{"id":2435803,"date":"2026-05-28T17:51:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2435803"},"modified":"2026-05-28T17:51:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:51:02","slug":"gayle-king-reacts-to-exs-apology-after-cheating-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/gayle-king-reacts-to-exs-apology-after-cheating-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Gayle King Reacts to Ex’s Apology After Cheating Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gayle King<\/strong><\/a> was pleasantly surprised by ex-husband William Bumpus<\/strong>\u2019 public apology for cheating on her years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised, but I can also say I appreciated what he had to say,\u201d King, 71, told TMZ <\/a>on Thursday, May 28. \u201cThat was a very painful time. But people need to understand that anyone who has been through it knows how painful it is. But I also know that you can go through it and get through it on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her appearance on the Wednesday, May 27, episode of Alex Cooper<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cCall Her Daddy\u201d podcast, King opened up about catching Bumpus, 70, cheating with one of her best friends<\/a> in 1990. She recalled returning home after a canceled flight, where her then-husband attempted to stop her from entering the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t believe him,\u201d she said. \u201cI get down and there they are \u2014 or there she is cowering behind the door in my towel. It was a nice bath sheet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Gayle King and Ex William Bumpus’ Relationship Timeline: Affair and More<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tGayle King was married to ex-husband William Bumpus for 11 years before they decided to split. King has been outspoken about her ex\u2019s past infidelity, discussing the moment she caught him cheating with a friend in June 1990. \u201cI said, \u2018I can\u2019t believe that you are here and that you are doing this,\u2019\u201d King recalled [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

King said she kept her composure while confronting Bumpus and his mistress because their young children were home. (The exes share daughter Kirby<\/strong>, 40, and son Will<\/strong>, 39. Bumpus is also a dad to daughter Poet, 16, from another relationship.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking, \u2018The kids are here, I don\u2019t want anybody to know,\u2019\u201d she continued. \u201cThat was my main thought, \u2018I don\u2019t want anybody to know.\u2019 That would not happen to me today.\u201d<\/p>\n

King and Bumpus, who tied the knot in 1982, attempted to repair their marriage in the aftermath of the scandal. However, they ultimately divorced in 1993.<\/p>\n

Bumpus publicly apologized for the cheating scandal<\/a> in a 2016 interview with Page Six<\/em>, admitting that he was \u201chaunted with this life-altering choice.\u201d He issued another statement after the podcast interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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. Those actions were mine,\u201d Bumpus told TMZ on Thursday. \u201cI have long owned [my actions] \u2014 including publicly in my own words in 2016, which still stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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