‘Why Is She Still Talking About Shaq?’: Shaunie Says She Felt Zero Guilt Divorcing Shaquille O’Neal, Months After Revealing She Never Loved Him

Shaunie Henderson may have endured the most difficult transition of her family when she decided her marriage to Shaquille O’Neal was no longer salvageable nearly two decades ago.

The former couple went from newlywed bliss to experiencing a strained union, leading the retired NBA star to file for divorce in 2007. Though they tried their hand at reconciliation, Shanuine pulled the plug and filed for divorce in 2009. And this time, there was no turning back.

At the time, O’Neal was playing for the Phoenix Suns while his estranged wife and their children relocated back to her hometown of Los Angeles to live with her parents. Shaunie and Shaq share four children: Shareef, Amirah, Shaqir, and Me’arah. Shaq is also a father to daughter Taahirah, and Shaunie is a mother to son Myles; both children are from previous relationships.

In May, the “Basketball Wives” creator released her first book, a memoir titled “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms.” In it, she touches on her marriage and subsequent divorce. Reflecting on the split, she said that months went by before she revealed that their move to L.A. was part of her decision to leave O’Neal.

“We’re not going to be married anymore,” she told them. To her surprise, “there were no tears.” Instead, she was alarmed at how indifferent the kids were to the news.

Through therapy sessions, she learned that she and the basketball star’s children did not feel much was changing their lives.

“They’re just kind of disconnected from their father,” the therapist told her. “What I get from this, ‘Oh, we won’t see him every day? OK, business as usual,” Shaunie wrote. “It was the fact that they never had the foundation of a happy home, so they weren’t losing one.”

She said the revelation destroyed any guilt she felt about breaking up their home.

Fans weighed in on Shaunie’s revelation, many wondering why she continues to discuss Shaq while married to another man.

“I wonder how the guy she’s currently with feels about her doing this,” a Facebook user said. “Because it could potentially happen to him too. All personal business don’t belong in the streets, past or present.”

“She is still staying connected to Shaq because Keion can’t fill those shoes … lol .. yep she married him .. yep she has “A LOVE” for him but one thing about us as women we we have truly moved on .. this wouldn’t be a book!! lol .. she should have done that when she was single,” said another fan.

A few Facebook users summed up many other’s thoughts by simply stating, “She has her new husband, move on already,” and “Why is she still talking about Shaq? You said you moved on, so move on. Damn!”

The former couple’s divorce was finalized in 2011, the same year O’Neal retired after 19 seasons in the league. He says fumbling his marriage is one of his regrets, once declaring his ex will always be the one who got away. Shaunie has since found love again with Texas megachurch Pastor Keion Henderson . The newlyweds met in 2019 and became engaged in late 2021. They exchanged vows at a destination wedding in May 2022.

According to the first-time author, the love she shares with Keion made her realize that she had never experienced being in love with her first husband. Though she claims the message was initially misconstrued when an excerpt from the book went viral, Shaunie clarified that she did love Shaq but was more in love with building a life with the father of her children.

O’Neal seemed to take the remarks in stride, saying that he not only understood her stance but also that if the tables were turned, he likely would not have been in love with himself either. Their nearly ten years of marriage were marred by his infidelity, something that Shaunie said left her feeling unprotected in their union.

‘Why Is She Still Talking About Shaq?’: Shaunie Says She Felt Zero Guilt Divorcing Shaquille O’Neal, Months After Revealing She Never Loved Him