Gayle King opens up about discovering ex-husband’s affair with close friend in rare confession
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Gayle King recently shared the details of a very shocking moment from her life when she found her ex-husband, William Bumpus, cheating on her with a good friend of hers.
The TV personality was married to the attorney from 1982 to 1993.
Gayle King says she confronted her friend after seeing her with her ex-husband
King appeared on Alex Cooper’s ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast on Wednesday, May 27, where she recalled the painful incident. “I came home and caught him,” the 71-year-old said.
King also revealed how she reacted to seeing the woman, who was in a towel at the time, “‘I can’t believe that you are here and that you are doing this. I can’t believe that you are doing this.’ And I even said, ‘I thought we were friends!’ It sounded so pitiful.”
The broadcast journalist’s one unintentional mistake also made the already tense situation complicated. She had accidentally pressed the home alarm system.
King told Cooper that she wanted to say to the cops, “‘Could you take out the trash?’ But I didn’t. I just wanted to get them in and out as quickly as possible.”
The author did not want the officers to know what was going on because she wanted to protect her children — daughter Kirby, now 40, and son Will, now 39.
Gayle King called friend's husband to reveal the truth after discussing it with Oprah Winfrey
She, however, thought of informing her friend’s husband about it despite Bumpus advising her against it.
But first King called her long-time friend, Oprah Winfrey, for some guidance, who asked her to “call her husband”.
The CBS Mornings co-host did not go well with the friend’s husband as she disclosed to Cooper, “I said, ‘OK. You think I should get some help? Does your wife have a pink satin pajama top? Does she have some green mint panties that go with that? And, oh, by the way … there are semen stains in my bed. So am I delusional and out of touch with reality?’”
After the call, King felt proud of herself but also shared that it took Winfrey “over two hours” of convincing before she took the step.
Gayle King's ex-husband called her 'an excellent mother and a fantastic co-parent'
She did not end her marriage with Bumpus right after. She gave him one more chance, but could not save her marriage because of the attorney’s unfaithful nature.
Bumpus had apologized for his past behaviors in 2016 when King first talked about the cheating.
At the time, he had said in a statement, “I have been haunted by this life-altering choice. Though I have dealt with this privately . . . I publicly apologize for the major transgression that dramatically changed all of our lives.”
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Gayle and how she handled herself with grace. Despite the situation, she kept our children, as well as my relationship and involvement with them, as a clear priority. Gayle was a great wife, an excellent mother, and a fantastic co-parent,” Bumpus added.
