The conviction, acquittal, and eventual death of Aaron Hernandez is a story we still talk about many years later. The New England Patriots tight end was arrested and charged with the murder of his fiancée, Shayanna Jenkin’s, sister’s boyfriend. Shayanna stood by him throughout the trial, but the story of where she is now is far from rosy.
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Shayanna and Aaron first met in elementary school in Connecticut. Their friendship developed and they eventually began dating during high school. They briefly broke up when Hernandez went to play for the University of Florida, however, they rekindled their relationship after he was drafted by the New England Patriots. They became engaged and had a daughter named Avielle in 2012.
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Where is Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez now?
According to her Instagram, Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez is a licensed insurance broker in the Boston area and shares family updates with her 237,000+ followers often. On September 6, she shared a selfie with Avielle and her second daughter whom she shares with Dino Guilmette in 2018. It’s not clear if he’s still in the picture. Many of the comments were about how Avielle looks like her father.
In 2023, Shayanna got into some legal woes herself when she was accused of misspending Avielle’s trust fund that was left to her by her deceased father. She asked a court-appointed trustee to pay the bill from a trust fund that had been set up for Avielle, but alarm bells sounded because the trustee believed she was receiving around $150,000 a year or more from Aaron’s NFL pension and Social Security.
Attorney David Schwartz researched what she had been spending her money on, and discovered her expenses included $36,858 on clothing, including maternity wear; $39,347 on home goods; $25,577 shopping online; $11,792 in “self care,” including gym fees, and visits to hair and nail salons, per Boston.com.
“There is reason to question whether the expenditures were for Avielle’s benefit,” attorney Robert O’Regan, who was representing Schwartz in the court dispute, told the outlet. “To be fair, this little girl should have a decent life with what her father left for her. No one would complain if there were reasonable expenses. We’re talking about over the top or otherwise unrelated expenses to Avielle.”
Shayanna disputed the claim, telling the paper: “Since Aaron’s death, my sole focus has been on raising and providing as stable a life for my children as possible,” she wrote in an e-mail. “All monies I have spent have been with this singular focus in mind, and this will continue to be my focus going forward.”
As the conservator for her daughter, Shayanna was supposed to file annual disclosures, but she hadn’t done so until recently. The trust fund was supposed to contain around $700,000 for Avielle when she turned 25. A few months later, local FOX news reported that Shayanna was working with a personal finance coach as a legal battle continued.