Gayle King's ex-husband is taking accountability for a "painful chapter" that led to the ending of their marriage.
The CBS anchor and her husband William Bumpus were married from 1982 to 1993, and are parents to two children, daughter Kirby, 40, and son William Jr., 39.
On a recent episode of Call Her Daddy, the veteran journalist opened up about discovering her former husband cheating on her with a friend in their home, and now he has again broken his silence on the matter.
© GettyIn a statement to TMZ, William, a lawyer, first maintained: "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. Those actions were mine. I have long owned them — including publicly in my own words in 2016, which still stand," referring to his first public apology.
"Gayle has every right to share what was a painful chapter that changed the trajectory of our marriage and our family nearly forty years ago," he noted. "I respect her right to tell her story, and that’s where I’ll leave it."
William went to to express his appreciation for Gayle and their family, maintaining they are on good terms. "I remain endlessly grateful to Gayle. She gave me two of the greatest gifts of my life — our daughter Kirby and our son William."
© Getty Images"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 forged in that work have carried us all these years," he further gushed.
"Nearly four decades later, that commitment has only deepened, and Gayle and I remain in a good place," William went on, revealing that the civility extends to William's new family, which includes a teenage daughter.
"She recently sent warm wishes to Poet, my teenage daughter, on her 16th birthday, which meant a great deal to us both," he shared, before admitting: "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 wrestled with, and no reflection on her true talent and abilities."
© Gayle King / CBS"I am proud to have had a front-row seat to Gayle's remarkable success, and I remain a genuine admirer and fan," he emphasized.
© Instagram"I continue to work at being the best version of myself, grounded by the friendship, encouragement, and support of Gayle over the years, by the love of our grown children and our grandchildren, and by the daily privilege of raising Poet as a single dad. That is where my focus remains — on my family, on my clients, and on the work ahead," William concluded.
Recounting the shocking discovery of her husband cheating on the podcast episode, Gayle, who had come home early after a canceled flight, said she "didn't believe" William when he said there was someone in the house, and further shared of her interaction with her former friend, William's mistress: "I even said, 'I thought we were friends.' I sounded so pitiful."
