Eleonora Boi, an Italian sports journalist and the wife of former Denver Nuggets player Danilo Gallinari, has spoken out for the first time since being bitten by a shark while swimming off the coast of Puerto Rico.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Boi, who is pregnant, said she was “traumatized” by the attack, which happened while she was swimming with Gallinari and their children.
“At some point I felt a strong pain, and my thigh was burning,” she told ABC’s Victor Oquendo. “But my idea was, ‘maybe it’s a huge jellyfish.’ I was thinking about a jellyfish, but it wasn't a jellyfish.”
Boi was tended to by a Good Samaritan before being rushed to the hospital, where she says they performed hours of tests to make sure the baby was OK and ultimately sent her into surgery.
She is expected to make a full recovery – but she and Gallinari told ABC there is still a mental toll.
“It's not easy [to talk about], because when I remember, I'm still scared,” Boi told ABC News. “It's difficult.
“I think that the body in this situation recovers faster than the mind,” Gallinari told the network. “And that's something that you don't have to be ashamed of or scared of.”
- Hear more from Boi and Gallinari in the Good Morning America story, in the video player below:
Gallinari, arguably the best Italian player in NBA history, played 14 seasons in the league, including six with the Nuggets. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists for Denver.
He last played in the NBA in 2023-24 and now plays in Puerto Rico, where his team – the Vaqueros de Bayamón – won the 2025 title and he was named finals MVP.