Shaunie O’Neal Teases a ‘Destination Wedding’ – and Will She Invite the ‘Basketball Wives’ Cast? [Exclusive]
Shaunie O’Neal is keeping some details of her upcoming nuptials to fiancé Pastor Keion Henderson under wraps, but she recently spilled that the couple plans to have a “destination” wedding, which she said added a layer of complexity to planning.
The VH-1 Basketball Wives executive producer took a step back from being in the drama mix this season in order to spend more time with her family and plan the wedding. “Listen … this thing, had I known … the gas prices alone,” she dished with Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “Because I’m having a destination wedding. So it’s all been interesting, to say the least.”
Planning a destination wedding during a global pandemic is a challenge. But so is drilling down a guest list for a power couple with endless friends, family, and business associates. This begs the question – will O’Neal invite Basketball Wives co-stars, especially since the enduring series has featured a large cast?
Is Shaunie O’Neal inviting the ‘Basketball Wives’ cast to her wedding?
O’Neal said some cast members from Basketball Wives are invited to the wedding. She wouldn’t name who but said fans can guess who will get an invite. “I think it would be obvious,” she said.
“[And] I think the ladies know who I am genuinely friends with,” O’Neal continued. “And most of us are co-workers that respect each other. Maybe some ladies on this season, I’ve never been in their presence in person. But you know, we have a respect for each other … Instagram, things like that. We’re cool. I’m cool with everybody. But I think that your wedding, at least mine, is for an intimate, real friendship. People who genuinely love you, genuinely know you. And that’s what I save those invites for.”
Shaunie O’Neal’s destination wedding revealed
O’Neal wouldn’t name the destination during the interview but said putting together all the moving parts is definitely stressful. “I’m sure I have a lot more grey hairs than I’d like to have!” she said. “But it is what it is. It’s gonna be great, and beautiful. But yeah, it’s difficult. Times are so crazy in the world. You don’t realize what’s all affected and what’s going on. Just getting things shipped nowadays is not the same as getting things shipped last year.”
And while O’Neal wasn’t ready to spill where the wedding will be held, VH-1 revealed the nuptials will be held in Anguilla, plus viewers are “invited.”
“This special series will follow the happy couple — along with their closest friends and family members — as they prepare for their destination wedding and the blending of their beautiful families,” according to a VH1 release. “Along the way, they will juggle business demands, stewardship of a 15,000-member congregation, and, before God, arrive at the most special moment in a couple’s life: saying I do.”
She has enjoyed stepping back this season of ‘Basketball Wives’
O’Neal said taking a small step back this season has been refreshing. “I have enjoyed every minute!” she exclaimed about not being in the mix of the drama this season. “I would hear the notes. Sometimes I’d tap in, sometimes I wouldn’t. It’s like, ‘You know, I like my peace this week. So I’m not gonna read these notes!’ I’ll wait a couple of weeks and do it.”
“But I needed it,” she admitted about taking some time away from the show. “People are just like we don’t need you in the game anyway,” she laughed. “But, you know, I’m not gone. I can dip in when I’m needed. If not, I’ll be right over here watching like everybody else. But I enjoyed it. I did enjoy sitting back this season and just kind of seeing what everybody else was going through and what’s going on. See how we mix up the group, what could happen?”
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