WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for American Sports Story.
Aaron Hernandez’s on-and-off relationship with his fiancée Shayanna Jenkins is explored in FX’sAmerican Sports Story. Throughout the first five episodes ofAmerican Sports Story, a dramatized version of Aaron Hernandez’s true story has been loosely chronicled from his adolescence to his rapid rise as one of the NFL’s top tight ends. Thefirst two episodes ofAmerican Sports Storycapture a basic understanding ofAaron Hernandez’s complicated upbringinginBristol, Connecticut, where he initially met his future fiancée and mother of his child, Shayanna Jenkins.American Sports Storyportrays several NFL playersas well asHernandez’s close friends and family members.
American Sports Storyepisode 5sees the return of Shayanna Jenkins' character, portrayed by Jaylen Barron (Blindspotting,Shameless). Josh Andrés Rivera leads thecast ofAmerican Sports Storyas Aaron Hernandez. The series also features performances by Norbert Leo Butz (Bloodline) as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V) as former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. The series portrays some of the major highs, such as winningthe prestigious John Mackey Award, and the lows, such as themurder trial of Odin Lloydand thealleged shooting of a man named Sherrod, in Hernandez’s tragic true story.
Aaron Hernandez & Shayanna Jenkins Got Engaged Before The Birth Of Their Daughter
They began dating while they were both students at Bristol Central High School
Aaron Hernandez and Shayanna Jenkins met when they were just kidsin elementary school. They knew each other throughout their childhoods, as depicted inAmerican Sports Story. They officially began dating during their high school years while they were both students at Bristol Central High School. Although Hernandez had a girlfriend named Alyssa Anderson (Vanessa inASS) while he attended the University of Florida, the on-and-off relationship between him and Jenkins never explicitly ended. Anderson later revealed that Hernandez privately told her that he had been molested as a child and had been intimate with men in college.
Every Tight End Drafted Before Aaron Hernandez In 2010
As portrayed in American Sports Story episode 4, Aaron Hernandez wasn’t selected in the 2010 NFL Draft until the 4th round as the 113th overall pick.
Hernandez broke up with Anderson soon after he got drafted by the New England Patriots in 2010. As depicted inAmerican Sports Story, he reconnected with Jenkins while he was a rookie on the Patriots and they soon fell back into their relationship. Hernandez and Anderson got engaged in October 2012, one month before their daughter Avielle Janelle Hernandez was born.Avielle, who is now 11 years old, is the only daughter of Aaron Hernandezand Shayanna Jenkins. Just seven months after Avielle’s birth, Hernandez was arrested on first-degree murder charges. He died by suicide in prison in 2017 when she was 4 years old.
Shayanna Jenkins Testified At Aaron Hernandez’s Trials
Jenkins was granted immunity to testify in 2015
Based on the first-degree murder conviction Hernandez received in 2015, the jury concluded that Hernandez murdered Odin Lloyd on June 17, 2025, just two months before the Patriots offered him a five-year $40 million contract. Lloyd was the boyfriend of Shaneah Jenkins, the sister of Shayanna Jenkins, Aaron Hernandez’s girlfriend and the mother of his child.Lloyd’s body was found in an industrial area in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, not far from a wealthy community where Hernandez had lived in a mansion. Lloyd, a semi-pro football player in the Boston area, had been murdered execution-style and shot a total of six times.
What Aaron Hernandez Scored On The Wonderlic Test
American Sports Story episode 4 depicts Aaron Hernandez taking the Wondelric test at the 2010 NFL Combine and receiving a less-than-desirable score.
Shayanna Jenkins testified in both of Hernandez’s murder trials, first in 2015 and again in 2017. In 2015, Hernandez revealed that she removed a large box from the basement of their North Attleborough home which prosecutors believed concealed the gun that was used to kill Lloyd. The murder weapon was never found, but Jenkins was granted immunity for her testimony(viaWBUR). In 2017, Jenkins testified again in the double homicide case of which Hernandez was found not guilty, claiming that she did not recall certain conversations about Avery S. Bradley (Sherrod inASS) and “learned to keep her mouth shut in certain situations” (viaCNN).
Shayanna Jenkins' Life After Aaron Hernandez’s Death Explained
Shayanna Jenkins stood by Hernandez’s side throughout his murder trials, conviction, and the beginning of his lifetime prison sentence. Her loyalty to Hernandez created a major gap in her relationship with her sister Shaneah Jenkins. InNetflix’sKiller Insidedocuseries,Jenkins revealed that she no longer had a close connection to her sister. Shayanna currently has a wide following on social media (242K followers on Instagram) where she updates fans and friends about her life. She is reportedly a licensed insurance broker in the Boston area and had a second daughter, Giselle, in 2018 with a man named Dino Guilmette.
Aaron Hernandez’s NFL Contracts Explained: Rookie, Extension & Total Earnings
Aaron Hernandez received a big contract extension from the New England Patriots following his notable Super Bowl XLVI performance in 2012.
Shayanna Jenkins goes by the full name Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez, although she and Hernandez never officially tied the knot. She wore her engagement ring to the 2015 trial when she testified in court. On June 16, 2025, seven years after Aaron’s death, she posted a selfie of her and Hernandez with the caption “It takes as long as it takes. I will always wake up everyday [sic] only to remember you are not here and have to feel that ache all over again. You are truly loved & missed” with a heart emoji and the hashtag “#AJH”.Jenkins-Hernandez lives a mostly private life as a mother of two daughtersoutside of her large social media following.
What Shayanna Jenkins Has Said About Aaron Hernandez
Jenkins-Hernandez has kept a relatively low profile out of the public spotlight since Hernandez’s passing. She did appear in two episodes ofDr. Philin May 2017, revealing that she thought Hernandez’s death by suicide was a “hoax” and that someone was “playing a trick on me.” She added that she and Hernandez “were looking so bright” and “going up a ladder to a positive direction” following his acquittal of the double homicide charges in 2017 (viaBoston.com). Jenkins also appeared in an exclusive interview withABC Newsfollowing the release of Netflix’s 2020Killer Insidedocuseries, saying"Although I have a child with Aaron, I still can’t tell you how he was feeling inside. No one can.”
Jenkins responded to Tom Brady’s joke about Hernandez duringNetflix’sThe Roast of Tom Brady. Speaking about Gronkowski, Brady said, “Gronk was actually pretty useful on the field, although the bar for a Patriots tight end was pretty low back then: Block, catch, don’t murder.” Jenkins-Hernandez responded to Brady’s diss by saying,“It’s sad that I’m trying to raise my children in such a cruel world."(viaTMZ). For the record, Brady was not Hernandez’s only former teammate to make a lewd comment about him during the Netflix special. Jenkins' role in Hernandez’s tragic true story will continue to enfold in future episodes ofAmerican Sports Story.
Why Aaron Hernandez’s Head Hurts In American Sports Story
American Sports Story depicts Aaron Hernandez taking several hard hits while on the gridiron, some to the head, nodding to his advanced CTE diagnosis.
American Sports Story
Cast
American Sports Story is a TV show from Stu Zicherman and executive produced by Ryan Murphy. The series stars Josh Andrés Rivera as Aaron Hernandez and Patrick Schwarzenegger as Tim Tebow. The sports anthology series serves as the fourth installment in Murphy’s “American Story” franchise.
