There are some dynamic duos that are just so iconic. Bert and Ernie, Batman and Robin, and Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. During the '90s, Michael and Scottie won six NBA championships together playing for the Chicago Bulls. Their friendship has recently soured and part of the reason for that could be the fact that Michael’s son Marcus is dating Scottie’s ex-wife Larsa Pippen.
Michael recently made a comment about the relationship to a photographer in Paris as he was leaving from dinner. The photographer asked if he approved and Michael laughed and said no. It is possible that he was joking, but Larsa felt it made her look like a liar.
Marcus and Larsa addressed the situation in an episode of their podcast Separation Anxiety titled “Father Knows Best.” “You thought it was funny,” Larsa, 49, told Marcus, 32. “I didn’t think it was funny. There is nothing funny about it. I kinda felt like it went everywhere and I was kind of embarrassed.”
Larsa appeared on The Tamron Hall Show in March and made claims that her and Marcus’ families approved of their relationship. She feels like Michael’s comments negated that and made her look foolish. “It literally went everywhere,” Larsa explained. “I think people started to think that online they were saying that I was lying — that I lied and said that our parents are fine because I was doing interviews and saying both of our families are fine.”
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Larsa does not think she lied and wants people to understand that. “When I would say that, I felt like I didn’t embellish that,” she explained. “And I would say both of our parents want us to be happy. I do understand that it’s not awkward for us to be together because it’s us.”
Larsa recognizes how their relationship might be hard for her ex and Michael. “But it probably is awkward for my ex and your dad because they have their own relationship or whatever it was,” the Real Housewives of Miami star went on to say. “I wasn’t a part of that, you weren’t a part of that. So I feel like for them it probably is weird, it probably is weird for your dad. I can’t be mad. I understand.” She later added: “Oh my God, I was traumatized. I was like what are we going to do, people think I lied.”
Marcus took the situation in stride, not stressing out about it like Larsa did. He explained his dad sent him a text about it before it hit the news to let him know it was coming. Michael did not want his son to take it the wrong way.
Marcus believes his dad was joking. “I can only assume my dad, because he loves Cincoro and he drinks tequila all the time, that he was feeling himself a little bit,” Marcus explained. He did not take the incident too seriously.
“Obviously we knew ahead of time because he called me and texted me and wanted to make sure that I didn’t take anything the wrong way but then when the article came out, he texted me again and he never said, ‘hell no,’ and that’s not what the implications were,” Marcus went on to say. He believes his dad approves of the relationship.
“His goal has always been to stay clear of our relationship. Look, at the root of it all is my dad’s relationship with your ex, Scottie,” Marcus mused. “Obviously, we never talk about that and I don’t think my dad wanted to comment on that. There is always that narrative, that rumor that I’m dating you in some sort of way to get back at whatever was said. We obviously talked to both of our parents and we had their approval. I think he was making a joke and it got blown out of proportion, and taken, not out of context because he said what he said, but if you don’t know who my dad is at his core then it could be taken the wrong way.”
Larsa and Scottie were married in 1997. They share four children: Scotty Jr., Preston, Justin, and Sophia. They first attempted separation in 2016 but reconciled until 2018 when Larsa filed for divorce citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce was finalized in 2021, paving the way for Marcus and Larsa’s relationship.
