Kenya Duke is putting her public divorce process with ex Gary Owen in her rearview mirror as she moves on and forward.
After filing for divorce in March 2021, Duke blasted the comedian in a series of since-deleted posts. She alleged Owen stopped financially supporting his family in April of that year and called him a “deadbeat.”
“I have had a crazy past two years with my divorce,” said Duke in an interview with HYPE magazine. “I have been to a financial bottom and back, had to let some friends go, and get used to my new normal, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“I am the happiest I have been,” she continued. “I am still smiling and loving my new life, so it was all worth it even on the worst of days.”
Duke and the “Think Like a Man” actor spent over two decades together and share three children, a son Austin Owen, 22, and a daughter Kennedy Owen, 20, and their oldest child, Emilio Owen, 32.
“Before I met Gary, I never really saw myself in entertainment. Then I began booking and managing his shows, which led to producing large comedy shows and live show tapings that we sold to networks,” she explained. “I managed and booked the iconic PHAT Tuesdays at the Comedy Store for a couple of years.”
Duke said, “I realized I was very good at making things happen behind the camera and not so bad in front of it and that’s when I decided to shift my career focus.”
It’s unclear exactly when or if Owen and Duke finalized their divorce, but both appear to have moved on for good, with one blogger even claiming Owen is expecting a pair of twins with another woman.
Meanwhile, Duke is preparing to relaunch “The Truly Kenya Podcast” and other professional endeavors.
She made cheating allegations against Owen after filing for divorce, alleging he had a baby with another woman, which he denied. In one Instagram post, she continued calling him out while alluding to Claudia Jordan‘s alleged involvement in their divorce, which she also denied.
Owen then went on “The Wendy Williams Show” and blamed his ex-wife for making their marital issues public even though he tried to remain “private.”
“This is one of those it’s not a tragic ending. You’re with someone for 23 years, and you know the marriage ended and it happens,” he said in June 2021. “I wanted to keep it private but she didn’t.”
The following month in July, Duke accused him of taking his alleged mistress Brianna Johnson on vacation to the Bahamas and Florida.
“Does Brianna know I am still paying your bills? How does an old dude, choose a chick that doesn’t care about his relationship with his kids and she got kids?” she previously wrote.
Fast forward to August 2022, Owen claimed during an interview on “The Breakfast Club” that he actually “filed first” for divorce.
He said his kids were mad at him due to their contentious divorce and hadn’t spoken to them in over a year.
Hopefully, Owen and his kids can repair their relationship. He has yet to address the rumor he is starting a new family.
