Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra announced that he and his wife, Nikki Sapp, have decided to divorce after seven years of marriage. The pair was married in 2016, and they have three children together: Santiago, 5, Dante, 3, and Ruby, 1.
Sapp, 36, is a former middle school teacher and a Florida native. She previously worked as a dancer for the Heat from 2005 to 2008 while simultaneously pursuing her art history degree at Florida International University.
She met Spoelstra while working with the Heat, and the two began dating after she left the team. The two were seen together publicly for the first time in 2013, became engaged in 2015 and were married in July of the following year.
In addition to her time as a teacher and with the Heat, Sapp also served as director of the Guy Hepner Contemporary Art Gallery in California, and she’s currently a podcaster. She launched “The Know” podcast in 2021, and has been releasing episodes consistently since. On her website, Sapp describes herself as an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
“Nikki Spoelstra is an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, a mother of two boys and soon-to-be mom to a baby girl, a wife, a dog-mom, and a former Teacher of the Year,” her bio reads. “Nikki established The Know Podcast in 2021 to highlight stories of tenacious women. She is passionate about the arts, giving back to the community, and physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. Nikki and her family live in Coral Gables, Florida.”
Going through a divorce is never easy, but Spoelstra and Sapp seem to have reached the decision amicably, and the pair has pledged to remain committed to co-parenting their three children.
“We have made the difficult yet amicable decision to jointly file to formally end our marriage,” the pair wrote in a joint statement issued to the Miami Herald. “We are both grateful for our relationship and remain fully committed to co-parenting our children and continuing to make them our shared priority. We appreciate everyone’s support as we move to the next stage of our lives and thank you for respecting our family’s privacy.”
Spoelstra, 53, is in the midst of his 16th season as the head coach of the Heat. He has led the franchise to six NBA Finals appearances and two championships during his time with the team.
He is the winningest head coach in Heat history, both in the regular season and playoffs, and he’s still in the process of writing his legacy. He was named NBCA Co-Coach of the Year for the 2016-17 NBA season, and he was named one of the top 15 coaches in NBA history during the league’s 75th season.
So far this season, the Heat sit at 10-8, which is good for seventh in the Eastern Conference. They have two straight games coming up against the Indiana Pacers, who are currently sixth in the East.
If Miami can take care of business in those contests, it will be able to move up in the standings. Both games will take place at Kaseya Center, so the Heat should have an edge.