It was like a fairytale wedding. In 2002, Shaquille O’Neal tied the knot with his then-girlfriend, Shaunie, in a lavish style in Beverly Hills. While celebrities often struggle to keep their wedding ceremonies private, Shaq somehow successfully managed to do that.

In fact, not even the guests at the event were aware of what was going on. So, naturally, one would assume that Shaunie must have gotten an equally romantic or even grander proposal. However, that wasn’t the case. As Henderson shared in her memoir, it was much simpler, yet genuine.

Shaunie recalled that she found out about her pregnancy on a trip to the Bahamas with her sister and cousins. O’Neal and Shaunie welcomed their first child, Shareef, in 2000 and their daughter, Amirah, in 2001.

During her trip back to LA, she called O’Neal to pick her up from the airport to tell him about her pregnancy. However, before she could say anything, O’Neal somehow realized it and asked for her hand in marriage.

“I don’t know if it was the look on my face or what, but he said, ‘You’re pregnant.’ I said I was, and he said, ‘Well, I guess we should just go ahead and get married.’ That was my proposal, in the passenger seat of a Hummer driving home from Los Angeles International Airport. Be still my heart,” Shaunie wrote in her book, Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms.

Soon, the two decided on the date of December 26, 2002. Away from the media and press, the wedding took place at a romantic, lavish hotel in a private setting.

While grand, Shaquille O’Neal’s wedding was a private affair

O’Neal might have tried to compensate for a simple proposal with a lavish wedding. Security guards were assigned near the event to maintain privacy.

Family members and O’Neal’s close friends and teammates were included in the wedding event. O’Neal’s mother even called it the event of a “lifetime.”

via Imago

In fact, the 248 guests present at the event were also not aware of his wedding. His former Lakers teammate Brian Shaw shared, “Since we didn’t find out until the last minute what was going on, I didn’t know it was black tie.“

In a conversation with People Magazine, O’Neal’s mother Lucille O’Neal shared, “Seeing the two of them together and in love is what every mother dreams of for her child.”

On April 19, 2003, the couple welcomed their third child, Shaqir.

It was during the 2003 NBA playoffs. However, after five years of their marriage, the Los Angeles Lakers filed for a divorce, with the two officially parting ways in 2009.

The mother of five tied the knot with Pastor Keion Henderson in 2022. Shaunie in her book mentioned how Shaq and she are happy right now while co-parenting their kids.