After Gayle King revealed that she caught her ex-husband cheating with one of her friends, he has now spoken out with an apology for his actions during their marriage.
In a statement obtained by TMZ, William Bumpus — who was married to King from 1982 to 1993 — expressed regret over the hurt he caused his former wife.
“My deepest apologies to Gayle, to our daughter Kirby and her husband, Virgil, to our son William and his wife, Elise, and to our three grandchildren, for the pain I caused decades ago,” said Bumpus, who shares daughter Kirby and son William Bumpus Jr. with King. “Those actions were mine. I have long owned them—including publicly in my own words in 2016, which still stand.”
He also said he feels his ex-wife “has every right to share what was a painful chapter that changed the trajectory of our marriage and our family nearly forty years,” referencing her recent appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast.
“What I will say is this: I remain endlessly grateful to Gayle,” he continued. “She gave me two of the greatest gifts of my life—our daughter Kirby and our son William. It was Gayle who encouraged and supported me through getting my Yale Law degree. And it was Gayle who chose, with me, to co-parent successfully from the very beginning—a testament to our shared commitment to our children above all else, and now our grandchildren. The love and camaraderie we built through that journey have stayed with us over the years.”
He went on to say that they are still “in a good place,” noting that Gayle King even wished his 16-year-old daughter, Poet, a happy birthday. “As a private person by nature, I will admit that during our marriage I did not fully appreciate Gayle’s public life—I wanted ours to be more private, and that was something I struggled with, and no reflection on her true talent and abilities,” he added. “I am proud to have witnessed Gayle’s incredible success up close, and I remain a true admirer and fan.”
During the interview, King told Alex Cooper that she discovered Bumpus was cheating on her in 1990 after her flight got canceled and she unexpectedly returned home. When she walked into the house, she noticed the alarm had been activated.
“He comes flying out of the room. He’s got a towel on and he goes, ‘You can’t come in,’“ King recalled, adding that she responded, “‘What do you mean I can’t come in? What are you talking about?’”
She then discovered her former friend “cowering behind the door” wearing only a bath towel.
“I said, ‘I can’t believe that you are here and you are doing this,’“ King shared. “I even said, ‘I thought we were friends.’ I sounded so pitiful.”
Since the house alarm had been triggered, police officers also arrived at the scene and reportedly asked King for an autograph once they recognized her. Following the incident, she and Bumpus attempted marriage counseling and tried to work things out. However, after she later caught him cheating again, the pair officially divorced in 1993.
