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Shaunie Henderson is speaking out and clarifying her viral comments about her previous relationship and marriage to Shaquille O’Neal.
According to PEOPLE, Henderson spoke exclusively with the outlet for an interview published on Friday, May 10. Additionally, the 49-year-old explained that her comments about her ex-husband were “taken out of context.”
“My book is my truth, and when I was talking to my friend yesterday, I was like, developing an opinion and a comment from content with no context will show you a lot of people’s intelligence and unintelligence, right?” she said. “There was no context to just that one quote that I said, and I think that sadly, people are taking my words out of context.”
“I’m not a word girl. I’m a character girl, and since I’ve left the marriage of Shaquille, my character has spoken for itself,” she said.
The 49-year-old ultimately explained what she meant in her initial comments.
“When you love somebody, you love somebody, but to be in love with somebody is a different feeling, and I will be honest, I didn’t realize that until I found the love of my life right now and I’m in this marriage. I’m like, oh my gosh. It’s a different feeling,” she said. “…People don’t read, you know what I mean? Love, not in love They pick out the words they want. Again, context is everything.”
As The Shade Room previously reported, Henderson went viral after releasing her novel, ‘Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning On My Own Terms,’ on May 7. At the time, an excerpt from her novel made headlines, in which she spoke about not knowing if she was “ever really in love” with O’Neal.
“Looking back, I dont 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,” she wrote
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In the book, Henderson added that she “truly” enjoyed spending time with O’Neal. However, his “trying to be a world-famous, thirty-something multimillionaire with thousands of women throwing themselves at him” while being a father and committed husbandposed a challenge to their relationship.
“How could anyone possibly know how to do that?” she added.
In response, O’Neal appeared to catch wind of his ex-wife’s words. Subsequently, he took to social media to share his reaction.
“I understandI wouldnt have been in love with me either. Wishing you all the best… All love, Shaq,” he wrote at the time.
Furthermore, while speaking with PEOPLE, Henderson weighed in on Shaq’s response to her viral words. She explained that she “can’t speak” for her ex-husband or say “why he would run with” the incorrect interpretations of her words.
“But it’s my book, my truth, and it’s my legacy,” she explained.
