Shaunie Says Shaquille O’Neal “Could’ve Called” Her Instead After Ex-Husband’s Raw Honesty on Broken Marriage

Shaquille O’Neal has openly admitted his regret and responsibility over his divorce with ex-wife Shaunie Henderson. He even responded politely to one of Shaunie’s excerpts in her book, where she mentioned to not being sure whether she was in love with him. Shaunie has largely talked about her feelings regarding the divorce in the memoir, but recently spoke on Shaq taking accountability for their failed marriage.

As she appeared on the TMI Podcast with her husband, Pastor Keion Henderson, the hosts Tamika D. Mallory and Mysonne “The General” brought up her much publicized divorce with the 4x NBA Champion. Mysonne mentioned how Shaq praised Shaunie in one of the interviews, while expressing his regrets and asked if she had seen that clip.

Shaunie admitted that she had seen the video as it got sent to her “a million times” and revealed what she thought of it. “I really appreciated him for owning that and being accountable. I think where I was in life when he did that interview I didn’t need it. But I appreciated it,” she told TMI’s hosts. Compared to their lowkey wedding in 2002, their separation was highly publicized till they finalized their divorce in 2011. Shaunie got the brunt of it as depicted on Basketball Wives and faced some criticism.

In 2010, Basketball Wives premiered, and the divorce was finalized a year later. This led many to assume that she was using Shaq and their divorce to stay in the limelight.

“I had gone through so much of the public telling me what I did when I really didn’t. And being accused of so many things for so long that I had just settled in that place. So by the time he did say it, I was like, ‘oh well, Thank you,’ I didn’t need it but I think he needed that,” she stated in the interview. She said while she appreciated her ex-husband sharing these thoughts in public to show her he owned it, she felt “he could have called me but it’s okay.”

In the interview, Shaunie also revealed that she never talked ill about Shaq in front of her children, no matter the situation. After their divorce, Shaq and Shaunie co-parented their children and have shown mutual respect for each other even when it appeared there might be some bad blood. But as Shaq proved recently, there is no such situation.

In her memoir, “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms,” released last month, Shaunie wrote that she might not have been in love with the former NBA star. The excerpt read, “Looking back, I don’t know that I was ever really in love with the man, but I was in love with the idea of being married to the man I had a family with.”

As Shaunie’s words did rounds on social media, Shaq responded the next day after the book’s release. Taking to Instagram he acknowledged, “I understand… I wouldn’t have been in love with me either. Wishing you all the best… All love, Shaq” while also adding “Trust me I get it,” in the caption of the post.

Shaq has been regretful over how his marriage with Shaunie ended and the interview that the hosts of the TMI talked about was when Diesel admitted to his flaws.

“She was awesome,” Shaquille O’Neal showed his appreciation for Shaunie

Shaunie has endured a lot of scrutiny for her revelations in her memoir. Shaq, however, congratulated her for her book and admitted to his own shortcomings. This wasn’t the only time the 52-year-old had humbly admitted to his mistakes.

In Shaq’s 2022 appearance on The Pivot Podcast, he blamed himself for their breakup. “I’m glad you guys asked because I don’t mind talking about this, but I was bad. She was awesome. She really was. It was all me.”

While he didn’t exactly reveal what did he do wrong, he did mention not “protecting her” and “those vows” He also commended her for prioritizing their kids and how she looked out for them.

The former couple, who got married in 2002, share four children: Shareef, 22, Amirah, 20, Shaqir, 19, and Me’arah, 15. “She did exactly what she was supposed to do and gave me beautiful kids, take care of the house, take care of the corporate stuff,” Shaq revealed.

His divorce coincided with his retirement and he admitted that the emptiness got to him and drove up the remorse he felt towards Shaunie.

Regarding such interviews, Shaunie understands saying it out loud is better for Shaq and it’s fine for him to do it. The ex-couple have moved on with their respective lives. Shaunie is now married to pastor Keion Henderson, and the couple recently celebrated their two-year marriage anniversary.