tonight on "nightline" -- married for 41 days. a larger than life athlete, his reality star wife and the whirlwind romance that sparked its own tv show and then one horrifying night. "basketball wives" evelyn lozada opens up for the first time about chad johnson and perils of living life in the spotlight. and shark bait. another holiday weekend terror as sharks scare away beachgoers. but not our reporter, who is getting up close. maybe too close. to the great whites. plus, serious barbecue, lam chops dripping off the bone to

fresh fish cooked to perfection. tis the season to be grilling and tonight a master shows us how it's done. good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. tonight when a raelt show romance goes very wrong. he was a popular pro football player, she, a feisty star of "basketball wives," their marriage seemed defendanten tord tv gold until it came to a crashing halt one terrible night only weeks after they wed. now, for the first time, evelyn lozada opens up about what she says really happened and what role the spotlight played. here's abc news's amy robach. >> we're getting ready to get married. >> how do you feel about it? i am stoked. >> reporter: millions watched as

they fell in love before their eyes. >> i'm about to [ bleep ]. >> reporter: she, hot. >> tom: period star of "basketball wives" with the fondness for high-profile athletes. and he the larger than life football player whose record during an nfl career and danced into our homes in "dancing with the stars," it seems the sky was the limit for these two but fairy tale came crashing down in an instant. >> he grabbed right here and he head-butted me and all i felt was, i felt like blood coming down my face. >> after a violent incident involves his wife -- >> reporter: it ended with ev len getting six stitches in her forehead and chad being arrested. >> you have been charged with battery, domestic violence -- >> reporter: now a divorce filing after just 41 days, another high-profile marriage exhausted by reality tv. even the much-ridiculed marriage

of kim kardashian and basketball player kris humphreys lasted splietly laerj. but the marriage was rocked by a violent domestic dispute, a lesson in living your life in front of the camera. when you watch back the show, how do you feel? >> i cringe sometimes. you know? because i forget that the camera is there. >> reporter: it all began when evelyn found a receipt in chad's car for condoms. >> it was like three weeks after my wedding. >> reporter: evelyn said when she confronted her husband he denied he'd been unfaithful, saying he bought the condoms for a friend. >> i knew he was lying and i told him, i'm not sticking by you through this. i don't care. my marriage is the laughingstock of the world and then the next thing i know he head-butted me. >> reporter: chad johnson declined our request for an interview about what he says happened that night but in a statement to police he claimed

evelyn head-butted him. >> what is your emergency. >> yes, i have somebody in my house was that in a little domestic dispute with their husband. >> reporter: evelyn, bleeding pro fusely ran tie neighbor's house. >> is she going to need stitches? >> reporter: how are you feeling at that moment? >> humiliated, embarrassed. in shock. my fairy tale just ended. >> reporter: but even though she appeared to be the victim with six stitches, many didn't believe her story and here's why. so when word of the head-butting went out the internet lit up in a firestorm of controversy, xhepts like she decenter field it and she's a bully. do you understand why people have said the things they've said? >> i understand it but i also

think that it's like saying look at that woman, look what she had on, that's why she got raped. i feel like -- i feel it's a little unfair. whatever the perception of me is on "basketball wives" that doesn't justify what happened that day. >> no, no, no -- >> reporter: the show about to start its fifth season has long been controversial because of what consider excessive violence. there was a petition with over 30,000 signatures asking viacom to take "basketball wives" off the air. if do you another season are we going to sigh different evelyn? >> i'm always going to voice my opinion but you won't see me acting a fool. i've grown a lot in the last couple of months. >> reporter: but perhaps too little, too late.

vh-1 cans mded planned spin-off show "even ocho." >> i think it's best for both of us that we part ways at this point in time. >> reporter: and chad was fired from the dolphins the day after the incident as captured in hbo's "hard knocks." he's only tweeted this a few days ago, i made my bed now i've got to sleep in it. >> this is a quote tr chad, i wish evelyn nothing but the best, i have no negative words to say about here. the only thing i can say is i love her very much. how does it feel to hear that? >> sad. it's the hardest thing in the world to walk away from someone that you really love and you have to walk away because i have to protect myself. >> reporter: i'm amy robach in

new york. sharks have already closed beaches on this holiday weekend but our fearless reporter takes a dip to see great whites up close. ♪ forz(power!) andiamo! andiamo! (let's go! let's go!) avanti! avanti! (keep going! keep going!) hahaha...hahahaha! you know ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? happier than christopher columbus with speedboats. that's happy! get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

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. >> for most of us a terror inducing word, sharks are already sending vacationers scattering as several cape cod beaches are forced to close after sightings close to shore. so, who would be crazy enough to voluntarily jump into shark-infested waters? that would be our nick watt, with an encore presentation. >> reporter: the beach is all about swimming, surfing, paddling, playing but we've all

seen "j"jaws," we all remember that music. and at the back of every beachgoer's mind lurks the fear of the fin. somewhere out there, the great white. we've come to meet one of the most feared, demonized and endangered predators on earth. face to face. this is arguably the most shark-infested water on earth. >> how's the water, nick? >> reporter: now, we're in it. visibility is bad. we know the great whites are here but we can't see them. blood and guts will entice passing sharks. a tunahead will draw them, headlong at our cage but where are they? i'm flinching at shadows, disoriented and scared. then, suddenly -- the prehistoric predators, 15 feet, lean, mean killing machine. insatiable appetite.

