Almost a month after former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez committed suicide in his prison cell, his fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, finally responded publicly to his death. Hernandez was found hanged in his cell April 19, leaving behind Shayanna and their 4-year-old daughter Avielle.
Jenkins-Hernandez appeared on a two-part episode of Dr. Phil, set to air May 15 and 16, to discuss Hernandez’s suicide.
“I thought it was a hoax,” she said of the moment she learned of his death, according to People. “That this was some cruel person playing a trick on me.”
In a suicide note addressed to her, Hernandez implied that his fiancée wouldn’t be surprised by his suicide.