Shaunie Henderson’s troubled marriage with ex-Shaquille O’Neal is well documented in her memoir. Even Keion Henderson stated his trouble with his first marriage. “I don’t want to get married because I don’t want to fail because if I survive this (divorce), I definitely can’t survive it again.” However, both of them learned from their individual mistakes from the past and built a new life together. Recently, the Pastor even revealed what helped them in their new journey.

“It was kind of at first I didn’t think that it was going to happen as quickly as it did. Because I knew what you had been through, you knew what I had been through.” On the 17th episode of their podcast, Keion highlighted that they sought outside help, but it wasn’t easy at first. “And you remember we went to a therapist, and he told both of us that we were both about 24 months away from being happy and whole.”

Seeking outside help is what Shaunie Henderson detailed about missing out on Shaquille O’Neal. In her memoir, “Neither of us took the time to invest in our future by seeking marriage counseling, which, looking back, we probably should have. We both thought we were doing “the right thing” by jumping into family life, and we gave it our best…” The Executive Producer of the Basketball Wives also stated they were young when they married and lacked “wisdom.”

That is why, before marrying for the second time, Shaunie took advice. Keion Henderson described it on The Groow Zone podcast, “We were like, ‘Oh no, it won’t take that long.’ But it actually did, because you know Joy is a process.” Even the kids were on board with this union because their mother was happy. They even expressed their approval by asking Keion why didn’t he ask for their blessing sooner.

Shaunie and Shaquille O’Neal’s previous marriage troubles

In Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms, the mother of five detailed her relationship with the Lakers legend. Not just the good parts, but even some bad experiences which she healed from. “That’s why I eventually forgave Shaquille for the things he did wrong in our marriage.”

Shaunie Henderson forgave Shaquille O’Neal for his past mistakes as he stepped outside of his marriage. The process was never easy, but it helped her to reach closure in her previous marriage. That’s why she’s not hesitant to openly talk about her experience. “Honestly, I think after meeting my husband and acclimating to this first lady role, I started to share more. I started to talk more.”

This is the reason why even Keion Henderson shared the steps they had to go through. Even though it required speaking to a relationship expert, both Shaunie and the Pastor obliged. In 2022, the couple exchanged their vows, and since then have taken multiple roles together.