ABOVE: Aaron Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins speaking with “Good Morning America.” (Screenshot from ABC News’ YouTube)
BOSTON (AP) | The fiancee of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez spoke publicly for the first time since the release of a documentary series examining his life more than two years after he killed himself in his prison cell.
Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, said in an interview with “Good Morning America” Jan. 29 that she had been unaware the late New England Patriots tight end was bisexual. Jenkins said she “would not have loved him differently” if he had told her.
“Although I have a child with Aaron, I still can’t tell you how he was feeling inside,” Jenkins said. “No one can.”
The three-part Netflix series “Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez,” was released Jan. 15. Jenkins said she was offered compensation to be interviewed by the producers but declined and was not interviewed.
Hernandez killed himself in 2017 while serving a life sentenced for murdering his friend Odin Lloyd in 2013. He had been acquitted of most charges in a separate double murder case just a few days before his death.
After his death, doctors found Hernandez had advanced chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease linked to head trauma.
The disease, which can be diagnosed only after death, has been found in more than 100 former NFL players and in dozens more athletes and members of the military who have been exposed to repetitive head trauma. The disease can lead to memory loss, depression and suicide.
