Larsa Pippen On Scottie Cheating Speculation: Denies Being Unfaithful

Larsa Pippen, Scottie Pippen — Image Credit: MEGA

Larsa Pippen
PrettyLittleThing office opening party, Los Angeles, USA - 20 Feb 2019 — Image Credit: MEGA

Larsa Pippen, 45, wants to make one thing absolutely clear. She did not cheat on her estranged husband, Scottie Pippen. In fact, the mother-of-four says that she and the former Chicago Bulls player are still “best friends” and that – even though they are in the middle of a divorce – they still love each other and he comes round to her house “every day.” “People want to hate on me thinking I cheated on him… and that’s not even the case,” Larsa tells HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “That’s not the issue. If that was the issue he wouldn’t be at my house every day. We wouldn’t be in the space where we’re in.”

The spotlight was shone on Scottie again recently during the airing of The Last Dance, ESPN’s docu-series about Michael Jordan and the golden era of the Chicago Bulls. Larsa married Scottie, now 54, in 1997. After four children and two decades together, she filed for divorce in 2018. Online trolls have speculated that infidelity led to their break-up and on May 16 Larsa clapped back at a fan who accused her of marrying the NBA legend for “money (superficial things) instead of love.” “Let me give u a quick lesson,” she tweeted. “Marriage is about love, respect, communication, and being able to rely on the person. U think I just woke up and said I’m out. Dude I went thru so much but my sanity and kids come first.”

Larsa expands on that in a heart-to-heart with HL. “I think people have an idea that I’m a certain way and I’m probably not like that,” she says. “I’m very much a lover. I take care of everyone. I take care of my family. I defend everyone. I’m very loyal and I feel like a lot of people want to believe, oh she’s this with Scottie. She’s that with Scottie. And none of it is true. We’re like best friends. We don’t fight about anything. Sometimes people grow apart. It’s not about X, Y and Z. It’s never about another person, if you’re logical. If you have any type of brain capacity you know that it’s not. People don’t just break up for one thing. It’s a number of things.”

Larsa Pippen, Scottie Pippen, Scotty Pippen Jr., Preston Pippen, Justin Pippen, Sophia Pippen — Larsa and Scott Pippen with their four children – Scotty Jr., Preston, Justin and Sophia. (Splash News)

In their case, Larsa says time and distance were factors in the breakdown of their marriage. “There was no negative ill will. We just weren’t together at that time,” she says. “We were living in two different states so we naturally grew apart. That happens.” Larsa says her husband was living in his home state of Arkansas at one point while she was in Miami, Florida. They tried more than once to reconcile but she says “the machine didn’t work the way it used to” anymore.

“I was with Scottie from when I was 21-years-old. The things I needed when I was 21-years-old, I don’t need. I need different things,” she says. “It’s like we’re both in two different places. It’s not a bad thing. We love each other. We had the best 20-year run ever. We have four great kids and we focus on our kids and we take it day by day. But it’s not what people think.”

Larsa – who is based in Los Angeles now – says that she and Scottie co-parent their four kids together (Scotty Jr., 19, Preston, 18, Justin, 13, and Sophia, 11), with ease. Even though they’re no longer a couple, she is one of his fiercest defenders. One of the focal points of The Last Dance was Scottie’s dissatisfaction with his Chicago Bulls contract. On April 19, Larsa tweeted a screengrab listing his career earnings as more than $109 million. “Thx for your concern,” she wrote. “Scottie did ok.”

Asked why she felt the need to publicly address that issue, she says, “I feel like it was a bad time at that moment… He was underappreciated for everything he did for the team and the sacrifices he made to be a part of that team and all the accolades the team had. But, he’s fine. He’s a winner. He’s always going to end up on top… I’m not going to have people [throw] a pity party for him.” Larsa says that she’s “always” going to have Scottie’s “back.” The reason is simple. “I love him,” she says, adding, “I don’t talk negative about anyone that I’ve spent time with. It’s just a bad reflection on who you are and I don’t believe in that.”