Shayanna Jenkins Got Strength to Find Love Again after Fiancé Aaron Hernandez’s Death - Her Life Now

Shayanna Jenkins's life was devastated when her fiancé, football star Aaron Hernandez, was convicted of the murder of her sister's boyfriend, Odin Lloyd.

Nearly four years after football player Aaron Hernandez's death, his fiancée and mother of his only child, Avielle, is still dealing with his downfall and his suicide in prison after being convicted of murder.

Shayanna Jenkins has had to rebuild her life and is now the mother of a second child, daughter Giselle, whom she shares with a former football player and amateur boxer Dino Guilmette. But the former footballer's life and death still haunt her.

SHAYANNA AND AARON WERE TOGETHER SINCE THEIR TEENS

The former couple first met in high school in Connecticut where Hernandez was a football star and started dating. Sadly, he and Shayanna broke up when he went to college at the University of Florida.

Then, when the former athlete was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2010, they resumed the relationship. The couple welcomed their daughter Avielle in September 2012 and announced their engagement. But the planned wedding would never take place.

WHAT HAPPENED TO AARON HERNANDEZ

Shayanna's sister, Shaneah, was engaged to a semi-professional 27-year-old football player with the Boston Bandits, Odin Lloyd, who was also a friend of Hernandez's. In June 2013 Lloyd was found dead, with 5 bullets in his back.

Shayanna's late beau, who had been acquitted of a double murder in Boston the year before became a suspect when texts from Lloyd showed he had been the last person to see him. Shayanna stood by her former fiancé throughout the subsequent trial.

Boston University discovered that the football player suffered from the most drastic brain lesions they had ever seen in a man under 45.

The ex-football pro was found guilty of Lloyd's murder and sentenced to life in prison without a possibility of parole. Over the next two years. Shayanna supported her convicted fiancé, visiting him in prison and phoning him regularly while she raised their infant daughter alone.

Then in April 2017, Shayana's fiancé was found dead in his prison cell. He left several notes behind for his daughter and for Shayanna.

SHAYANNA FOUND NEW LOVE

Shayanna's support of the late New England Patriots athlete despite his conviction led to a rift with her sister and strained relations with her family. As a result, she decided to move with her daughter to Rhode Island.

It was there that Shayanna was introduced to Dino Guilmette. The two started dating and welcomed daughter Giselle in 2018 and have since announced their engagement. But it was impossible for Shayanna to leave her past behind.

SHAYANNA COULDN'T TELL HOW AARON WAS FEELING

In January 2020 Netflix released the documentary "Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez," which made an explosive revelation: the late football star was gay or bisexual and had hidden his sexuality from everyone including Shayanna. She said:

"Although I have a child with Aaron, I still can't tell you how he was feeling inside. No one can."

Shayanna revealed that she had been contacted by the production of "Killer Inside" and offered financial compensation to collaborate in the documentary but refused. She felt that discussing her late boyfriend's sexuality after his death was unfair to him.

The tearful Shayanna expressed regret that the former football tight end had hidden a part of himself away from her and stated that had she known of his bisexuality it would not have changed their relationship or her feelings for him.

SHAYANNA JENKINS NEVER FORGETS TO PAY TRIBUTE TO AARON

Shayanna has never stopped mourning the late football player, even four years after his death. She posted an Instagram snapshot of a little pair of shoes on top of her late boyfriend's hands in April 2022.

She said in the lengthy post that her grief has not diminished since his passing. She acknowledged her sorrow and said she gets through it by remembering all the beautiful times she had with him while he was alive.

She recalled the agonizing day she lost him when she dropped her phone and sobbed hysterically. She noted that it was the "worst day" of her life at a time when things were looking up for them.

She also posted an Instagram collage of old photos of herself and her late boyfriend kissing, smiling, and making silly faces at the camera. "You left this world, but not my heart ❤️ #AH81." she wrote.

Shayanna uploaded another picture with a caption stating that she and Avielle thought about him and that the love between a father and his daughter knows no distance. The photo, which was taken when their daughter was just a few weeks old, showed the late athlete planting a kiss on the little girl.

With Avielle growing up quickly, the delighted mom discovered how much their charming daughter has matched his energetic personality. Shayanna also spoke about how often she and the little girl talk about the latter's late dad.

While her late partner had been portrayed as a criminal, Shayanna's preoccupation is to keep Hernandez alive in Aviella's memory as the loving and devoted father he was. She is determined that nothing and no one will take that away from her daughter, who is now nine years old.

She donated the late sportsman's brain for study, and the CTE Center at Boston University discovered that the football player suffered from the most drastic brain lesions they had ever seen in a man under 45 -- which may have led to his erratic and violent behavior.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "help" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.