Shaquille O'Neal Reacts to Ex Shaunie Henderson Saying She's Not Sure She Ever Loved Him

Shaquille O'Neal made no attempt to play defense when his ex-wife made a candid confession about their marriage.

In her memoir Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms, Shaunie Henderson—who was married to the NBA star between 2002 and 2011—wrote, "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."

On May 8, one day after the book was released, the NBA legend wrote on Instagram, "I understand... I wouldn't have been in love with me either. Wishing you all the best... All love, Shaq."

The 52-year-old also captioned his post, "Trust me I get it."

Shaunie, 49, has not responded publicly to her ex's comments. The Basketball Wives creator and Inside the NBA sports analyst share children Myles, 27, Shareef Rashaun, 24, Amirah Sanaa, 22, Shaqir Rashaun, 21, and Me'arah Sanaa, who turned 18 earlier this month. Shaq also has another daughter, Taahirah, 27, from a previous relationship.

The basketball icon has previously blamed himself for their breakup, admitting in interviews and in his own memoir, 2011 book Shaq Uncut: My Story, that he cheated on his ex.

"You don't know how good you got something till it's gone," he told E! News in December 2022. "I mentioned about having a 76,000-square-foot house and nobody in there. That was all my fault."

I didn't do the right thing," he continued, "and I definitely paid for it."

Despite their past, Shaq and Shaunie went on to co-parent their kids and he even received what Shaunie told E! News was a "courtesy invite" to her 2022 wedding to Keion Henderson, though he ultimately did not attend.

"I asked him did he want to come to the wedding. I didn't really meant it," Shaunie said on the VH1 special Shaunie & Keion's Destination 'I Do' that year. "He was like, 'No, that's your day.'"

Look back at friendly celebrity exes over the years...

No, they are never, ever, ever getting back together. But at this point—between the birthday parties, the friendly embraces and even freaking acting out a sexual fantasy in a star-studded virtual reading of Fast Times at Ridgemont High—it feels like the former Hollywood golden couple is just taunting us. 

You know you're cool when you can pop into your ex's talk show and give him a hard time. Such was the case when Silverman turned up on Kimmel's stage to chat about her new show, I Love You, America and his "cute," "bright," "funny" wife Molly Kimmel. "It's not fair!" she cracked. "She gets, like, new woke Jimmy. I had Man Show Jimmy."

TBH, we might still be mourning this relationship harder than either of its participants. Because when Faris—now engaged to cinematographer Michael Barrett—heard that Pratt was set to wed Katherine Schwarzenegger in 2019, she offered to officiate. She even sent over a gift after the newlyweds welcomed daughter Lyla in August 2020. Thrilled for son Jack to become a big brother, a source told E! News, Faris "is very supportive." 

It would have been super easy for the exes' relationship to become a flop. But more than four years after a messy split, the HGTV stars are still killing it at two projects: parenting kids Taylor and Brayden and turning run-down properties into someone else's dream home.

Literally "best friends" as the rocker put it in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the parents to actress Zoe Kravitz still consider themselves kin. "We're one big happy family," Kravitz said of his ex, now wed to Jason Momoa. "It's beautiful, and it just shows you what can be done."

Since their 2015 breakup, the parents to Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel have hit the conscious uncoupling trifecta: Joint vacations, shared holidays and public displays of admiration with Affleck dubbing his ex "an amazing mother" during a 2016 interview with E! News. 

Nina and Ian may have called it quits in 2013 after three years of dating, but they've remained close friends since then. In 2014, the Vampire Diaries star started dating Nikki Reed and tied the knot later that year. Naturally, Dobrev befriended the Twilight actress.

The two called it quits in July 2016 after five years together. The singer said on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show the following October that she's "very close" to Kinney, adding, "He's been my lover and a friend for so long," she said. "We love each other. That's it."

The exes had no trouble coparenting their son, Bronx, after finalizing their divorce back in 2011. The Fall Out Boy star has even said his former wife is "an awesome mom."

So she's over those "7 Things" then? The JoBro musician has said he's "really friendly" with his ex. "We've got a good relationship."

The Dexter stars first met on set in 2006 before things got romantic in 2008. And although they divorced in 2011, Carpenter assured there was "nothing but love and respect" between the exes a few years later. 

Long the gold standard of copacetic exes, the parents to daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout remain so tight that the decision to ride out coronavirus stay-at-home orders together in Idaho was a no-brainer. Quarantine dance party anyone?

Some four years after their 2014 divorce, Lopez was still giving her former spouse, dad to her twins Max and Emme, props. "While I was married to Marc, he really helped me with my confidence and he saw where I suffered," she said on a 2018 episode of Sunday Today. "He was like, 'You're a great singer. Don't ever let anybody tell you you're not a great singer.' And I respected him so much 'cause I consider him one of the best singers of all time."

Even if it hasn't been his day, his week, his month or even his year, the actress will be there for her former husband and Scream costar. "I mean, as divorces go, I would say it's one of the better ones. For sure," she shared on Running Wild With Bear Grylls eight years after their 2010 split. Raising daughter Coco, she continued, "We're good co-parents together."

Their real life romance may have fizzled in 2007. However, that doesn't mean the two couldn't heat up the screen in the 2011 movie Bad Teacher.

Sure, the initial few months of their 2013 split were rough going, but the actors have now reached the group vacation stage of their divorce. "I really like her husband and I think he's a great guy," the Twilight alum told LaPalme Magazine of a 2017 trip to Cancun that included Garth, Dave Abrams, Facinelli's now-fiancée Lily Anne Harrison and their three daughters Luca, Lola and Fiona. As for his relationship with Garth, he continued, "People come into your life for a reason and relationships can change," he told LaPalme. "Just because we aren't living together doesn't mean you can't love each other."

Despite a surprise separation in September 2012, the couple decided to put on a united front for their children. "As you know, Will and I are very, very good friends," she explained during a 2014 interview with Howard Stern. "We are doing a really good job. I don't think a 10-year marriage constitutes a failure. I think relationships are really tough."