In the aftermath of his divorce from ex-wife Shaunie Henderson, Shaquille O’Neal responds to her claim that she wasn’t in love with him.
On May 7, Henderson released his memoir, UNDEFEATED: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms. In her book, she confessed that she might never have loved her now ex-husband.
“Looking back, I don’t know that I was ever really in love with the man,” she wrote.
The couple got together in the late 90s and married in 2002. Ultimately, Henderson filed for separation in 2009. Two years later, Shaq released his own memoir, Shaq Uncut: My Story.
Henderson stated she “was in love with the idea of being married to the man I had a family with” and “with the idea of building a life together.”
The couple have four children together — two sons, Shareef and Shaqir, and two daughters, Amirah and Me’arah — in addition to the children they had from previous relationships.
Despite it all, Henderson revealed that she “truly did enjoy spending time with” Shaq. However, he was “trying to be a world-famous, thirty-something multimillionaire with thousands of women throwing themselves at him.”
In Shaq’s memoir, he admitted the couple struggled with infidelity.
Shaquille O’Neal Responds to Content in Ex-Wife’s Memoir
On Instagram yesterday, Shaq posted a video with a black screen and white letters. It reads: “I understand… I wouldn’t have been in love with me either. Wish you all the best…”
This comes after Henderson’s claims that she was never in love with Shaq — just the idea of him.
He signed it, “All love, Shaq” and captioned the post, “trust me i get it.”
In the comments of the post, countless individuals shared their support for the NBA star. In fact, Shaq and Henderson’s son, Shareef, wrote: “Love you man! You saved my life” and “Literally the most lovable and likable person on the planet!”
Shaunie Henderson Ex-Wife Opens Up About Her Memoir
Back in January, Henderson spoke with PEOPLE about the release of her memoir.
“Anything involving Shaquille is always a sketchy thing because he is who he is, and despite what our story is, no one ever wants to hear what could come across as not the greatest reputation,” she said.
Because Shaq had already admitted to his infidelity in his own memoir, Henderson felt it was easier for her to share her side of the story.
“I was like, oh, okay, he told on himself,” she said. “I’m literally telling my story and my journey, which he was a part of … So I’ve always been a little nervous about that, but I think I did a good job at sharing my story without destroying him because that’s not my intent at all, ever.”