NFL star Shaquil “Shaq” Barrett, who plays as an outside linebacker for the Tampa Bay Buccanneers, married his high school sweetheart, Jordanna Barrett, when the two were just teenagers. Having no formal white wedding for the first time, they got married in a courtroom on February 2, 2012. At the time, he was a sophomore at Colorado State University, and she was already nine months pregnant with their first child when they embarked on the next step of their lives together.
According to his loving wife, outside of being a phenomenal football player, Shaquil is a devoted and doting father who places their four kids, Shaquil Jr, Braylon, Aaliyah, and Arrayah Barrett, above everything else. Their children, who are his pride and joy, make up the composite of who he is as a person.
Jordanna found out she was pregnant with their firstborn son, Shaquil Jr., soon after her then-fiancé got the news that the University of Nebraska at Omaha would be ending its football program in 2011. She had recently graduated from high school, and he had just completed his freshman round with the Mavericks when he decided to carry out his dream at Colorado State, and Jordanna went along with him.
They lived very busy lives and had hectic schedules: Jordanna worked as a nanny from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and would only get a few hours of downtime at home and occasionally get to see her husband for one hour after his school day and football practice sessions would be over. Jordanna also worked at Taco John’s as a manager and would finish her shift at 1 a.m. and would only have a few hours of sleep before waking up for night feedings and starting her work day all over again.
Though he was primarily busy with school and advancing his football career, Shaquil would find the odd work shift here and there whenever he could. Additionally, in an effort to help lessen the load his wife was carrying, he would insist on helping her out with their children, specifically Shaquil Jr and Braylon, who were the only kids born around that time.
After some time, they received help from friends. Bernard Blake, a former CSU cornerback, and his brother Eric Blake assisted Jordanna with babysitting, which freed her up to work in the mornings and go on the occasional date with her husband. Though their life back then was far from smooth sailing, they expressed having no regrets about the life they chose...CONTINUE READING