[ bleep ] his fin was like that far away. i saw gills. after a few anxious minutes, he's back and great whites have an attack speed of a 45 feet a second. hang on. why are we doing this? well, because of the great white is in trouble. sharks are older than the dinosaurs, but now the king of the ocean is in danger of extinction. julie anderson is a new york ksh based preservationist and a south african marine biologists that call themselves the shark angels. today a research trip off the coast. >> not like whales or dolphins where people want to care about them. 100 million sharks are killed a year, a lot of people don't know that and when they do know that they say, so what? why should i care?

>> reporter: why should we care about the merciless great white? >> they are apex predators and predators are essential to the health of an eco system. >> reporter: the population broug drop d 70% and hunted for the jaws, teeth and fins and many drown in nets designed to keep swimmers and surfers safe. >> there she is. you want it now? >> reporter: after four years of fearless tagging in these waters allison discovered things we never knew. wintertime great whites gorge themselves at seal island but where do they go in summer? now we know. they go to the beach, like the rest of us. >> actually found that in summertime, moving closer to shore. >> reporter: so the time of year we're swimming the sharks are hunting in shallow water. but she says sharks don't want to eat humans. >> most of the time they don't

actually eat the person. and it's bite and release. and we believe that is mostly investigation. they simply don't know what we are. >> reporter: back in the cage i'm still trying to decide whether i do want to share my planet with this. enough is enough. all of the nervous energy -- i was almost lost for words. >> glad i did that. i don't think i ever want to do it again. i still hate great whites but now i do admire them. from this close, it's hard not to. they survived 20 million years in our oceans, now our grudging respect might be all that saves them from extinction. i'm nick watt for "nightline" in south africa. >> oh, well thank goodness for the cage and thanks to nick.

next, just in time for the last big barbecue weekend of the summer, one great griller tells you the secrets of the pit. [ female announcer ] they can be enlightening. hey, bro. or engaging. conversations help us learn and grow. at wells fargo, we believe you can never underestimate the power of a conversation. it's this exchange of ideas that helps you move ahead with confidence. so when the conversation turns to your financial goals... turn to us. if you need anything else, let me know. wells fargo. together we'll go far.

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well, folks, this is it, the end of summer, with that the last days of the summer barbecue season. we're sending you off into labor day weekend with somehow-tos from a man who takes his grill very seriously. owner of daisy mae barbecue in new york city, adamperry lang. tonight's play list. >> one of the reasons why i think i love butchering and meat, not because i like to cut up animals, my mother would take me this to butcher shop on long island and every time i walked in they would give me a little slice of baloney. it was a magical place that seemed right. first thing you do is break up some marjoaram, garlic powder,

salt and perp. some olive oil and put the chops in. and you just kind of work it in. let it sit for like two hours. don't sweat the flames. flames happen. these look beautiful. a lot of flavor on these babies. take the lamb chops. you should hear a sizzle. another trick i i take a brick, wrap it with foil, it will create more pressure on top of the lamb. i take a bundle of herbs, savory, sage, rosemary and oregano and marjoram and baste the lambs. i take a salt and garlic clove use it as an abrasive and work into it cutting board. lemon zest, lemon juice, red onion or shallots, some more olive oil. cut some fresh herbs, italian flat leaf parsley you. take the lamb, still sizzling, right into that. you are good go. this is an amazing recipe. guaranteed success.

sunday morning breakfast a ritual, i would get up with my father. we would go to a place called la patisserie on the miracle mile, it was an exotic time when the family got together. it was just special. i'm going to make a compound butter or flavored butter with lemon zest and chopped garlic and dill. rough chop this all about the flavor. don't worry about the finesse. it's not necessary. take some salt and butter, like a pomade, like that. a up to of lemon juice for acidity. great, great thing to do. take your fish fillet, on top of the board. and you take this, place it right on top. use your fingers, don't be

afraid. stred it on. smells great. amazing. i take the lid and let it cook. all right. seven minutes later, here we are. looking beautiful. i'm going to take a bit of paprika toward the end. some fresh dill. take a bit of olive oil. keep it moist and cover it up again for a couple more minutes. five to seven minutes later, voila, this is perfection, easy, easy do. it's awesome. >> yum. recipes for a good weekend. finally tonight, all of us at "nightline" want to express our love and support to colleague and dear friend "good morning america" anchor robin roberts as she begins a challenging journey. as many of you know robin has been diagnosed with mds. a rare blood disorder which doctors believe came about as a result of her treatment for breast cancer. several years ago. robin will go in the hospital

next week to begin the process for a bone marrrow transplant. it will be a tough road but robin is fortunate that her sister sally ann is a match. yesterday robin signed off from gma signing off a day earlier than she planned. >> i love you and i'll see you soon. >> yes, you will. >> robin headed home yesterday, to pass christian, mississippi to see her beloved mom, lucimarian and as so often happens, tough times come in multiple, her mother passed away yesterday with robin by her side. our sympathies to robin and her family. robin's grace and courage are singul singular. we can't wait to welcome her back. thanks for joining us. we wish you all a safe and