NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has never shied away from admitting that he was the one to be blamed for his broken marriage with ex-wife Shaunie. The former Los Angeles Lakers superstar had nothing but praise for the Basketball Wives star even after their divorce. Following their divorce, Shaq has been paying $20,000 a month as part of their agreement. However, losing a significant amount of money every month was the least of Shaq’s worries because he had lost so much more than that.

Shaq and Shaunie O’Neal, now Henderson, first met in 1996 when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In 2000, they became parents to Shareef, and a year later, they welcomed their second child Amirah. The couple eventually tied the knot in 2002 and welcomed two more kids, Shaqir and Me’arah. After being together for more than a decade, Shaunie filed for divorce due to irreconcilable differences, which were finalized in 2011.

Shaquille O’Neal opens up about his family

Despite ending their marriage, Shaquille O’Neal and Shaunie Henderson maintained a great relationship and have co-parented their children ever since. However, it still does not erase Shaq’s haunting memories from the first time his wife and children moved out of the house. In episode 4 of the SHAQ documentary, the 15x NBA All-Star talked about the devastating feeling he experienced when he was forced to confront the empty mansion that was once a home where his family resided.

He said, “All the cryin’ and all the tears…I’ve never been shot or stabbed but it felt like that. Now when you lose the privilege of having that joy, now you have yo deal with being condemned with nothing”

“You walk in the room you where the kids used to play, there’s nothing. You go in a room and you look at their closet, all their clothes are gone. Everything’s gone. Having them at the house was the peace that kept me sane,” Shaq added. In his Big Podcast, Shaq has addressed how Shaunie leaving with the kids hurled into a state of immense distress, while clearly expressing his reticence in using the ‘D’ word(Depression).

However, Shaq also mentioned in his podcast how his world changed for the better when his kids eventually started calling him. This stage in his life helped the Lakers icon to realize his narcissistic tendencies and work towards mitigating them.

READ MORE – “As Soon as I Saw My Children’s Faces”: Divorced Shaquille O’Neal Gets Brutally Honest on How His Kids Inspired a Major Change in His Life

Since the divorce, Shaq has dated a few women but is yet to disclose any plans of remarrying. Whereas Shaunie took a second chance at love when she met Pastor Keion Henderson.

Shaunie finds love again

Over a decade after parting ways with her ex-husband, Shaunie finally found someone she felt she could spend her life with. After dating for two years, Shaunie and Keion decided to take the leap, and the couple got married in a beautiful tropical ceremony in Anguilla. The grand affair was attended by Shaunie and Keion’s closest family and friends, including the reality TV star’s five kids.

WATCH THIS STORY: Shaquille O’Neal’s bizarre pre-game ritual from his magic days

The couple recently launched a podcast known as ‘The Groowzone’ which already has over 40k subscribers on YouTube. So far, the ‘Hendersons’ have released one video, which received a great response from the viewers prompting them to ask for more.