Shaquille O’Neal’s Ex-Wife Shaunie Claims Insecurity and His Infidelity Lead to Divorce Before She Found Love with Pastor Keion Henderson

Shaunie Henderson has only known true love with two men: her father and her recent husband, Pastor Keion Henderson. Now feeling protected and free to speak her truth, she has published her first book, a memoir, “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on Your Own Terms.”

Among the reflections she shared within the text is a brand new have a look at her first marriage to retired NBA power Shaquille O’Neal. The first couple had been together for nearly a decade after they divorced in 2011. O’Neal’s wandering eye and promiscuity have long been identified as contributing aspects to the demise of the connection.

In a brand new interview with ABC News, the writer stated that it was her love for her late father that gave her the courage to leave her marriage. “It’s true, I loved love and I still love love, and my dad kind of instilled that security in me, just like the man in your life, your partner, should make you feel safe,” Shaunie explained.

Her father died in March 2022, just weeks before she and her husband said “I do” at their destination wedding. The self-proclaimed daddy’s girl said her father was her protector, “and he just always made sure I was safe and I knew I could go to him about it.”

However, within the face of O’Neal and his affairs, the mother of 5 children – 4 of whom she shares with the previous Los Angeles Lakers star and eldest from a previous relationship – has found that the romantic love she once felt for him has waned.

“When you do not feel that sooner or later, you lose trust, you lose that cushion of comfort, and I believe I just realized that, you recognize, everyone receives love otherwise and in the event you don’t learn that out of your partner, you then’re going to be lost on a regular basis. You won’t find that voice, that feeling of affection that you would be able to find in life,” Shaunie said.

The creator of the “Basketball Wives” series made headlines in May when an excerpt from the book began circulating wherein she questioned whether she ever truly loved O’Neal. She said the passage was taken out of context.

“I assumed I used to be in love and after all I loved him. Of course I loved him. When you only capture that little clip, it has been completely taken out of context,” she told ABC’s Robin Roberts.

“But the thing is, I lost trust; I lost that sense of security. And that’s what I needed to receive love. You know, some people find love in things and provision, and he was all that, you know; he was a great caregiver, he was everything, but I lost that sense of security,” she continued.

But thanks to Pastor Keion, that love has been restored, and she once more has access to the sense of security that her father once provided her with. “Now that I have it, I’m like, ‘Oh, OK, so this is love where I can let my guard down, I can feel safe, I can love fully’… I’ve never been happier.”

Last month, the four-time NBA Championship winner addressed his ex-wife’s comments about her lack of deep-seated feelings for him. “I see… I wouldn’t fall in love with myself either. I wish you all the best. Happy birthday, Shaq,” he wrote in an Instagram post. The sportscaster has previously stated that Shaunie is “perfect” and that being a “stupid” ruined their marriage.

Although he has been romantically linked to people akin to reality star Nicole “Hoopz” Alexander, actress Annie Ilonzeh, and model Laticial Rolle, to name a couple of, he has never remarried or expressed any real desire to accomplish that.