- Mike Tyson is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time
- The Brooklyn native served three years in prison for rape
- He shares 6 children with three women and has been married thrice
Mike Tyson has been having a bit of a renaissance. In June 2023, the former heavyweight champion of the world was awarded the Belgium Golden Gloves (known locally as “Gant d’Or”) at a gala event in La Louviere, Belgium. The honor commemorates a person’s standing through the sporting and cinema worlds, with Mike being only the third international personality to receive it, behind two French film stars.
“[This is] a very important event in Belgium and very important for the Belgian boxing world,” Marc Duvinage, president of the Belgium Golden Gloves, said of the event, per The Ring. “Many champions were present to applaud the living legend of boxing.”
The renewed spotlight on the controversial superstar has newbie fans clamoring to know more about him, including his love life. With three ex-wives and six children with three women, there is a lot to unpack to get the 4-1-1. Let’s get to learning about Mike’s romances, below.
Robin Givens
Robin Givens, born November 27, 1964, was already famous when she met Mike in 1987. The gorgeous actress was the talk of the town as brainy beauty Darlene on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class.
The couple soon married in February 1988, but the honeymoon phase didn’t last long. In an explosive 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters the following September, Robin described the marriage as “torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine.” A month later, she filed for divorce, citing spousal abuse and was granted a temporary restraining order. Mike sought an annulment, accusing her of stealing millions of dollars and manipulating the public. Robin responded by filing a $125 million libel suit for defamation. Their divorce was finalized on Valentine’s Day in 1989.
Robin, who loves to post about her life on Instagram, would go on to expand her family in 1993 when she adopted her first son, Michael “Buddy” Givens. Four years later, in 1997, she exchanged vows with her tennis instructor, Svetozar Marinković. However, their marital bliss was short-lived as she filed for divorce only a few months later. In 1999, she welcomed her second son, William “Billy” Jensen, into the world with her former boyfriend, tennis player Murphy Jensen.
Monica Turner
Monica Turner, who was born in Washington D.C., had a chance encounter with Mike at a party hosted by Eddie Murphy in 1990 at the comedian’s home in New Jersey. An instant connection formed between them, and they remained in contact over the following years.
In fact, during the time when the boxer was imprisoned for charges of rape and misconduct, Monica, the half-sister of Michael S. Steele, the former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, made regular visits every two weeks to sustain their relationship, according to The Washington Post. The outlet also spoke about their relationship during Mike’s sentence, reporting “Turner routinely put aside her arduous pre-medical course work to visit him.”
The couple tied the knot in a private Muslim ceremony in April 1997, sharing their special day with only their closest loved ones. Despite their joyous moments of becoming parents to their son Amir and daughter Rayna, Monica found herself shouldering most of the responsibilities in caring for the children, as Mike’s work commitments kept him away from home for extended periods. Eventually, in early 2002, Monica alleged Mike’s infidelity and extravagant spending habits as reasons to file divorce.
Monica is currently working as a pediatrician in Bethesda, Maryland, and is affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). She maintains a low profile and prefers to stay out of the public eye, as she doesn’t appear to have an Instagram.
Lakiha Spicer
Mike and Lakiha Spicer started dating back in 2000 after Mike’s promoter Don King introduced them to each other after one of Mike’s boxing matches. At that time, Mike was 29 and Lahika only 18. The duo ended up fostering their red-hot romance and decided to tie the knot in 2009, exchanging vows in private ceremony at the La Bella Wedding Chapel at the Las Vegas Hilton.
“I could never really get him out of my system,” Lakiha, who doesn’t appear to have an Instagram, said of Mike to The New York Post in 2012. “He’s the only person I was ever able to fall back in love with several times. Usually when I’m done with someone I’m over it. I’d think I’d have him out of my system and then we’d start talking again and it was just on again.”
Mike shares Milan, as well as son Morocco, with Lakiha, who goes by “Kiki.” When asked about Milan’s rising career in tennis back in 2020, Mike told reporters, “I always explain (to Milan), ‘If you really want to do this, you talk about [Novak] Djokovic, Serena Williams, this is what you have to do. You can’t complain. You have to love it. That’s what discipline is. You hate to do it, but do it like you love it.’”
Meanwhile, the boxer has four other living children: daughter Mikey, 31, with ex Kimberly Scarborough, daughter Rayna, 25, and son Amir, 24, with ex-wife Monica, and son Miguel, 18, with ex Sol Xochitl. He also had a daughter named Exodus with Sol, but she died when she was 4 years old.