Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie Henderson got married in December 2002 and had four children together, with Shaunie having a son from a previous relationship. Despite overcoming challenges after Shaunie initially filed for divorce in 2007, she filed again in 2009, and the divorce was finalized in 2011.
Despite the divorce, the ex-lovers still show respect for each other, even more than a decade since they separated, demonstrating that they are on good terms. However, Shaunie’s revelation about their post-marriage relationship will surprise you.
Shaunie Henderson on Shaquille O’Neal’s response to missing her wedding
Shaunie Henderson and Shaquille O’Neal were married for nine years before finalizing their divorce in 2011 due to O’Neal’s infidelity. The situation turned intense when Shaunie discovered her ex-husband’s affairs after their Blackberry phones got switched. Messages from the women O’Neal was involved with were revealed, leading to Shaunie vandalizing his car.
Despite the tumultuous past, the two have reconciled to some extent. They co-parent their five kids and maintain an amicable relationship. However, this didn’t extend to Shaquille O’Neal attending Shaunie Henderson’s second wedding to Keion Henderson in 2022.
Shaunie said “I asked him (Shaq) did he want to come to the wedding,” Shaunie said this on a VH1 TV show based on her marriage to Keion. “I didn’t really meant it,” she joked. “He’s not (coming). He’s like,’ It’s your day.”
Shaunie once shared that when she invited O’Neal to the wedding, his three-word response indicated that he wanted to give her space as she embarked on a new chapter in her life. Despite this, there were no “hard feelings,” and Shaunie mentioned that Shaq was looking forward to meeting Keion in a previous segment of her VH1 show.
Shaquille O’Neal recalls his divorce with Shaunie Henderson
Shaquille O’Neal opened up about his marriage to Shaunie Henderson and the challenging end to their relationship in 2022 during an interview on ‘The Pivot Podcast.’ O’Neal acknowledged and took responsibility for the mistakes that led to their divorce.
The four-time NBA champion began by acknowledging Shaunie’s contributions to taking care of their kids, home, and her work before delving into his thoughts on their relationship and the errors he made.
“It was just all me,” Shaq said. “Sometimes, when you make a lot of mistakes like that, you can’t really come back from that. Sometimes you live that double life and get caught up. I’m not going to say it was her. It was all me.”
While O’Neal refrained from providing specific details about what went wrong in the marriage, he expressed that his decisions resulted in him returning home to an empty mansion. “I had the perfect situation,” he recalled during the conversation.
“Wife was fine. Kept giving me babies. Still fine. I had it all. I don’t make excuses. I know I messed up. When that d-word happened, I don’t like to use that word, I was lost. Seventy-six thousand square foot house by yourself. Lost. No kids. Go to the gym. Nobody’s playing. You go to their room, nobody’s there.”
O’Neal, although taking some time, has now chosen to share his perspective, providing their children with an opportunity to understand the complexities of their parents’ relationship rather than relying on speculation that could impact their relationship with either parent. However, since their divorce, O’Neal has been one of the best fathers to his children and this is actually what he prioritized over everything now.
