Ending a decade long relationship is anything but easy, and Shaunie Henderson was no exception to this. Most fans of Shaquille O’Neal would know the details of his separation from his ex-wife. But just to refresh your memories, Shaunie had filed for separation back in November 2009. And the two reached the final settlement for their divorce in 2010. Having started dating back in the late 90s, it’s understandable why Shaunie would not want to date anyone after her relationship of more than a decade ended.

Reflecting on the same feeling, the 49-year-old recently opened up on her The GrOOwZone Podcast. “When I was single, I didn’t have a goal because I knew when I first divorced that I just wanted to have fun,” she said. Henderson further stated she never wanted to marry again following her divorce. However, finding the dating experience to be exhausting, she again desired for a single life.

But then, as Shaunie describes, the moments of loneliness start catching up to you and you land back in the dating pool. “You’re like, ‘gosh, I want somebody. I want to have a companion, somebody to talk to… I just think that part is pretty hard… Thinking about it now, I didn’t have a goal in dating. I did not want a husband. So it was like I was aimlessly dating,” she told Keion on her podcast.

During this phase, Henderson also dated actor Marlon Yates. Someone whom she introduced as her boyfriend in Basketball Wives. But the relationship ran its course by 2016 with Shaunie stating her breakup was ‘not a bad thing’. Clearly, the 49-year-old was having a hard time finding the right person. She also had doubts about dating her now-husband Keion Henderson.

She once stated that because she grew up in a church, she knew how pastors usually are. “I’ve never dated a pastor before or preacher. First of all, I thought it was going to be really boring. I didn’t think that you (Keion) would be fun. I didn’t think that your lifestyle really allowed you to be the kind of fun that I like…” she said in an interview.

But as destiny would have it, the two found what they were looking for in each other. And eventually got engaged in 2021, nearly 10 years of Shaunie’s divorce, tying the knot in 2022. Even Shaq congratulated her former partner on her big moment of happiness. “She’s happy now,” O’Neal said on The Pivot Podcast. “She’s about to marry a fine young gentleman and I’m happy for her.”

Shaquille O’Neal blames himself for his divorce with Shaunie Henderson

Shaq’s reflections on his divorce from Shaunie Henderson brought a raw honesty we don’t often hear. Thirteen years after they went their separate ways, Shaq opened up on The Pivot Podcast, owning up to the mistakes he believes cost him his marriage.

He pointed to himself as the sole reason for their split. “She did everything right,” Shaq admitted, revealing that he didn’t protect their relationship or his vows in the way Shaunie did. It’s easy to imagine the life Shaq describes—a double life, as he calls it, that often left him torn. He further praised Shaunie’s commitment to their family and her tireless work holding down their home and corporate matters. But Shaq knows his own choices caused a rift he couldn’t bridge. And the loss hit him hardest once Shaunie and their kids moved out.

“Seventy-six thousand square foot house by yourself, lost. No kids, go to the gym, nobody’s playing in the gym. Go to their room, nobody’s there,” he said. And now, with Shaunie’s revelation on her podcast, it’s clear that neither she nor Shaquille O’Neal had an easy time dealing with their post-divorce life.