‘God gave me a layup and I blew it’: Lamar Odom reveals ruining romance with Taraji P. Henson

The former L.A. Lakers forward said that he had instant chemistry with the 'Empire' star, but his philandering ways led him to foul it up

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Blue Telusma

May 30, 2019

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This week former NBA star Lamar Odom revealed that his cheating ways are what ruined a secret relationship he had with actress Taraji P. Henson more than 10 years ago.

According to The Daily Mail, in his new memoir, Darkness to Light, Odom tells fans about the beautiful relationship he had with the 48-year-old Empire star prior to his ill fated marriage to Khloe Kardashian.

Odom, 39 says his chemistry with Henson was strong and immediate, and so they “ended up exchanging numbers” on their first meeting.

“She was just such a wise woman that she could see through whatever smooth act I was trying to put on. She refused to be just another conquest, and truthfully, I didn’t want her to be,” he writes.

The New York native, who spent 15 years in the NBA, mostly playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning two championships with them, has a long history of interracial relationships, and admits, “I don’t think I ever connected with another Black woman as deeply as I did Taraji.”

Once they started dated he claims they, “quickly fell in love,” and even got serious to the point of meeting each other’s friends and family.

“I lost my angel.”

Lamar Odom details the ups and down of his relationship with ex-wife Khloe Kardashian, and says their split was his biggest regret. “It was asinine. It was like losing your mother again.” https://t.co/fyV58nQ3mB pic.twitter.com/6WRv68HwBg

— The View (@TheView) May 29, 2019

“She introduced me to her fourteen-year-old son, Marcel, and was at my house nearly every day,” he continues. “Sometimes she’d bring some of her Hollywood friends, like actress Sanaa Lathan who starred in Love And Basketball.”

But even then Odom was exhibiting the self sabotaging behaviors that would continue to plague him for another decade, and he ended up ruining the connection with infidelity, noting, “I felt guilty, but I was craving immediate sex.”

The bittersweet anecdote ends on a remorseful note with him reflecting in hindsight, “Things were amazing, but of course, God gave me a layup and I blew it.”

Following that relationship Odom married reality star Khloe Kardashian in 2009. Kardashian filed for separation in December of 2013 and by December of 2016 their divorce was finalized.