Shaunie Henderson Admits She Was Never 'In Love’ With Shaquille O'Neal, He Responds On Instagram With Shocking Answer
Shaunie Henderson is reflecting on her past marriage in her new memoir.
On Tuesday, the 'Basketball Wives' reality star shared details on her first marriage during an interview on the "Tamron Hall" show where she discussed the release of her memoir "Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms."
During the interview, the ex-wife of Shaquille O'Neal admitted the emotional turmoil she endured involving her parents' marriage and the impact it had on how she coped with a decade's worth of disappointments at the hands of her ex-husband.
Hall, 53, went over emotional excerpts with the author.
"Growing up as a child there was infidelity on your dad's part and your mom could not forgive him for what he'd done but stayed in the marriage," Hall said, highlighting a passage.
"That leads you to a pattern, which you write about, in your own marriage — in your marriage to Shaq for seven years," she continued.
"I'm not proud of the fact that I spent so many years in denial. It just shows how easy it is to slip into patterns and become comfortable with them, even when they're toxic," Hall recited.
Henderson, 49, agreed, saying there is no manual on life. "I own the fact that I was in complete denial and saw things right in front of me but I was protecting myself, I was protecting my kids... I had this family, I didn't want to be a failure," she explained.
"To me losing my marriage was failing," the mother of five said, explaining she was really "in love with the partnership she never got."
In an additional passage, Hall reads: "Looking back, I don't know that I was ever really in love with the man but I was in love with the idea of being married to the man I had a family with. I was in love with the idea of building a life together."
O'Neal, 52, seemingly responded to his ex-wife's comments on Instagram.
"I understand...I wouldn't have been in love with me either. Wishing you all the best...All Love, Shaq," the 'Inside the NBA' analyst wrote on Instagram.
Henderson's interview concluded with her expressing gratitude for her "beautiful children" and how she wouldn't change her story, no matter how depressing or sad. "I would not change one part of it because I feel like my reward is now," Henderson said.
Update: Video Footage & Audio
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Shaquill O’Neal shares that he was at fault for his divorce from Shaunie O’Neal. Shaq said “I wasn’t protecting her and wasn’t protecting the vows”#shaquilloneal #shaunieoneal pic.twitter.com/DJD1K4FUhn
On the other hand, the former 4-time NBA champion admitted he was at fault for their divorce on a podcast in 2022, confessing he "wasn't protecting her and I wasn't protecting the vows."
O'Neal and Henderson married in December 2002. After seven years of marriage, Henderson filed for divorce in 2009 amid various reports that he had been unfaithful. Their separation was finalized two years later.
Henderson remarried pastor Keion Henderson in Anguilla in May 2022.
Myles, Shareef, and Shaqir walked their mother down the aisle at the Aurora resort as gospel singer Yolanda Adams performed for nearly 200 guests.
