Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, 53, and wife Nikki, a 36-year-old ex-Miami cheerleader, announce their divorce after seven years of marriage and three children: ‘We remain fully committed to co-parenting’

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and wife Nikki have announced their divorce after seven years of marriage.

‘We have made the difficult yet amicable decision to jointly file to formally end our marriage,’ Erik and Nikki 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.’

Erik, 53, and Nikki, 36, have three children together: 5-year-old Santiago, 3-year-old Dante and 1-year-old Ruby.

They first met when Nikki was a team cheerleader nearly two decades ago. Although she was just 18 and still a college student at Florida International when she began dancing for the team in 2005, the two ultimately began dating and eventually got married in 2016.

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and wife Nikki have announced their divorce after seven years of marriage. The two met while she was working as one of the team’s dancers 

Nikki and Erik Spoelstra are seen together during a Thanksgiving charity event in South Florida

She has also worked as a director of an art gallery and hosts her own podcast.

Now in his 16th season as the Heat’s head coach, Spoelstra has led Miami to six NBA Finals appearances and with the help of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, won a pair of titles in 2012 and 2013.

Nikki recently looked back at her time as a dancer and a student in an interview with Lifestyle.

‘During the years with the Heat, I was this platinum blonde with [a curvaceous figure],’ Nikki said. ‘And I remember being at FIU and asking students after class if they wanted to study together. I’d get that look, like, ‘No, not with this bimbo.’

‘I was building some confidence then because I was doing well in school [she graduated magna cum laude], but it played into one of my biggest insecurities—that I’m not intelligent enough.’

She also discussed their son’s battle with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Santiago has since undergone treatment.

‘He’s good now; he’s healthy,’ Nikki said. ‘He’s like a little old soul. He understood everything that was happening. He’d say, ‘I’m taking medicine that makes my hair fall out—but my hair is going to grow back even better!’