Aaron Hernandez‘s fiancée is honoring the late NFL star’s memory with a family tribute.
Shayanna Jenkins shared a throwback image of their daughter Avielle, 12, in church with a 2012 pic of the athlete smiling photoshopped in a corner, almost eight years after he died at age 27 of suicide while serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.
“Celebrated our love for you privately, never forgotten always embraced,” the athlete’s fiancée captioned her March 22 Instagram photo, adding angel and dove emojis.
In March 2024, Shayanna had shared a pic of Avielle wearing the same outfit—a white dress and veil—standing alongside her sister Giselle, 6, who is not Aaron’s child.
Since Aaron’s death, the 35-year-old has occasionally shared tributes to the late football player, who played for the New England Patriots between 2010 and 2012. “You left this world, but not my heart,” Shayanna wrote on Instagram in 2022, alongside several photos of the two a pic of her fiancé cuddling their then-baby girl in bed. “#AH81 #alwaysandforever.”
In April 2017, Aaron was found dead in inside a cell in a Massachusetts maximum security prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of a semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of Shayanna’s sister, Shaneah Jenkins.
A year after Aaron’s death, Shayanna spoke out about her grief in a tribute to her late partner.
“I remember getting a call saying you had passed,” Shayanna wrote in a tribute to her partner on Instagram in 2018. “Dropping the phone and crying uncontrollably I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to get to you as fast as I knew how so you weren’t alone anymore.”
She continued, “I was / still am so confused and wish I could ask you tons of questions – not just for me but for our daughter. I’ve suffered hurt, sadness and definitely anger BUT I’ve had this little girl to make my spirits higher.”
Shayana thanked Aaron for “allowing me to share all of our experiences and create new memories” with Avielle. “Your legacy will live on,” she wrote, “until we meet again.”
Look back at Aaron and Shayanna’s relationship…
On the first anniversary of Aaron Hernandez’s death, fiancée Shayanna Jenkins paid tribute to her love, who died by suicide in 2017 while serving a life sentence for murder.
“I remember getting a call saying you had passed,” she wrote at the time. “Dropping the phone and crying uncontrollably I didn’t know what to do . I wanted to get to you as fast as I knew how so you weren’t alone anymore . This was by far the worst day of my life especially when things were looking better.”
Acknowledging their daughter Avielle, now 11, she continued, “I’ve suffered hurt , sadness and definitely anger BUT I’ve had this little girl to make my spirits higher . Although , I hurt today and continue to figure this thing called ‘life’ out … we will celebrate your life with love , joy and happiness.”
Shayanna and her baby girl proudly wore Patriots’ jersey. Aaron served as tight end for the New England team from 2010 to 2012.
For Shayanna, Aaron’s legacy continues to grow stronger every day.
“You’ve touched more people’s hearts than I’ve ever seen – not just from your smile but you being you,” she wrote in 2018. “I thank you for showing me things I’d never get to experience in life and creating a better one for your daughter and I … I thank you for allowing me to share all of our experiences and create new memories with this precious princess . Your legacy will live on , until we meet again … WE love you very very much.”
“It takes as long as it takes .I will always wake up everyday only to remember you are not here and have to feel that ache all over again,” Shayanna captioned a selfie of her and Aaron. “You are truly loved & missed.”
She described her love as “beautiful inside and out.”
For Shayanna, there’s no denying who her daughter takes after: “Daddy’s twin !”
