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Friends to lovers! Larsa Pippen<\/strong><\/a> initially denied any romantic connection with Marcus Jordan<\/strong><\/a>, but after they went public with their relationship<\/a>, she didn\u2019t hesitate to gush about her beau.<\/p>\n The Real Housewives of Miam<\/em><\/a>i star explained in February 2023 that the duo actually met four years earlier and struck up a friendship after connecting at a party<\/a>. \u201cWe have a lot of mutual friends, and so we\u2019re kind of in the same circle,\u201d the reality star said during an interview with Tamron Hall<\/strong><\/a>, adding that they have \u201ceverything in common.\u201d<\/p>\n The Peacock personality revealed that the pair\u2019s friendship turned romantic after she realized she was \u201cjealous\u201d seeing Jordan talk to another woman. \u201cIt was weird because I\u2019m not really the jealous person, but I was jealous over the situation,\u201d the Larsa Marie designer told People<\/em><\/a> in February 2023. \u201cAnd so then, I was thinking maybe I do really like him. That kind of sealed the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n While the couple may have a lot of mutual friends, one of their biggest commonalities comes from their strong connection to the NBA. Marcus is the son of basketball icon Michael Jordan<\/strong><\/a>, while Larsa was previously married to former Chicago Bulls forward Scottie Pippen<\/strong><\/a>. Michael and Scottie played together on the Bulls for more than a decade, leading the team to 6 NBA championships in the 1990s.<\/p>\n While Scottie and Larsa \u2014 who share sons Scotty Jr., Preston and Justin and daughter Sophia \u2014 have maintained an amicable relationship since their 2018 split, the same cannot be said for Scottie and his former teammate<\/a>. The Arkansas native wasn\u2019t happy with the way he was portrayed in the 2020 docuseries The Last Dance<\/em>, which focused on Michael\u2019s quest to win a final championship with the Bulls.<\/p>\n \u201cThey glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates,\u201d Scottie wrote in his memoir, Unguarded<\/em>, which hit shelves in November 2021. \u201cMichael deserved a large portion of the blame. The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn\u2019t have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director.\u201d<\/p>\n Larsa, for her part, has seemingly tried to stay out of the drama between the two athletes, focusing instead on her romance with Marcus<\/a>. When the twosome made their romance Instagram official in January 2023<\/a>, they posed in front of a floral arrangement that nodded to Marcus\u2019 dad. \u201c\u2714\ufe0fChecks over stripes\ud83c\udfc6,\u201d Larsa wrote via Instagram at the time alongside a snap of the couple with a model of Michael\u2019s Bulls jersey.<\/p>\n