In time for the debut of her new reality TV series, Shaunie O'Neal has decided to pop the lid on her separation from Shaq O'Neal and his infidelities.

In an exclusive interview with Essence Magazine, the budding TV star sets the record straight about what was the deciding factor that put an end to their seven year marriage.

Unafraid to tell it like it is, Shauni is very upfront and honest about the marriage's demise, which according to her was the fault of Shaq and his Miami groupies, who she dubs as the most "aggressive" that she's ever encountered.

Here's a taster:

Shaunie on when things started to go bad in her marriage: (Shaq was traded to the Miami Heat). "Miami is a great city. It just wasn't a great city for our marriage. I know they say L.A has its groupies, but Miami has a different mentality. Even going to games, the whole environment is so different. Girls are practically sitting their bra and panties in the arena. When you're trying to keep your husband, that's a whole lot to take. It's a whole new lifestyle I wasn't ready for. Apparently we didn't have a strong enough foundation for Shaq to withstand that type of temptation."

Shaunie on finally confronting Shaq about the infidelity rumours: "He would deny it sometimes, and other times he would ask, 'You got pictures? Video? If not, don't come at me because you have no proof.'

"He'd say, 'OK, you're mad. Now what? You're not going anywhere.'

Shaunie on being accused of cheating on Shaq with her personal trainer: "I worked out at home - with my trainer, sister, her husband and my girlfriend. I was a good girl. I wouldn't even entertain a man flirting with me. I was that conservative. But when those rumours cam out, I felt I was so small and Shaq was so big that it didn't matter what I said; nobody was going to believe me. All I was thinking was, how could this happen to me? I had no idea how I was going to pick up the pieces. I was just done."

Shaunie on the state of her relationship with Shaq today: "We are becoming friends, and it's nice because it's something we really lacked in our marriage. I enjoy being able to talk openly to him, and I think we both learned a lot from each other during this time."

See source for hot new pics of Shaunie O'Neal