Mother of Shaquille O’Neal’s 5 Kids, Ex-Wife Shaunie’s Strong Unapologetic Message Catches Kobe Bryant’s Wife’s Eye

Summer is over and Shaunie Henderson is ready for work. The producer of VH1‘s Basketball Wives and CEO of Amirah Inc has recently been vocal about the changes in her life. Her 9-year marriage with Shaquille O’Neal ended in 2011, the year of Big Diesel‘s retirement. This brought a great media microscope to the star couple’s split. Of course, she was on the receiving end of scrutiny for years on end. After all, being involved with a basketball star comes with its set of unwarranted criticism. Perhaps, this is why Vanessa Bryant liked Shaunie’s recent post about boundaries.

The wife of the late Kobe Bryant is no stranger to criticism herself. And it seems that she found some solace in the strong message Shaunie recently echoed on her Instagram.

Shaunie and Vanessa find inspirational common ground

In the aftermath of Kobe and Gigi’s tragic passing, everybody had expectations of how Vanessa Bryant should act. The NBA world was mourning an icon. But she was mourning her family. Despite this, she regularly faced comments about her looks and business activities, to which the 41-year-old stayed resilient. Much like Shaunie did after her divorce from Shaquille O’Neal. The two have fought media and public hatred on numerous occasions, standing up for themselves and their families.

Recently, Shaunie uploaded a post on her Instagram containing a message that united the two personalities.

“I’m loving this version of me,” her message read. “She knows her boundaries & how to stand up for herself. She’s the kind of woman who owns her worth & doesn’t apologize for who she is.” 

Of course, people loved the message. Broadway icon, Stephanie Mills and Castle star, Tamala Jones were among her famous friends in the comments. But the one that fans couldn’t help but notice was Vanessa Bryant. Kobe’s wife was one of the 30k+ likes on Shaunie’s post.

READ MORE: Ending Decade Long Struggle With Step-Father Shaquille O’Neal, Millionaire Myles’ Music Mob Drives Mother Shaunie To Cloud Nine

Shaq and Kobe were once teammates with the Los Angeles Lakers. There was word about tension between the duo but they also worked through it. When Kobe and Gianna Bryant tragically passed away in 2020, Big Diesel and Shaunie had been public about their support to Vanessa and her surviving children.

Both Shaunie and Vanessa are also inspirations in their own rights. Since the tragic passing of her husband and daughter, Vanessa has continued the work Kobe started with the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.

Shaunie is back to the grind

Shaunie is surely a busy woman too. Along with being a mother to five children, she’s quite the entrepreneur herself. She’s currently bringing business owners together for the Back to School Festival.

Me’erah O’Neal, who recently snubbed Shaq in favor of her brother, is full of praise for her “award-winning mom.”

Her eldest son, Myles O’Neal performed at the Lollapalooza Paris with his dad, DJ Diesel this month. Henderson was on her Italian vacation but still took the time to hype her son’s music on Instagram.

She recently also made a stop in Miami to support Pastor Keion. He was at the We The Best Foundation golf event with DJ Khaled. Of course, his supportive wife cheered him on. All this while she’s running her media empire as a television producer.

Shaunie and Vanessa are the best examples of women supporting women.

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