Boxing legend Mike Tyson turns 60 today, and it’s safe to say that the former undisputed heavyweight champ hasn’t had the easiest of rides when it comes to love
Mike Tyson’s love life has been pretty Rocky over the years (pardon the pun).
These days, the heavyweight boxing legend is all loved up with his wife Lakiha Spicer, whom he married in 2009. Mike has been married three times, and dated some rather famous women during his life.
Before that, there was Robin Givens, who he married 11 months after their first date and who Iron Mike once caught with Brad Pitt. After that he was married to Monica Turner, who was there when he was sent to prison for three years for rape.
It’s Mike’s 60th birthday today, so the Daily Star has taken a closer look at his turbulent love life and the women closest to him throughout his fame….
Robin Givens (1988-89)
Tyson and actress Robin Givens married just 11 months after their first date, when the boxer was at the height of his fame. According to the man himself, the hastily arranged wedding came after Givens announced she was pregnant.
Mike had already splashed the cash by forking out £3million for a swanky New Jersey pad for her and her mum, along with another £6.5m into a bank account.
But shortly after they were engaged, the Head of the Class actress told Tyson that she had a miscarriage. Soon after, Givens filed for divorce, although the pair continued to see each other.
Then came the time when Tyson caught her in bed with Hollywood hunk Pitt after the pair had started dating. “Dude, don’t strike me,” Pitt allegedly said as he was faced with the fierce heavyweight, “don’t strike me.”
“You had to see the look on his face,” Tyson wrote in his book. “He looked like he was ready to receive his last rites. He also looked stoned out of his gourd.”
Naomi Campbell (1989-1990)
Mike dated none other than iconic supermodel Naomi Campbell at the end of the 1980s. According to his former manager, Rory Holloway, they first crossed paths at a New York party and sparks flew immediately.
In his book Taming the Beast: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson, he wrote: “I was there to keep Mike out of trouble, doing my usual babysitting job, and when I looked over, he was talking to this girl. I had to rub my eyes. It was Naomi Campbell.
“Mike says he’s got to use the restroom. Next thing, Naomi’s following him and I’m outside holding their drinks. Guests are walking up and I’m telling them, ‘Bathroom’s taken.'”
It would seem that the pair had a pretty chaotic relationship. The retired boxer said of their romance: “The next thing I knew, we were dating. We couldn’t keep away from each other. She was a very passionate, physical kind of person. We actually had a lot in common.”
He added: “We fought a lot. I was always with other girls and she didn’t like that. I don’t think we were meant to be in a great love affair but we were two people who really liked being around each other. She was so focused on her career. She was just an awesome strong-willed person.”
Monica Turner (1997-2003)
Eight years later Tyson married for a second time, this time to doctor Monica Turner. The pair stayed in touch after meeting at a party thrown by Eddie Murphy in 1990 and their romance blossomed when Tyson was serving time inside.
She visited him every couple of weeks in jail after he had been convicted of raping 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant Desiree Washington in 1992. After he was released they moved in together in Maryland but got divorced after Turner claimed adultery four years later.
They have two children together – Rayna and Amir.
Lakiha Spicer (2009-present)
Tyson puts his new found calm demeanour partly to his current wife, Lakiha ‘Kiki’ Spencer. The couple have been married for more than 10 years and started dating in the early nougthies after being introduced by boxing promoter Dom King.
But their time together has not always been easy. Cheating rumours were confirmed by Tyson in an interview on rapper T.I.’s ExpediTIously podcast, where he claimed he had only been faithful in the last two years.
Kiki has also had her own problems though, firstly after being sentenced to six months in federal jail for defrauding £60,000 from a company owned by her father.
She actually served time while being pregnant with Tyson’s child but helped him banish his drug addiction when she was released.
“I’m very happy me and my wife got together, because I don’t know how I would have survived out there”, he told US magazine People.
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