“If you have 4 kids, she completes you”: Stephen A. Smith defends Giannis’ wife

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mariah. Image via: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images

Stephen A. Smith is done watching fans take shots at Mariah Riddlesprigger. The First Take host used a recent podcast appearance to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo's wife against years of online criticism over her looks, telling critics in blunt terms to back off.

His comments landed just weeks after Antetokounmpo himself addressed the same scrutiny on a separate podcast, making clear the couple has heard every jab thrown their way and isn't interested in staying quiet about it anymore.

Stephen A. Smith blasts online critics for targeting Giannis Antetokounmpo's wife Mariah

Stephen A. Smith didn't ease into the topic. Appearing on The Culture Table podcast, he addressed fans who have spent years picking apart Riddlesprigger's appearance and questioning her marriage to the two-time MVP."Anybody who is talking about his wife, F**K Y'ALL!" Smith said. "That's that man's wife. People cross lines. You don't do that."He continued, laying out exactly why the criticism bothered him. "You don't talk about another man's wife... this woman that is married to the Greek Freak don't bother anybody. She says nothing, she loves her husband, her family, and she raises her kids in a very beautiful way," Smith said.

"Every man has things that matter to him and that substance matters. So, it's very important that we understand that. We should appreciate and respect that about Giannis. We should respect that fact that he values this wonderful woman who clearly completes him. If you have 4 kids with a woman, she completes you."Smith's remarks came not long after Antetokounmpo addressed the same criticism directly on the AnesTea The Podcast in a July 23 episode.

Rather than brush it off, the Heat forward confronted it head-on.

"I've heard so many things. 'Why is Giannis with this wife? He could be with a model. Not one model but ten!'" Antetokounmpo said. "But I am with my wife because she tells me the truth. She loves me, she will tell me whenever I do anything wrong."Antetokounmpo also opened up about how the relationship started, recalling the moment during a livestream with Kick streamer N3on in early July.

"I knew she would be my wife. I knew it immediately," he said. "I met her in Vegas. After Vegas, I tried to talk to her, but it didn't work out. Then later she said, 'I want to get to know you.'" He described flying to Miami to see her, adding, "A week later, I was in Miami, and she showed up.

I was like, 'You came?' She said, 'Yeah, I want to get to know you.'" He said Riddlesprigger spent time with his parents during that period, including his father before his passing, and added, "The moment I saw her, I knew she was the person I wanted to be with.

From the moment she came to Miami until today, she has never left my side."

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mariah Riddlesprigger are a happy couple

Riddlesprigger, a former Rice University volleyball player turned entrepreneur from Fresno, California, has been with Antetokounmpo for more than a decade. The two married in Greece on Sept. 1, 2024, with Khris Middleton serving as best man and guests including Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in attendance.

Antetokounmpo later told PEOPLE the day was simple in what it meant to him.

"It was a celebration of our love. Now we've become one. And I'm happy that we did it," he shared.Beyond the marriage, the two run the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation together, launched in 2022 to support causes in Milwaukee and beyond. Riddlesprigger has described the work as something distinctly hers, telling PEOPLE, "I'm so much more than just [Antetokounmpo's] partner or his fiancée, and I wanted to find what I'm passionate about.

I have so much drive to figure out how I can help other people with our family's platform.

"

How many kids do Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mariah Riddlesprigger have?

The couple share four children. Their first son, Liam Charles, was born in February 2020, followed by son Maverick Shai in 2021 and daughter Eva Brooke in 2023. Their youngest, daughter Aria Capri, arrived in May 2025, rounding out a family of six.With Antetokounmpo now beginning a new chapter with the Miami Heat after his trade from Milwaukee, the criticism directed at his marriage hasn't gone away. But between his own comments and Smith's pointed defense, both have made it clear they intend to answer it every time it resurfaces.