‘West Kendall, stand up!’ Nikki Spoelstra is thriving and unbothered, thank you
Nikki Spoelstra knows people have opinions about her. She just doesn’t care.
Yes, she got a DUI several years ago. Yes, she was married to Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. Yes, she’s the one who trolls said “fumbled the bag” when they got divorced.
She’s heard it all before and the West Kendall-raised Miami girl could not be less bothered. And not only is she unbothered, she’s totally down to talk about her life in a real way.
Last week, Spoelstra launched “Becoming HER,” a podcast where she gets super candid about how her highly publicized journey has made her wiser, more resilient and ready to rattle a few cages. The podcast will feature interviews with like-minded women from various fields and professions, dropping knowledge to lift up folks in the community so they can be the best version of themselves.
“This rebrand feels like stepping into a new chapter, one that truly reflects who I am and where I’m headed,” said Spoelstra in a statement. “‘Becoming: HER’ is inspired by the conversations I’ve had with people who remind me that we’re never really done growing, and that there’s always room for positive change. This podcast is about living authentically, leaning into the tough moments, and claiming your own narrative. We’ll be learning, laughing, and figuring it out together – one episode at a time.”
The project’s ever evolving focus is on her next phase as a single mom in recovery who wants to make a difference in the community. The signature transparency, cheeky humor and too-cool-for-school style remain. You may also notice — beside a newfound grit — a set of bangs as blunt as her ‘tude.
“A lot of us see a woman who is standing in her power, and she’s a bad ass with that ‘It Girl’ energy. You think, ‘I don’t know what it is, but she’s got it, she’s rocking it.’ Mama, I’m here to tell you: You are her.”
Putting it all out there
Things were very different for Spoelstra in April 2021 when she first launched “The Know with Nikki Spo.”
The influencer (née Sapp) was a mom of two boys under 2 with then husband Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. The COVID pandemic was in full swing, and she had recently started treatment for her drinking.
“I was newly sober. I was married to a public figure, and I was having a very real reckoning with my identity and who I was becoming and what I wanted as a grown woman and mother,” the 37 year old told the Herald. “I started to have these conversations with people who I thought were really celebrating their own sense of deep knowing and experts in different industries. The response was really positive.”
The roster of guests ran the gamut, including sex therapists, financial advisors, nutrition counselors, personal trainers and more.
The refreshingly raw chats struck a chord with not just locals, but the entire Internet. Viewers and listeners (we’re talking more than 500,000 downloads over four years) ate up Spoelstra’s unflinching outlook in and out of the spotlight, especially her struggles with the bottle.
Some history: Before she began dating the NBA star coach, the former Miami Heat dancer was arrested for DUI. Though the charges ultimately did not stick, the Internet has a long memory.
“That mugshot was like my coming out in Miami society, and I remember feeling so much shame and embarrassment,” Spoelstra said. “This is a cruel, cruel world I’m walking into.”
So, for the show, the she decided to put it all out there, her strategy inspired by the unforgettable rap battle in “8 Mile,” the biopic starring Detroit hip-hop legend Eminem.
“He’s up first, and decides to call himself out on his own B.S.,” she recalls of the classic scene. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, I grew up in a trailer park. Yeah, my mom did this. Yeah, I did that. What are you gonna say now?’ He disarmed his opponent.”
Translation: She gave up her own tea, beating critics to the punch.
“I was like, OK, I’m deeply ashamed of my history with alcohol and the way I’ve disappointed myself and others. So instead of allowing this to be hung over my head, I’m gonna start talking about it. Then I found that in talking about it, I was able to not just heal, but heal other people, and help them feel less alone.”
Right as the podcast was rolling merrily along with a respectable amount of views, promos and sponsors, Spoelstra experienced what she now calls the “year of reckoning.”
In a surreal flash, three tumultuous events, joyous, daunting and tragic, came in quick succession. In February, she found out she was pregnant; eight days later, her mother passed away. Mere weeks later, her oldest son, Santiago, was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Dealing with all that in such a short period was so transformative,” Spoelstra said, adding that she and her mom were estranged, making the mourning process complicated. ”I walked through a fire and had to kind of sit in it. There weren’t many options, except wait out the storm and rally for my family.”
Santiago went into remission, fortunately, and in July 2022, the then 4 year old rang the cancer treatment bell at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. In September, another bright spot: Daughter Ruby was born.
