When Shaunie Henderson’s memoir was released in May, her kids, her husband, and even her ex-husband reacted. Shaquille O’Neal’s response to it was the one everyone wanted to know. Shaq’s reaction to his ex-wife’s memoir was cordial and awfully concerning but it showed that he’s past his differences with Shaunie. But never before did we know the relationship between Shaq’s mother and Shaunie.

Lucille O’Neal stated her thoughts about Shaunie née Nelson, from the time she was her son’s girlfriend to their divorce, bluntly on Sway In the Morning. But before Lucille’s confession about ex-DIL Shaunie, the Basketball Wives star too shared a little about ex-husband Shaq’s childhood in her book, implying he was hungry for warmth and affection.

Undefeated detailed Shaunie’s childhood and relationship with her family but she also gave insight into her understanding of Shaq’s childhood. “From the time we started dating, I knew Shaquille wanted to have a big family, with lots of kids,” she wrote. “I have often thought that his own upbringing made him cling to the idea of family. He grew up in a military family, raised by his stepfather, Phillip Harrison, a career sergeant in the army who most people came to know as ‘Sarge. Sarge was a tough parent, extremely strict, and I think Shaquille hungered for the kind of warm, loving family he hadn’t experienced.”

By Shaq’s own account, he was raised by a single mother for several years. And when his (step)father came along, he was a strict man who didn’t allow slacking off in basketball or academics. Philip Harrison kept Shaq on the NBA track but also insisted he complete college. He was not forgiving about Shaq’s mischief either. One of the key lessons Shaq has learned as a dad is to be a provider as Sarge emphasized to Shaq the younger kids and/or women in the household should be priority. As fondly as Shaq speaks of Harrison and misses him to this day, Shaunie seemingly felt that left Shaq affection-deprived.

In the same book, Shaunie had detailed that her own mother was strict, narrating her scary reaction to Shaunie once skipping school. But her mom’s love language was louder. That may have contrasted Shaq’s upbringing to hers, even though her book draws parallels to her own father who she has revealed was unfaithful.

Shaunie’s book had climbed to the top of the Amazon Bestseller list, when Lucille O’Neal joined Steph Curry’s mom on a radio show. There she didn’t hold back about what she thought about her son’s ex.

Lucille O’Neal saw the end of Shaq and Shaunie’s marriage

Sitting next to Sonya Curry, Lucille confessed, “It’s hard to see them go into a relationship and somehow you may feel maybe that might not be the right relationship.” However, Lucille chose to keep it to herself, not interfere and let Shaq and Shaunie’s relationship move naturally.

Shaq and Shaunie began dating when he signed with the Lakers, welcomed two children together, got married in 2002, and had two more kids. They separated in 2009 and finalized their divorce in 2011. He took responsibility for their divorce, responding, “I wouldn’t have been in love with me either,” to Shaunie stating that she might not have been in love with Shaq in her book.

Lucille maintained she was not competitive with Shaunie or any of her children’s partners for her place in their lives. But from the sounds of it, she’s going to be protective about her kids till the end.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.