Shaquille O’Neal‘s ex-wife Shaunie Henderson recently released her book, ‘Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms‘. Unsurprisingly, Henderson’s book got the media talking about her controversial and troubled relationship with the LA Lakers legend. What’s worse some revelations made by Henderson have seemed to hurt Shaq. The big fella recently uploaded a cryptic message on his Instagram profile where he received some love from his son, Shareef O’Neal.
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Shaq has maintained his stance on his failed marriage for a long time. The Hall of Famer blames himself for the separation. He had earlier said that he could never point fingers at anyone else but himself for being a bad husband and not putting effort into saving his marriage. Unfortunately, Henderson has decided to air their dirty laundry in front of the public.
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In her new book, Henderson wrote, “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.”
Anyone can understand why those words are hurtful for Shaq. In response, the big fella posted,
“I understand…I wouldn’t have been in love with me either. Wishing you all the best…All love, Shaq.”
Seeing his father so heartbroken, Shareef O’Neal left a heartfelt comment for Superman. He wrote,
“Love you man! You saved my life.”
Shareef O'Neal shows love to his dad Shaq after his mom's book pic.twitter.com/632bFaXaX5
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) May 8, 2024
Henderson spoke her truth with this book and most of the subject matter has already been addressed by Shaq, from his own POV. However, maybe her stating that she never really loved him, really got to the NBA legend, and that prompted his response. Whether she was in love with him or not, Shaunie was married to Shaq when he was one of the biggest stars in the world.
Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie were a power couple
The two got married in 2002, the same year Shaq three-peated the NBA title with the Lakers. At the prime of his prowess as an athlete and superstar status, she was next to him at almost every event. What looked like a fairytale story, at the surface level was soon exposed as a troubled marriage.
Shaq was accused of cheating on his wife several times and they eventually called it quits in 2011. The big fella has grown up to be more accepting of his failures as a partner.
He now acknowledges that he ruined his chances of having a happy, complete family due to his immaturity. He once said on the ‘Pivot Podcast’, “She was awesome, she really was. It was all me.” While Shaq never really moved to establish another family, he dated several women after his divorce. Henderson, on the other hand, married Keion Henderson.