Fighting off online trolls
Just as she was coming up for air, Spoelstra’s personal life would become front page news. In November 2023, the high-profile couple announced they were splitting in a statement to the Miami Herald.
About that. Around the time the divorce was finalized, the Hall of Fame coach, 54, signed a record contract extension with the Heat worth roughly $120 million. Trolls came out of the woodwork assuming his ex had “fumbled the bag,” i.e., lost out on a huge payday.
Spoelstra has openly discussed her irritation about being raked over the social media coals, and the “fumble the bag” phrase that pops up when you Google her.
“People are very quick to label women gold diggers. Like, ‘Oh, if she is with a successful person, she must be in it for the money,’” she says. “Do you really think that’s all a husband brings to the table? In the end, no one really knows what happened.”
With all these multiple seismic shifts behind her, it’s not surprising Spoelstra felt the need for a glow-up, hence “The Know” was rebranded as “Becoming HER.”
First guest: Johanna Ricouz, aka Jungle Johanna, an in-demand power yoga teacher/Pilates instructor with a commitment to inclusivity. Next in the lineup is Nicole Keshishian, who went from “overworked attorney” to wellness recipe whiz who runs the hot lifestyle blog, Kalejunkie. In April, we’ll get the dirt from novelist Asha Elias, whose dark satire about Miami Beach moms behaving badly, “Pink Glass Houses,” drops in June.
Dear haters: You’ re welcome to tune in, too. Spoelstra knows better than to pay attention to keyboard bullies, but rather use them as another life lesson.
“What they say reveal more about the person who is commenting,” Spoelstra says. “You’re holding a mirror up to yourself when you do that.”
The host’s longtime producer, Christine Maddela, has high hopes for the freshly revamped content, noting “The Know” was one of the top 2 percent most popular shows out of 3 million plus podcasts globally ranked by Listen Score.
The Las Vegas-based media coach couldn’t be more excited about the duo’s collaboration in general.
“What I love about Nikki and her approach is that she never took the vantage point of trying to be perfect, or from a space of expertise,” she said. “She comes from a place of, I’m along on this ride with you.”
Maddela praises Spoelstra for not using her platform just because she had one.
“She’s shown up since Day One, asking the hard questions, like, How do I navigate the challenges we all face?” she continues. “No topic is too taboo, from her sobriety to motherhood to divorce, mental health and losing a parent. That’s what I think makes her so relatable.”
Always a Kendall girl
Relatable, no doubt. Nikki has unwittingly become a voice for Miami-raised women who know what’s great about life in the 305 — and it’s not conspicuous consumption or comparing zip codes. The Arvida Middle, Killian High and FIU alum grew up way west of SoBe and Brickell, in the ‘burbs, hanging out at Don Carter’s bowling alley and Hot Wheels, now called Miami Roller Rink. Dad was a firefighter, mom a substitute teacher.
“They were public servants, but they gave me some really beautiful life experiences that were probably well beyond their financial limitations,” she says of her parents. “They were the ones who drove my passion for philanthropy.”
The so-called modern matriarch, who still stays in touch with her old pals, finds it hilarious that folks assume she is a snooty, upper crust trophy wife.
“I wasn’t raised this way. I got thrust into this [celebrity] life by proximity and association,” she says, then, with a laugh: “C’mon, I went through the Miami public school system!”
In a recent, hilarious rant on Instagram Spoelstra targeted her local frenemies (ahem, particularly, a few gossipy types in Coral Gables and South Miami). The stark message: Nikki doesn’t come from your “fancy neighborhood” and doesn’t care about what you think of her life choices and unapologetic way of communicating.
“You either like my personality or you don’t. I don’t really care, because, guess what? You’re still buying from my shop links. Thank you for that,” she says with a smile. “I understand why someone like me might bring up some discomfort in someone like you....I don’t keep secrets. What you see is what you get. There’s nothing that you can say about me that I won’t say about myself. Give me a mic, I’ll say it louder, babe.”
She ends the clip by advising these individuals to get a few hobbies and to do something else with their free time that we won’t mention in a family newspaper.
Her followers loved all the smoke brought in the video:
“I can’t stop watching this because it’s such an epic takedown and just so awesome.”
“West Kendall, stand up!”
“Someone asked me the other day, ‘Why are you so team Nikki’ and I couldn’t quite articulate it…. THIS. This is the answer.”
Note: This story was updated to remove a phrase about her previous DUI that could be interpreted as insensitive.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 4:30 AM.
