‘Basketball Wives’ Star Shaunie O’Neal Had A Bridezilla ‘Moment’ Before Marrying Pastor Keion Henderson (Exclusive)
Newlyweds Shaunie O’Neal and Keion Henderson are sharing an intimate look at their wedding in ‘Shaunie & Keion’s Destination ‘I Do.’
Shaunie O’Neal and Pastor Keion Henderson tied the knot on May 28 on the Caribbean island of Anguilla with 200 guests in attendance — and cameras were rolling for all the action! The Basketball Wives executive producer and star, 47, spoke to HollywoodLife ahead of the Monday, Nov. 28 premiere of her new 3-part VH1 reality series Shaunie & Keion’s Destination ‘I Do and EXCLUSIVELY revealed that she had a Bridezilla moment for “about two hours” right before her wedding.
The stress inducing moment happened after her sons — Myles, 25, Shareef, 22, and Shaquir, 19, — stepped up to walk her down the aisle in place of her beloved dad, who unexpectedly passed away, just two months before her wedding. “For the boys to come up with that solution and be there for me, it meant everything. I think it was the best idea ever. I will never, ever forget it,” Shaunie said of her three sons, who she shares with her ex-husband Shaquille O’Neal. Of course, that doesn’t mean the memorable moment went off without a hitch, because the boys dropped the ball on getting their custom suits made!
With just 48 hours to go before the big bash, Shaunie’s groom, Keion, 40, had to jump into action to get the boys outfitted in time. “Their suits were made 48 hours prior, in America and then we had to figure out how to get them from Houston, Texas to the island,” the Lighthouse Church pastor shared during the EXCLUSIVE interview. “The suits got there on time, but none of the guys were actually measured in person for them, so when the suits got there they actually fit, but they were not functional. The boys were not able to lift their arms, it was hilarious. They couldn’t hug each other because then the suit arms would have ripped off. And the shirts didn’t come with the jackets. So we had to go down to the gift shop and buy Island shirts to go under the jacket, which so happened to be the exact color they needed to be.”
It’s easy to see why Shaunie’s limits were tested! “I think I became a Bridezilla for a quick moment when I realized they didn’t have shirts and we were going to have to find them on the island somewhere and then they didn’t have their sizes,” she admitted. “You know, the boys are huge, they can’t just wear regular T-shirts. It was a disaster. So yes, it was extremely stressful for about two hours right before the wedding. And then that was it. As much as they probably would have walked down the aisle shirtless, it was not happening on our day.”
Six months after their wedding, the happy couple has settled into newlywed life at home in Texas, and they’re looking forward to spending their first Thanksgiving as Mr. and Mrs. Henderson. “We’ll be with Keion’s side of the family for Thanksgiving. My kids are all over the place. My youngest son is playing in college, and they play the day after Thanksgiving somewhere, so he’s gone. And Shareef’s traveling playing with the NBA G-league and Myles will be DJ’ing somewhere and the girls [Amirah, 21, and Mearah, 16] are actually going to go with their dad for Thanksgiving this year. So we were going to go eat and then go see ‘Wakanda’. And then it’s my birthday [Nov, 27] and I don’t know what’s happening. I know my husband has something planned,” Shaunie shared.
“She’s more of a destination birthday type person so she’d rather go somewhere than do something here,” Keoine explained. “So I’m going to try to take her to a place where she can enjoy herself for a little while. As she just said the kids will be gone, so this is the first Thanksgiving since we’ve known each other that it’ll just be us.”
Shaunie & Keion’s Destination ‘I Do‘ debuts Monday, Nov. 28 on VH1 at 9PM.