BSO was the first to report about the revelation made by Shaunie O’Neal (now Henderson in her book. In the excerpt shared by BSO, Shaunie talks about how she came to the realization that she was never truly in love with her husband Shaq, but instead with the idea of their relationship together. Shaunie’s frank admission provides a glimpse into the complexities of love and relationships, and highlights the importance of being honest with oneself and one’s partner about one’s true feelings.

Henderson, the creator of VH1’s reality series “Basketball Wives,” explained what went wrong in their marriage, which played out during O’Neal’s star-studded Lakers days, in her new book, “Undefeated: Changing the Rules and Winning on My Own Terms,” out Tuesday, May 7.

On the surface, though, it appeared as though Henderson and O’Neal were living their happily ever after. They lived in massive mansions with luxury cars and enjoyed lavish Christmases at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

“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,” Henderson wrote. “I was in love with the idea of building a life together. I truly did enjoy spending time with him. [NBA] road trips gave me a chance to be with my husband and experience the NBA life for a little while.”

Henderson explained in the book’s introduction that O’Neal tried to be the best husband and father he could to her and their children while navigating fame and receiving a lot of attention from women.

“He was trying to be a world-famous, thirty-something multimillionaire with thousands of women throwing themselves at him, and people in general begging just to be in his presence, while being a husband and a father at the same time,” she wrote. “How could anyone possibly know how to do that?”

It appears that Shaquille O’Neal, the former NBA star, has recently become aware of the fact that his ex-wife, Shaunie O’Neal, is currently on a book tour where she is speaking publicly about their past relationship. In her book, Shaunie apparently discusses how she never loved Shaq and also talks about his infidelities during their marriage. It is no surprise that Shaq was deeply saddened by this news, which prompted him to take to Instagram to address the situation. Despite the pain that he undoubtedly felt, Shaq’s response was very dignified and classy. Nonetheless, the anguish in his words was palpable.

Shaq’s son Shareef O’Neal made sure to show his dad some love in the comments.