Shaunie Henderson, Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife, opened up about her past in the latest episode of The GrOOwZone Podcast. She discussed with her current husband, Keion, how a previous relationship left a lasting emotional scar.
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The conversation stemmed from Shaunie’s discomfort with assertive and aggressive tones. When her life partner asked her about the source of this aversion, she initially reflected on her upbringing.
Shaunie recounted growing up in a household where her parents always spoke to each other with respect. She consequently realized that her family never caused her distaste for harsh tones.
Keion continued to probe. He encouraged her to reflect on her past relationships to get to the bottom of this. Upon doing so, Shaunie realized that one of her former partners might have been the cause of her aversion.
The 49-year-old remembered how this ex-partner often spoke to her in a harsh tone. She even admitted how this constant harshness later made her perceive every word as offensive. She recollected,
“I think I was in a relationship that the tone was harsh all the time. Not necessarily the words but the tone and it wasn’t even that the person was speaking to me purposely harshly. It was just the way they spoke all the time… You just take everything offensively because like every other word is a cuss word when you’re just saying you’re going to the grocery store.”
Although Shaunie didn’t explicitly name the partner, many assumed it to be her ex-husband, Shaq. Given she remained devoted to The Big Diesel for over a decade, this period might have shaped her perception of tones.
Their relationship also ended on a difficult note. This even led Shaunie to question her feelings for Shaq. In her new memoir, ‘Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms’, she reflected, “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.”
However, there is no evidence to support these speculations. The relationship in question could have been one from before Shaunie met Shaq in LA or after their divorce in 2011.
