Larsa Pippen defends dating married NBA player Malik Beasley

Television personality Larsa Pippen has defended her controversial relationship with still-married NBA player Malik Beasley.

Larsa Pippen and Malik Beasley. Images: Instagram and Getty.

Larsa Pippen is defending dating still-married Malik Beasley, who she insists was separated from estranged wife Montana Yao before they became an item.

“We had spoken about it. It wasn’t a secret. I know a lot of people that are married and exiting,” Pippen, 46, said on Saturday’s episode of Hollywood Unlocked about Beasley and Yao’s separation.

“I’ve played that part. So for me, if you’re not being shady and you’re telling me all your stuff, I’m going to believe you.”

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Yao filed for divorce from the 24-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves player in December. They share one son, 23-month-old Makai.

Larsa was previously married to Chicago Bulls icon Scottie Pippen.

Larsa Pippen and Malik Beasley. Images: Instagram and Getty.

Yao previously accused Beasley of cheating on her with Pippen, which the former star of “The Real Housewives of Miami” denied.

“A lot of people are not happy in their situations and they don’t want to jump ship until they see someone they like,” Pippen explained.

“You don’t want to just shake your kids up because you might never meet someone that you actually like. You’re in a state of living in the same place, but not really together.”

Malik Beasley with his one-year-old son.

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Pippen revealed she Googled Beasley prior to dating him and said she found out “they had issues before” she met him.

“It had nothing to do with me, so I wasn’t thinking anything about it,” Pippen said.

“If you spent a minute Googling their situation, it wasn’t the ideal situation way before me.”

Pippen said she’s going to do a “better job” of keeping her personal life private going forward.

“What’s the point of taking a beating over a guy I had just started talking to?” she asked.

This article originally appeared on Page Six and was reproduced with permission