Who could ever forget about the NFL Patriots athlete, Aaron Hernandez? Although the former tight end had played for the team for only three seasons before his tragic and untimely demise, he managed to leave quite an impact on the football fan base. Now, years after his unfortunate suicide in 2017, the footballer’s former fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins, has wound up back in the spotlight.

From meeting Hernandez in elementary school to having a child with the star, here is everything you need to know about the 34-year-old.

Shayanna Jenkins: former fiancée to Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez and Shayanna Jenkins’ love story did not go according to plan. While the couple had met each other way back in elementary school in Connecticut, it was not until much later that their relationship ended up blossoming. As the NFL athlete made his way up the ranks in the early 2010s and signed with the New England Patriots for $40 million, his childhood friend/high school sweetheart stuck by him and even moved to Massachusetts to live together.

In 2012, the on and off again couple found out that they were going to be parents. With such a “life-changing” thing happening, they decided it was time to settle down. While Hernandez and Jenkins got engaged before their daughter, Avielle, was born and planned to have a 2014 wedding, their nuptials were never cemented as life seemed to get in the way.

With Hernandez going up on murder charges and being convicted in 2015, Jenkins became the sole breadwinner of the family. However, it was unclear what her career was. In fact, it ended up being revealed just last year that she had been working with PEOPLE since 2022. However, her role at the media outlet had not been disclosed. While the 34-year-old kept her professional life away from the public eye, her personal life reared its head in 2018.

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That was when it was announced that Jenkins would be welcoming her first child with partner Dino Guilmette. Even though she had moved on from Hernandez, the 34-year-old still ensured that he would be a huge part of their daughter’s life.

Shayanna Jenkins celebrates Avielle’s special day with Aaron Hernandez

In a now-deleted post to her Instagram last year, Shayanna Jenkins shared a photo collage of her daughter, Avielle, for her 11th birthday. Along with the picture, she also added a clip of everyone having a blast at the child’s birthday party. While it was already a big day for her little girl, there is no doubt that her mother’s caption might have tugged at her heartstrings a little bit.

After all, the 34-year-old captioned the post, “Happy Birthday my Beanie! You have been such an inspiration to watch grow. Your dedication and hard work is something I’ll always admire – first one in, last one out (just like your daddy.)” While Avielle might have more than just one connection to her father, Aaron Hernandez, the most notable one has to be the fact that they share a birthday, November 6th.

Jenkins also chose to hype up the 11-year-old by adding, “Keep being the amazing young lady you are, and never lose that smile! Your sister and I love you more than you’ll ever know. Daddy would be so proud of you.” 

The 34-year-old still has so much love for her ex-fiancee that she took to social media to share how upset she was about the jokes made about Hernandez at the recent Tom Brady roast. The mother of two might have moved on from her year-long romance with Hernandez. However, it looks like he will forever be a part of her life.