts over 200,000 followers on Instagram, shared a picture inviting fans to guess who she was with. 

The photo showed a towering man standing behind her with his hands over her breasts, though his face was obscured. Teachey captioned the post, "Can y'all guess who(se) feet? #loveyou." 

Despite being deleted from her Instagram, the post remained on her Facebook, sparking fan speculation that the mystery man was none other than the 7ft 1ins NBA legend.

"Shaq think we can’t see him," one fan wrote, while another added, "Shaq and his new girlfriend." 

With the post garnering over 14 million views, O'Neal quickly put the rumors to rest, taking to Instagram to write, "Nope not the kid."

He also shared a series of photos humorously striking the same pose as the man in Teachey’s viral picture, further denying the claims. "Is this my girlfriend too? Trust me I’ll let y'all know who my woman is, and by the way, my woman’s name is Shaqrah," he joked.

O'Neal’s feet became a trending topic earlier this year when the former NBA star revealed that he spends around $1,000 on pedicures. 

"I give about $1,000 because I know my feet stink, I know they're ugly, and I like to paint them," he said, adding that he enjoys having "sparkles and designs" to make them look better.

Shaq, now a popular NBA analyst, made headlines last week after a heated exchange with his 'NBA on TNT' colleague Charles Barkley over Caitlin Clark’s rising popularity. 

O'Neal cautioned that Barkley’s defense of Clark could backfire, saying, "As good as Caitlin Clark is, we’ve had a lot of young ladies who have been doing good (before) and not getting props."