Shaquille O’Neal’s mother breaks silence, saying she feels Shaunie wasn’t the ‘right relationship’ after first meeting

NBA star Shaquille O’Neal met Shauni Nelson, now Henderson, in 1996 when he moved to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers after 4 years with the Orlando Magic.

Although they dated for over two years, welcomed their first child, Shareef, in 2000 and married in 2002, it’s unknown exactly when Shaq introduced Shauna to his mother, Lucille Harrison.

But in a brand new interview, Lucille opened up a bit about her feelings when she first met the then-movie marketing specialist.

On June 24, Lucille Harrison, accompanied by Steph and Seth Curry’s mother, Sonya Curry, visited “Sway in the Morning” to discuss her recent TV One podcast, “Raising Fame,” and her experiences as moms to a few of the world’s biggest athletes.

During the conversation, host Sway Calloway asked Lucille to share her thoughts on meeting Shaunie early on in her relationship with Shaq.

“A mother’s love for her son is something incredibly special, and at some point those sons find other women,” Sway began. “They find wives. What was it like when you first met Shaunie? What was it like knowing that my son was going to get married and have this new person in his life?”

“I’ve already gotten to a place where my place is safe. I don’t care who she marries or who she ties herself to. I know my place and I’m safe in it,” Lucille said.

While Lucille admitted she was confident in her role in her son’s life, she also suggested her intuition told her something may not be right about the developing relationship.

“It’s hard to watch them get into a relationship and somehow you can feel like it’s not the right relationship,” she said. “But you have to step back and let it happen. And I tell a lot of mothers, we’re going to be their mothers for as long as they live…we’re not their girlfriends. That keeps me safe in my place.”

Lucille’s hunch may need been right.

Shaq and Shaunie were married in intimate ceremony in 2002. In 2007, the couple, who already had 4 children and one child each from previous relationships, were heading towards divorce. Fortunately, they decided it could be best to attend it out and shortly withdrew their divorce petition and reconciled.

Two years later, in 2009, they agreed to go their separate ways again and in 2010, they filed for divorce as Shaunie desired to end their seven-year relationship, citing “irreconcilable differences”. The divorce was finalized in 2011.

Shaq openly discussed the transgressions he committed during his marriage and admitted that he was ultimately chargeable for the breakup.

“I didn’t protect her and I didn’t protect the oath. Sometimes when you live a double life, you get caught. So I won’t say it was all her…it was all me. She did exactly what she was supposed to do, she gave birth to beautiful children for me, she took care of the house, she took care of the corporate stuff…it was just me. Sometimes when you make a lot of mistakes like that, you can’t really go back. O’Neal said during the 2022 job interview.

In her memoir, The Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Terms, Shaunie suggested that while she loved Shaq for the father he was to their children, there have been other qualities about him that she didn’t necessarily love.

“Looking back, I don’t know if I was ever truly in love with this man, but I fell in love with the idea of ​​being married to a man with whom I had a family,” she wrote.

Following the backlash to the segment, Shaunie dismissed the notion that she was never fully in love with Shaq during their marriage, arguing that her words were “taken out of context.”

“My book is my truth and when I talked to my friend yesterday, I thought I would form an opinion,” she added. he said People Magazine. “And a comment from content without context will show you numerous human intelligence and lack thereof, right? Just that one quote I said had no context in any respect, and unfortunately, people take my words out of context.

In 2022, Shaunie married Houston pastor Keion Henderson. Shaq congratulated Shaunie on her engagement during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast, saying, “She’s happy now. She’s going to marry a wonderful young gentleman, and I’m happy for her.”

Shaq and Shaunie proceed to lift their six children together. Shaunie has a son from a previous relationship, and Shaq has a daughter with an ex-girlfriend.