Shaquille O’Neal’s mom, Lucille, reflected on how she felt when she first met his now ex-wife, Shaunie Henderson.
Earlier in May, Shaunie Henderson admitted she might have never been in love with the NBA legend. Henderson claimed that O’Neal had a habit of “going missing” and that she suspected infidelity early on in their marriage, which soon crumbled when they decided to split.
NBA star Shaquille O’Neal met Shaunie Nelson, now Henderson, in 1996 when he moved to Los Angeles to play for the Lakers after four years with the Orlando Magic.
Between dating for over two years, having their first child, Shareef, in 2000, and marrying in 2002, the exact moment when Shaq introduced Shaunie to his mother, Lucille Harrison, remains a tantalizing mystery.
But in a recent, up-to-the-minute interview, Lucille revealed how she felt about meeting the then-film marketer for the first time.
On June 24, Lucille Harrison appeared on “Sway in the Morning” with Steph and Seth Curry’s mother, Sonya Curry, to talk about their new TV One podcast, “Raising Fame,” and their experiences as mothers to some of the world’s most famous athletes.
During the interview, host Sway Calloway asked Lucille to discuss meeting Shaunie early in her relationship with Shaq.
Sway began, “A mother’s love for a son is something extremely unique, and at some point, those sons find other women. 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?”
“Before then, I had already gotten to the place where my place is secure,” Lucille promptly responded. “I don’t care who he marries or who he gets with. I know my place, and I’m secure in it.”
While Lucille admits she was comfortable with her role in her son’s life, she also hinted that her intuition told her something about the budding relationship might not be suitable for her son.
“It’s hard to see them go into a relationship, and somehow, you may feel that might not be the right relationship,” she said. “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.”
Guess a mother always knows, right?
