Larsa Pippen was strategic about her relationship with Marcus Jordan before going public with their romance.
The “Real Housewives of Miami” star — who made her relationship with Michael Jordan’s son Instagram official in January — revealed on the couple’s new podcast, “Separation Anxiety,” how she kept their communication quiet in the early stages.
“You know what’s funny, I feel like a lot of people don’t know that I could never really put you under your name on my phone,” Larsa, 48, said on Tuesday’s debut episode.
“So I had you under Marc Jacob… I don’t know why I had you under Marc Jacob but that’s what I had you on my phone because I didn’t want anyone to know when you would call me.”
Marcus, 32, laughed and said he didn’t find out about that until they officially started dating.
“I feel like when we first started dating it was random,” he said. “When we would talk it would be like, I was going on a trip, or coming to Miami, or somehow we were going to bump into each other. So, that’s kind of funny that I was stored under Marc Jacob.”
“… When it first made the headlines I feel like we were hiding out and trying to be low-key.”
Larsa added, “We didn’t trust anyone. Everywhere we went, we were like, scared of cameras.”
The now-couple met four years ago when they were introduced by a mutual friend at a party in Los Angeles.
At the time, Larsa was still separated from her now-ex-husband, NBA great Scottie Pippen, with whom she shares four kids: sons Scotty Jr., 22, Preston, 21, and Justin, 18, and 14-year-old daughter Sophia.
A rumored romance between Larsa and Marcus first made waves on social media in September.
Many had questioned the optics of the alleged romance as Pippen and Jordan’s relationship seemed to sour in recent years
Pippen took issue with his portrayal in the 2020 documentary “The Last Dance,” which chronicled the Chicago Bulls dynasty.
Pippen also took a few jabs at Jordan in his November 2021 memoir, “Unguarded.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday’s episode, Marcus said it’s a “common misconception” that Larsa used to babysit him, as many believed the two knew each other long before they were introduced.
“I feel like a lot of people thought we knew each other our whole lives,” Larsa said. “Like I threw your fifth birthday or something — no.”
Marcus agreed.
“I think that is one of the things I kind of had to restrain myself from commenting to on social media, because it’s the most common thing people say, ‘Oh you used to babysit me or we knew each other when I was real young or whatever,” Marcus said.
“…It’s funny, people that don’t know or are misinformed obviously make assumptions… I’m thankful for this podcast because it’s a chance to set the record straight.”
Larsa went on to say that she previously questioned herself about getting involved with Marcus.
“In the beginning, I was kind of skeptical, because I kind of felt like, ‘Why would you do this Larsa?… Why would you date someone that, you know, just the families, it’s just a really crazy situation to be in.’
“I think that for me I never wanted to be put in that situation. Not that I ever cared — I never had to explain who I was dating to my ex or my exes or whatever. I don’t think it’s anyone’s business.
“When you’re an adult and you break up with someone respectfully, you move on, you do whatever you want, you date whoever you want and you’re happy,” Larsa said, adding she only cares about the opinions of her kids and her parents.
The couple explained that they first got together in Miami.
Marcus said he made “the first move” when he slid into Larsa’s DMs to invite her on a trip to the Bahamas with a group of friends.
“A lot of foundation was built through FaceTime and texting,” he said.
The couple went on to spend time with each other’s families over the holidays in December.
Larsa’s divorce from Pippen, 57, was finalized in December 2021, roughly three years after she filed.
The Pippens initially split in 2016 but reconciled a short while after.
Larsa and Pippen married in 1997.