Shaq’s Mother Says She Didn’t Feel His Marriage To Shaunie Was Right For Him

Shaq’s Mother Says His Marriage To Shaunie O’Neal Wasn’t the “Right Relationship”

Shaunie Henderson and Shaquille O’Neal’s former marriage has made controversial headlines multiple times this year, following the former’s book and the latter’s podcast, where they both detailed their time together in their 7-year marriage.

Amid the drama, Shaq’s mom has now chimed into the conversation and giving her thoughts on what her first impression of Shaunie was back when she was dating her son.

During an interview with Sway In The Morning, Sway asked the NBA icon’s mom, Lucille O’Neal, what it was like to meet Shaq’s then-wife Shaunie and how she viewed their relationship initially. The 69-year-old didn’t hold back with her answer.

Shaq and Shaunie at Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XIV at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa on April 5, 2008 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“A mother’s love for a son is something extremely unique, and at some point, those sons find other women,” Sway began on the show.

“They find wives. What was it like when you first met Shaunie? What was that like knowing that my son is about to be married and has this new person in their life?”

Shaq and Shaunie at the NBA All-Star Game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Ca. on Feb. 15, 2004.

Lucille then replied saying, “Before then, I had already gotten to the place where my place is secure. I don’t care who he marry or who he gets with. I know my place, and I’m secure in it.”

She continued, “It’s hard to see them go into a relationship and somehow you may feel maybe that might not be the right relationship.”

“But, you have to step back, and we have to let it happen. And I tell a lot of the mothers that we are going to remain their mothers as long as they live… we are not their girlfriends. So, I’m safe in my place,” she added.

Shaunie faced backlash when an excerpt from her book, the memoir “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms,” where she questioned if she ever really loved O’Neal, began to circulate. She was forced to clarify that the passage was taken out of context.