Shaq and Hoopz: A looooove story

Shaq has taken Boston by storm, since signing with the Celtics over the summer... Does this mean that Shaq and Hoopz are going to be the new "it" couple around town? The Globe thinks so. They're set to run a story about the pair. Here are some snippets.

How they met... 

Alexander (Hoopz) had met O’Neal a few times, through the Hollywood scene, but hadn’t thought about him much, at least not in a romantic way. It wasn’t until last summer that she was reintroduced to him through a friend. Alexander was visiting her photographer pal, Christopher “Yella’’ Hawkins, in St. Louis, and saw an autographed picture of Shaq on his wall. She told Yella that she had met Shaq and thought he was cool. Yella texted O’Neal that Alexander had said hello. Almost immediately, O’Neal texted Yella back, asking if Hoopz had a boyfriend. Shaq was divorced at that point and was ready for a new relationship. Within a month, Alexander and O’Neal had lined up a dinner date in Las Vegas. She was in town for her birthday; he was there to tape his show, “Shaq Vs.’’ 

More excerpts after the jump

What they like to do in their spare time...

At home in Sudbury, they’re a pretty average couple. Well, they do have a live-in chef and other fancy services, but their lifestyle is surprisingly modest in some ways. They like to go to the Coach Grill down the street. They watch a lot of television.

“She makes me watch things I would never watch — like freakin’ ‘Spartacus,’ ’’ O’Neal said, referring to the Starz network show about Roman gladiators.

When they’re not watching TV, they’re playing games, mostly little ones they invent themselves, on the spot. O’Neal says that when they go to the movies, Alexander takes off running out the door. The first person to the car wins.

“I’m the first girl who can beat him at anything,’’ she says proudly.

You can read the rest here.
I admittedly used to watch lots of reality shows... I'm kind of tired of them now, but I am familiar with Hoopz from Flavor of Love. Out of all the awful women on the show, she was one of the least atrocious and most bearable contestants. I think they make a cute couple. Go Shaq-tus!