Gayle King’s marriage to attorney William Bumpus, which began in 1982, drew renewed attention after she discussed their relationship in a May 2026 interview. The longtime CBS Mornings co-anchor, who generally keeps her private life out of the spotlight, spoke candidly about the end of the marriage and the infidelity that ultimately led to their divorce. King and Bumpus were married for 11 years and share two children, daughter Kirby Bumpus and son William Bumpus Jr. Their family later expanded when Kirby became a mother in September 2021, making King a grandmother.
According to King’s past comments, the most painful part of the breakup involved discovering that Bumpus had been unfaithful with one of her friends. She has previously described coming home early and finding Bumpus in a towel while the woman attempted to hide. King has spoken about the incident on multiple occasions over the years, including a 2016 Vanity Fair interview in which she joked about “the woman” she caught with her then-husband. Despite the public curiosity surrounding the betrayal, King has repeatedly said she moved forward and no longer carries anger about the marriage.
The relationship was once viewed skeptically by Oprah Winfrey, King’s close friend, who later said in a 2006 interview that she did not feel the wedding had the joyful energy she expected. Although the comment was blunt, King responded that she would not have believed such a warning at the time. The remark resurfaced years later as part of ongoing public interest in the couple’s history and the way King has reflected on the marriage in hindsight.
King also discussed the divorce in a 2006 interview with Will Smith, saying she had been married to a cheater, had gone to counseling, and had already healed from the experience. She emphasized that she was not bitter and had worked through the emotional fallout. The divorce was finalized in 1993.
Bumpus later addressed the situation publicly in 2016, issuing an apology and saying he had been haunted by the choice that ended the marriage. He said he regretted the harm caused to King and their family and praised her for handling the situation with grace. In his statement, he credited King with prioritizing their children and maintaining a strong co-parenting relationship. He also described her as a good wife, an excellent mother, and a dedicated co-parent, while saying he remained committed to becoming a better man and father.
King and Bumpus’s story has remained part of her public biography because it combines celebrity, family, and a candid discussion of betrayal, recovery, and co-parenting. Even decades after the divorce, King’s reflections continue to draw interest because they show how she transformed a painful personal chapter into a story of resilience, honesty, and moving on.
