In her recent book “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms,” Shaunie Henderson reveals details about her marriage to Shaquille O’Neal, shedding light on their relationship before their divorce in 2011.
Henderson, known for her role as the creator of Basketball Wives, recounts moments where she noticed signs indicating the end of their marriage.
The couple tied the knot in December 2002 and have four children together: sons Shareef and Shaquir, and daughters Amirah and Me’arah.
Additionally, O’Neal has a daughter named Taariah from a previous relationship, while Henderson’s son Myles, from a prior relationship, later adopted O’Neal’s surname.
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Henderson discusses O’Neal’s tendency to “go missing,” offering insights into the challenges they faced before parting ways.
“I enjoyed those sweet early years being a mother and raising my children; my days were always busy with kids and family, and every now and then I got to travel or enjoy a little of the NBA high life. But invisibly, my marriage was beginning to crumble,’ Henderson wrote, as reported by the New York Post.
“As I’ve written, it wasn’t obvious early on. You know how when you first get sick, and the symptoms are so mild that you’re not even sure you are sick? That’s how things were in the early years. I was busy and happy and didn’t notice what was going on. But as the disease progressed, the symptoms became harder and harder to ignore.”
Henderson says she started hearing rumors about Shaq when the Los Angeles Lakers traded him to the Miami Heat in 2004.
“Take Shaquille’s habit of ‘going missing,” Henderson recalled. ‘Our chef did all the grocery shopping. His managers paid all the bills. I took care of the kids. So where was he going in the morning, during the day, and at night? No one works out that often.”
“When we moved to Miami, I even heard a rumor that he had a condo in Miami Beach. I started to get suspicious, but he always had an answer, and I could never prove anything. Eventually, I was forced to admit that my family life wasn’t as blissful or perfect as I wanted to believe.”
Shaq has taken responsibility for their marriage failing on multiple occasions.