Aaron Hernandez's Fiancée Breaks Silence: 'I Thought it Was a Hoax'

The fiancée of Aaron Hernandez is speaking out for the first time since the suicide of the former New England Patriots football player.

Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez recently sat down with Dr. Phil to discuss the death of the man she thought she was going to marry. She told the TV doctor that she initially thought news of his death was a hoax, a cruel person playing a trick on her.

The death caught her off guard, as she felt optimistic following the two's last conversation.

“I felt like we were looking so bright. We were going up a ladder to a positive direction," she said. "Our last talk had nothing to do with suicidal thoughts."

Hernandez was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd when he hanged himself during the early hours of April 19, days after he was found not guilty of a 2012 South Boston double murder. Officials struggled to enter the cell due to a piece of cardboard that jammed the door closed and a large amount of shampoo on the floor that made Hernandez hard to reach. The death was reported at 4:15 a.m., after he was transported to UMass Health Alliance Hospital in Leominster.

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• Aaron Hernandez Suicide Notes: Judge Orders Release to Family
• Aaron Hernandez Suicide: State Police Release Report on Death
• Aaron Hernandez Suicide Note Released
• Aaron Hernandez Murder Conviction Vacated

Due to his death prior to the completion of the appeals process for the Lloyd murder, Hernandez's conviction was vacated by a Bristol Superior Court judge, making as if the trial that determined his guilt never happened. Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said his office will file an appeal to the state's Supreme Judicial Court.

Dr. Phil's interview with Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez is scheduled to air in two parts this Monday and Tuesday.

Image Credit: Josh Reynolds/The Boston Globe, via AP Pool