Gayle King has expressed shock over her ex-husband's fresh public apology after she recalled the harrowing moment she caught him cheating. The CBS Mornings co-host, now 71, who was married to William Bumpus from 1982 to 1993, appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast earlier this week. She recalled discovering her then-husband's affair when she returned home unannounced from Washington, DC, with their two young children and found him in their marital home with a woman whom she had considered a family friend.
Following the appearance, Bumpus released a statement, shared with TMZ, that read: 'Those actions were mine. I have long owned them — including publicly in my own words in 2016, which still stand. Gayle has every right to share what was a painful chapter that changed the trajectory of our marriage and our family nearly 40 years ago. I respect her right to tell her story, and that's where I'll leave it.'
King has now spoken out again to express her 'surprise' that her ex addressed her podcast appearance because 'he never talks.' 'I was surprised, but I can also say, I appreciated what he had to say,' she told TMZ. 'I appreciate it, because listen, that was a very painful time,' King said. 'Anybody that's been through it knows how painful it is but I also know that you can go through and get through it on the other side.'
The TV personality told the outlet: 'This happened so long ago that we have both healed, we have both moved on, and the reason why I can talk about it so candidly, to be honest with you, is because it has been so much time that has passed.'
King had spoken to podcast host Alex Cooper, 31, about the infidelity - describing how she walked in on the pair, who were both naked underneath bathrobes. As she tried to enter the house, however, her husband desperately tried to keep her from coming in. 'He comes flying out of the room and he's got a towel on, and he goes, "You can't come in,"' she recalled, adding that he warned her that someone was in the house. At first, King said she was so 'oblivious' that she didn't believe anyone else was in their home. But upon facing more resistance from William, she started searching the house until she ultimately found the woman 'cowering behind the door' in her towel. King claimed that she confronted the woman, who was also married with two young children. Addressing her, she said: 'I can't believe you are here and that you are doing this.'
Meanwhile, King's children William Jr and Kirby, who were just toddlers at the time, were outside with their nanny. King had suspicions that her husband might be having an affair before she caught him in the act. On one occasion, she had heard the friend compliment her husband on his tennis abilities, which caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. King said she quizzed her husband after this interaction but that he immediately 'gaslit' her when he responded by saying: 'What are you talking about?' Despite this encounter, King didn't think an affair was happening until she came home to see it with her own eyes.
Bumpus has previously responded to his ex's admission about his affair. In 2016, he told Page Six: 'I have been haunted with 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.' He also said of King: '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,' he added. 'I am eternally grateful for all that she has done and continues to do to enrich my life and the lives of our incredible adult children.'
